This is more of a photography basic than a microstock tool, but it is very essential to understand lighting in order to create images that will sell. Lighting can either make or break your photograph. Understanding light is one of the most important steps to good photography and will help you achieve your desired effect, mood and image quality.

Light Sources

Hard light: Hard light is light that comes from a small or apparently small light source. This type of light will create sharp harsh shadows on your subject. E.g. direct sunlight, the sun may be large, but to us it appears small. Bare light bulbs or flash bulbs also give a hard light effect.

Soft Light: Light that comes from a large light source in relation to your subject. E.g. light from the sky on an overcast day, big window light (netted curtains help) or a large softbox attachment for flash units.

Reflected Light: Light that has been reflected off an object and onto your subject. E.g. using a reflector to bounce light onto your subject. Most of the light that we perceive is reflected light.

Being able to identify the light source is key to creating good pictures. Through practice you will learn how to deal with each light source to create your desired effect. Try and combine different light sources into your photography to make it more dynamic.

Natural lighting tips

Try and avoid direct sunlight, especially at midday. This will create harsh shadows especially around the eyes and does not look good. If you have to shoot in direct sunlight, try and use it as a back-light to your subject and use a reflector to bounce light onto your model. This will soften the light on your subject.  Under exposing in direct sunlight will help you achieve better levels and color in your image. If possible try to shade your subject using a scrim or move them to an area that has some shade.

When shooting in overcast conditions try to overexpose your images a little. Soft light tends to decrease contrast so you may want to add contrast to these images in post-production or camera presets.

The best time of day to shoot outdoors is early morning or afternoon. This is also known as “Golden Hour”, when the light refracted through the atmosphere is warm and softer than at midday. A good way to understand natural lighting is to shoot at different times of the day and examine your results.

Studio Lighting

This is a very broad subject and I will just touch on it shortly. The ability to control lighting means the ability to create the type of image you want. Adding artificial light (flash or continuous) to your subject can simulate virtually any type of light source. There are multiple light shaping tools available to the studio photographer.

The first step in artificial lighting is the flash head. This is the unit that emits the light pulse when your camera shutter is triggered. The flash head has a bare bulb and therefore on its own will act as a hard light source.

Secondly, there are various types of attachments that you can add onto the flash head which disperse the light in different ways. Some will spread it soft and wide and others will concentrate the light into a beam. The combinations are limitless and you can really let your imagination run when it comes to using artificial light.

Using studio lighting as a means of isolating your subjects on white backgrounds can save you a lot of time in post-production. Have a look at how I have done this here with my simple lighting setup. I must admit that I am still a novice when it comes to studio lighting. I have not had any formal training or access to use any of the more advanced light shaping tools out there.  I learn what I can from online tutorials. One of my favorite sources of artificial lighting information is www.strobist.com and the associated Flickr Group where members share their lighting secrets.

The most popular microstock images of today follow a brightly lit theme. A lot of whites, light colors and vivid skin tones. Do your best to keep your images up to date with the current trends. This way you will have a higher chance at selling them.