What is the best time of day for an outdoor portrait session?
What time should we schedule our session? I get this question frequently. The answer will typically depend on the location, family requirements, and the time of year. Miroslav Tichy, a famous Czech photographer, once said, "Photography is painting with light." Proper lighting is essential for quality images. To better understand light quality and how it relates to natural light photography, I will describe a few lighting scenarios.
Golden Hour is the best.
The ideal time to have your session is 1-2 hours after sunrise or right before sunset; the times vary by location and season. This time is the Golden Hour; it produces a beautiful natural light that is easy to work with. With this light, it is hard to overexpose or underexpose parts of an image, specifically a subject's face. The light is very even and has a beautiful golden hue because the light is softer, directional, and warm.
This softer type of light is flattering. The skin tones are warm and not washed out. The angle of the sun's rays allows for creative light effects such as rim lighting, backlighting, side lighting, silhouettes, sunbursts, and lens flares.
Overcast days are fantastic.
I bet you think the best time is when the sun is shining, but the opposite is true. The direct sun will be harsh, adding shadows and highlights that distract from the image's focal point. The intense sunlight also causes the subjects to squint and turn away from the camera. Clouds and an overcast sky are a photographer's best friend; they act as a giant diffuser that creates diffused light. Diffused light means a soft and even light is falling over your entire scene. The soft lighting condition smoothens the skin out, perfect for portrait photography.
Open shade works well in a pinch.
You can photograph in full sun, even at midday, that still allows you to get nice, soft, even light on your subjects—open shade. What is "open shade," you ask? Somewhere shaded from direct sunlight but has ambient light around it. Again we are looking to get out of direct sunlight and the powerful and harsh light to avoid unflattering shadows on the face. Open shade is created by anything casting a shadow on the ground and blocking out the direct sunlight. With the subject correctly placed in the open shade, the light is incredibly flattering and creates even, soft light on the face and beautiful catchlights in the eyes.
On location, no matter what time of day, my goal is to find the perfect lighting situation to help control the direction of light. I will highlight your family's natural features in the best way, ensuring everyone looks their best. No matter when your session is, we will work to get the proper lighting and fantastic images for you to cherish.
