Natural Light Fashion / Beauty Photography

Name: Natural Light Fashion / Beauty Photography
Rating: 4.0 (662 reviews)

Natural light is a popular way for fashion or beauty photography. We explore modern methods of natural light photography

Created byDon Giannatti

Last updated 5/2013

English

What you'll learn

At the end of this course, you should be very comfortable in all kinds of natural light situations.
Your fashion and beauty work will see significant improvement.
If you have experience in shooting, you will be able to add some additional tools to your arsenal of light.

Course content

14 sections • 35 lectures • 7h 33m total length

Welcome to the Natural Light Fashion & Beauty Workshop1:53
An Overview of Natural Light Fashion and Beauty Photography34:04
Welcome to the Natural Light Fashion and Beauty Class at udemy.
I am Don Giannatti, your instructor.
Please feel free to ask questions and to be involved as much as you wish with our Flickr forum - only for the photographers taking my classes here at UDEMY.
Natural light can be used in myriad ways, and this show of a few of my images will introduce you to the thinking that goes into making my decisions whether to use or how to use natural light.
I have a full compliment of strobes and tools, but choose natural light when it seems right for me to get the image I want to see.
The Workbook (Revised 12/27/12)25:00
Workbook for the course.

This document is revised when new content is added. I lowered the resolution to allow the document to be smaller to download. If anyone would like the hi-res version, let me know and we will set it up.

Introduction to the Natural Light Tools11:52
The tools we use are as important in natural light photography as they are in studio or flash photography. Each tool does a different thing.

I recommend the following:
Scrim (white shower curtain liner from Target or Kohls, or similar retailer. It is the cloth type with no decorations or imprints. Do not get plastic, many of them have phosphors that can actually turn the light bluish.
Stands - you can never have enough stands. You should also have some reflector booms to hold cards and scrims close to your subject without getting stands in too close.

Sand bags are very important as well.

A Five-in-One Reflector system: Gold / Silver / White / Gold and Silver with a diffuser inside is my first choice, but there are several other types to consider. I like the 43" size, and find that the smaller ones are just too small. There are larger as well, but they can be unwieldy in even a slight breeze. Buy two of the same size/brand when you purchase though. There will be times when you will want to have matching light sources.
White boards - fome core is a great material - to use for bouncing and flagging off the light.
Most of these tools are not expensive.

Looking for Interesting Sun10:58
This video shows how we can find interesting light, even in uninteresting places, and use it to our advantage. From dappled sunlight to all out full sun, there are ways to use natural light to its advantage... and ours.
Post Processing Red Jeans and Garage Door Shot (Lightroom)6:22
Post processing the red jeans / garage door in dappled light with Lightroom.
Post Processing Backlight Full Sun Shot in Photoshop5:49

A Simple Scrim6:02
Using a shower curtain for a scrim in direct sunlight provides a wonderfully soft source. We simply hung it on a rod and let the sunlight blast through it. Actually, the sunlight doesn't come through the scrim, it lights it up. Ivy then reflects this bright light source with her smooth, moderately reflective skin.
Post Processing the Simple Scrim Shot7:36
Using Photoshop to post process the image we shot.

Using a Shiny Gold Reflector for Effect13:42
Post-Process of Gold Reflector / Sun8:10
Post-Process of Gold Against Wall7:39
Post-Processing for a couple of different effects.
Post-Processing the Total Shadow Shot10:36
I was asked about this single shot we did of Briana to show how the scene looked without any additional light from the gold reflector. I decided to go ahead and process the image to show that it can still be a viable shot.

Soft Light in the Shade10:37
There are many ways to utilize soft, shade light. We start with no modification, then add some fill cards for opening the shadow side.
Choosing the Shot7:49
A look at how I edit to find the shot I want to use. Looking through the out-takes is as important a learning tool as looking at the best shots.
Lightroom Post Process of Beauty Shot8:27
We chose Lightroom for the post-processing this beauty image.

Requirements

Camera that allows the changing of aperture/shutter speed.
Two stands.
Two large pieces of white fome core (3x4 or 4x4) - optional 5-In-One Reflector
Several small sheets of white boards (fome core)
A Five-In-One Reflector with Gold, Silver and Diffuser as well as white.
A shower curtain liner (white cloth) from Target, Kohls, Walmart etc...
6 V-Clamps.

Description

There is something inherently beautiful about natural light. It can be soft and warm, or hard and unforgiving, or even have a sort of melancholy to it. These are the areas we will be looking at in this course.

Fashion and Beauty photography make use of natural light in many ways. A recent viewing of Vogue (October, 2012) reveals many natural light photography shots by up and coming and well established photographers. The techniques are not hard to understand, but still require the finesse and deliberate approach that is required when using artificial lighting.

We will look at natural light from all angles; full sun, modified sun, shade and moody, emotional light.

We will build some inexpensive modifiers for natural light, and also show how to correctly use white reflectors, silver and gold reflectors, scrims, mirrors, and more. These tools are not expensive, but the results they give can be astounding.

The natural light fashion/beauty photography course is divided into 12 lectures, each running approximately 30 minutes. There is a workbook, plans for building a scrim and large reflector, and lots of videos.

Most lectures include a shoot with the gear we are using, a Photoshop tutorial, the PSD file for viewing and a look at how the final images were selected. Looking at the images as they are shot, and then edited, is very powerful as a learning tool.

If you are interested in portraiture, fashion, beauty or glamour, this natural light photography course will open your eyes to the very cool ways you can use natural light to make your images.

The beauty photography course is suited to any level of photographer. I recommend a light meter, although we will also show you ways to use your camera meter as we go. A couple of stands would also be a good addition to your natural light arsenal.

This class also has over two hours of bonus content, with new content being added in May 2013 and June 2013.

Who this course is for:

You should be experienced in using your camera.
You understand f-stops and shutter speed as it relates to exposure.

Natural Light Fashion / Beauty Photography

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction to Natural Light Techniques3 lectures • 1hr 1min

Tools for Natural Light Fashion and Beauty Photography1 lecture • 12min

Building Reflectors and Light Panels2 lectures • 11min

Working in Direct Sun3 lectures • 23min

Adding Reflectors to Full Sun Natural Light2 lectures • 16min

Using a Scrim (Light Panel) in Direct Sun2 lectures • 14min

Using Shiny Reflectors4 lectures • 40min

Natural Soft Light in Shade3 lectures • 27min

Shadow Edge Light for a Cool Effect2 lectures • 16min

Beauty Shoot with Natural Light2 lectures • 18min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: