How to Take Professional Images on a Budget - Playing with Light
Many people that enter into the field of photography assume that in order to take great images you need expensive equipment. This idea is false. The truth to this statement is that more expensive camera gear makes it easier to take great images. You might have heard the saying before, 'the best camera is the one you have with you'. Great images can still be had with budget friendly photography equipment. Today I would like to explain this concept while also giving some great tips that will help you take professional looking images on a tight budget.
The very best tip I can give anyone who has dreams of becoming a photographer is to learn your equipment. In order to take great images you need to have a great understanding of your equipment. You need to know what a final image will look like before you take the shot. By using budget/entry level gear, you will get a better understanding of how photography equipment works. With budget gear you will need to work a little bit harder to get that amazing image, which in turn will force you to better understand your gear.
One of the biggest factors to make any good image great is to shoot in good light. By 'good light' I mean light that is evenly dispersed and not too harsh. Shooting outside in early morning or afternoon hours while the sun is not at its highest point in the sky is a great time to start shooting. PhotoMeIke also explains this quite well in some of his YouTube videos. (PhotoMIlke - Natural Light Photography Tips). Shooting in good light helps prevent blown out areas on the subject (which is a loss of all the detail of the image. This results as an ugly white spot in the final product.)
Another key factor to understand in photography is how to work with shadows. Which is actually very similar to shooting in good light, however, in this instance it's either adding or removing light from the subject. If you add light you are eliminating shadows. Similarly, if you remove or reduce light you are creating shadows.
Let's first discuss how to eliminate shadows, in which there are several ways to remove shadows from a subject. One budget friendly method is to use some sort of reflector. They have reflectors that you can purchase from any local photo store or online for relatively cheap. Buying a photography reflector isn't necessary though, as any white reflective object can function as a reflector. Different items such as white poster/foam board works well. If your subject is small enough, you can even use white printing paper as a reflector.
Once you have your reflector it's pretty self explanatory on how to use it. Position the reflector in a position that reflects the sunlight onto the surface of your subject. Direct the light in the direction of the shadows that you want removed. Be careful to assure the reflector stays out of the frame.
Now that you know how to eliminate shadows, let's try to create some shadows.
Basically, to create shadows you do the exact opposite method to eliminate them. Use the same principle as you did to create the reflector, however, this time use a dark black object. You can use a black poster/foam board or a thick black cloth for example. Just as you positioned the reflector, you can position the black reflector to create shadows where they are desired on the subject.
These are all the tips I have for you today. I hope you enjoyed my tips on creating professional looking images on a budget by playing with light. Try these techniques and see how they work for you. You can also try adding and eliminating shadows on the same subject to create a very dramatic look. I hope these little tricks helped you to improve your photography. If you would like, go ahead and share below other tips that have helped your photography improve and how my techniques have worked for you.
Thank you for taking the time to enjoy reading my blog! If you would like to see more of my work you can see my portfolio here and my shopping gallery here. If you have further questions or would like to work with me you can contact me here. I hope to see you again you on the next one!
