Natural Light and the Small Wonders Map

I LOVE natural light.

It can be so soft and inviting that you want to linger in the image.  It wraps around the subject and almost makes them glow while producing equally soft shadows that can create an intimate-feeling moment.

Natural light pouring sideways through a window  is even better.

That great window light is a classic in creating mood while opening up faces so that you can see the eyes an expression of the people in your images. It is also, by the way, is a great way to take that harsh, unflattering midday light from outside and convert it into beautiful, usable illumination inside. 

The other day I used it to my advantage while shooting a press conference.

The event was to launch a business map of locally-owned businesses in the area. The map was produced by Local First Arizona, (yes, I am a member), an organization that promotes supporting locally owned businesses, while educating government and the public about the positive effects on the local economy of shifting your buying habits to support your neighbors. The goal of course is to create a healthier local economy. The map is one tool to promote that goal.

In the many, many press conferences I have photographed over the years, natural light is rarely a part of the toolbox. In fact, even with natural light, I might normally use a flash to fill things in. 

So, imagine my delight as I arrived to photograph a little Local First Arizona presser and found a wall of beautiful, soft, natural light flowing through the expansive front windows of the venue, the Calvin Charles Gallery in Scottsdale.
The gallery walls, painted bright white, only made things more amazing, further softening the soft light as they drew that light deeper into the gallery.

It was too great to pass up.

And so, leaving the flash off, I made my images of the pre-event mixing, the announcement and comments about the very real effects of buying local.

And, it turns out, the effects of photographing naturally had a nice effect on the images of a usually common-looking event.

Comments