10 ways to use summer light
Summer is an incredible time of year to get outside and add to your photography portfolio. The days are longer so there’s plenty of time to make use of any glorious summer sunshine. There are opportunities after sunset and on overcast days, too.
Summer provides an incredibly versatile range of lighting conditions, as its colour and strength changes throughout the day. Using inexpensive accessories such as diffusers and coloured reflectors, you can manipulate the light further for creative results. In this feature, you’ll learn ten ways to make the most of shooting in the summer, from heading out at dusk or dawn for beautiful golden lighting, to pointing your camera towards the sun to fill your images with an artistic flare.
At the time of going to print Covid-19 restrictions are starting to ease, but even if you are faced with restrictions in your area you should still be able to explore with your camera by yourself as part of your daily exercise, or with photography friends if you keep to social distancing guidelines. It’s even possible to arrange portrait shoots with models providing you follow the current Covid guidelines and maintain a distance.
Over the next few pages, we’ll be delving into the best ways to shoot and edit spectacular summer images, problem-solving some of the key challenges when the sun and contrast are high, and giving you some inspiration to shoot your best summer scenes yet.
1 Shoot in the golden hour
Sunrise and sunset boast the most popular light for landscape pros, characterised by long
