A Beginner's Guide to Photography Lighting

Lighting is intrinsic to photography. In fact, it’s at the art form’s very core — the word ‘photography’ stems from the Greek for ‘writing with light’. With this in mind, it makes sense that your chosen lighting conditions can have a big impact. 

So, how can you harness light to get the best results from your photos?

The basics of photography lighting 

Before you can start experimenting with different lighting techniques, it’s important to recognise the key foundations of lighting within photography and how they affect your images. 

Once you understand the basics, it can be helpful to get creative and experiment with these essential factors and try some different techniques to see how the theory translates in practice. 

Natural vs. artificial lighting

When taking photographs, you can harness natural light from the sun or use artificial lighting. Natural light changes throughout the day, offering different aesthetics as the hours pass. Artificial lighting gives you more consistent control over your results.

The difference between soft and hard light

Soft lighting is gentle, with minimal shadows, offering smooth results. Hard lighting, on the other hand, is sharper and can produce defined shadows. It’s great for bringing drama and contrast to your photos. You can also diffuse hard light to reduce any harsh shadows while creating a balanced illumination.

Lighting and colour temperature

Lighting also varies in terms of temperature and hue which can influence your photo’s mood. You’ll see this measured in kelvins (K). Cool lighting has a bluish tint, ideal for creating bold, modern images. Meanwhile, warm lighting adds golden tones — perfect for adding a sense of whimsical cosiness. If you want to get a warm glow using natural light, try getting out and about to photograph during golden hour — just after sunrise or just before sunset. 

Understanding and controlling colour temperature allows you to set the emotional tone of your images, ensuring your photos convey the exact atmosphere you envision.

Lighting positions

The position of your lighting source — whether it’s the sun, studio lighting, or a photography lamp — can create a range of different effects. Depending on the position of your lighting source, shadows will fall in different directions.

• Front lighting: When your lighting source is in front of your subject, and shadows will fall behind, so you get a clear and detailed image. Many photographers consider this to be the easiest type of lighting but it can sometimes lack depth.
  
  
• Side lighting: By placing your light source to the side of your subject, you can add more depth than with front-lighting. Why not play around with the angle of your side-lighting to see how the shadow placement affects the photo outcome?
  
  
• Back lighting: This can be a trickier lighting position to master. Having the light behind your subject can result in a silhouette. To get the best results, you’ll need to play around with your camera’s manual features to get the exposure just right — this will help show details rather than a dark shadow. 

What lighting equipment do you need?

Whether you’ve just got your first camera and want to explore lighting techniques or you’re looking to refine your skills, you might be wondering what sort of lighting equipment is best.

While the following items aren’t mandatory, and you can achieve wonderful results with your camera on its own — especially if you’re keen to try street photography — they’re ideal for those hoping to experiment with lighting. 

• LED lights are an affordable beginner’s option, and they provide the opportunity to adjust your lighting brightness and temperature to achieve an array of effects.
  
  
• A reflector is handy for bouncing light onto your subject, softening shadows, or adding warmth to your image.
  
  
• Diffusers, like softboxes, spread light evenly, creating a gentle, flattering effect.
  
  

If you're unsure which tools suit your style, hiring a photography studio is a brilliant way to explore your options. Our Photography Studio at the FUJIFILM House of Photography is equipped with everything you need to get professional results. 

With a two-light Profoto set-up, Rotolight Neo 3 kits, and large softboxes, our studio is all rigged and ready to go. This hands-on experience allows you to explore various lighting techniques and discover what works best for your creative vision.

Find out more about our photography studio hire options. 

Common photography lighting challenges 

Lighting can be a tricky beast to tame in photography and you may face some challenges at first. However, as you become more familiar and confident with your photography skills, you’ll be able to recognise when your lighting conditions need tweaking. 

Here are some common issues you may encounter:

1. Low lighting

Whether you’re photographing a dusk landscape or capturing pictures at an evening celebration, low lighting can make getting sharp, clear images difficult. 

To counteract low lighting, you could try increasing your camera’s ISO. You could also lower your shutter speed to allow more light into your camera — don’t forget that you might need a tripod to help with stability. Depending on the circumstances, another option is to add some artificial light sources like a photography lightbox or an on-camera flash to illuminate your subject.

2. Harsh Sunlight

If you’re photographing outside on a sunny day, you may find that harsh natural lighting causes unwanted shadows and stark contrast. A diffuser can help soften the light and reflectors can create a more balanced exposure by bouncing light into areas of shadow.

3. Colour casts

Depending on where you’re taking your photos, you may find that some artificial light sources cast a hue, distorting the colour of your image. Adjusting your camera’s white balance can help counteract any unwanted tints.

Explore the world of photography lighting with FUJIFILM House of Photography

No matter what photography style you enjoy, the right lighting can have a huge effect on your image results. If you’d like to learn more about harnessing light to develop your photography skills further, we have a range of photography courses and workshops to help guide you. 

Our expert-led photography workshops are designed to provide you with the theory and practical techniques you need to confidently refine your photography and express your creativity. 

From our Introduction to Portrait Lighting workshop to full Beginner Photography Courses, see what’s on at the FUJIFILM School and book your place.