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QUICK GUIDE TO
NATURAL LIGHT
POWERFUL PHOTOS IN
ANY LIGHTING CONDITIONS

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 INTRODUCTION
Natural light is often talked about in terms of good or bad. But this view is very simplistic
and limiting. It’s much more practical to see natural light as a tool for communicating
visually. You’ll understand exactly what I mean as you look through the pages of this
guide.

I’ve found it very helpful to mentally organise natural light into different types or
kinds. This makes it so much more manageable. Each type of light is more ideal for
communicating particular things.

This PDF guide will take you through the most common types of natural light. It’ll give
you ideas for how you can use it creatively. The ultimate aim is to be able to make
powerful photos in any lighting conditions outdoors.

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 FROM & ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Travel/documentary photographer. Panasonic

Lumix ambassador. Publications range from
Nat Geo Traveler to Vanity Fair. Prints in
private photo collections worldwide, museums
and embassies. 

I’m Mitchell Kanashkevich. Travel/documentary photography is my life. Over much of the

past decade, I’ve spent 9 months a year on the road, exploring and searching. Seeking out
cultures and traditions that are unique, and those spontaneous moments of magic.

I’m a life-long learner and there is so much that I gain from my journeys. When I’m not
traveling, I have the urge to share the lessons I’ve learned and to create these kinds of
ebooks and video resources.

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GOLDEN HOUR LIGHT

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 This is the light around the hour
of sunrises and sunsets. It’s great
for making almost anything look
beautiful. Even something usually
considered ugly, like these old
Soviet factories.
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During the golden hour, all the
colours are vivid and lively. There’s a
the pleasant golden tint.

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 This light is very flexible in relation to
creating a sense of mood. On the one
hand, it’s perfect for communicating
warmth, happiness, an overall positive feel.

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On the other hand, the interplay
of shadow and light is great for
evoking a sense of drama.

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Since the sun is close to the horizon during
this time, it can backlight your subjects.
This is great for silhouettes. Silhouettes can
give your images a different kind of feel. A
minimalist, graphic appeal.

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HARSH LIGHT AROUND THE MIDDAY HOURS

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This light works particularly well when you want to show hardship or
tough living conditions.

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The harsh, bright light is great
for communicating raw, gritty
and unfiltered reality.

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This light is the opposite of glamorous. Depending on
where you are in relation to the sun, textures can look
very prominent. Wrinkles and any skin imperfections
become really noticeable. Sometimes that’s exactly
what you want, other times – not.

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Beautiful subjects and scenery
of nature still look beautiful
under this light. But everything
will have a rough edge to it.

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If you want to convey beauty under the harsh light
around midday, it’s ideal to focus on beauty in
textures. This image is a good example of what works.

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LIGHT ON OVERCAST DAYS
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 To make the most of these lighting conditions it helps to make the
weather a prominent part of your photos. Almost like it’s a character.

On its’ own, light on overcast days generally creates little emotional

impact. It’s flat and neutral.

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Under dark skies, it can cast a greyish tint, but
often it doesn’t cast any tint on the colours.

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If detail is important to what you want to communicate, the flat and neutral qualities can be great.
Here, for example, the story is in the details. No shadows. No tint. No distractions. The photo
doesn’t hit you on an emotional level. But, it definitely draws you in with its’ clear sense of story.

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What else is worth shooting in this light?
Subjects that are interesting in themselves. Characters.
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Some sort of action happening. Or, sometimes, you might want
to convey sadness, melancholy. A sad expression photographed
under this light will most definitely evoke that sort of mood.

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TWILIGHT
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Can cast different types of tint. From blue, to the
colour of the sky, which changes depending on
various conditions.
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During twilight the sky can be very dramatic. Sometimes
it can be awe-inspiring. It some cases, no matter what
you’re shooting, the image will be about the light-and-
colour-show in the sky before anything else.
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 When the sky is darker and bluish,
it’s easier to associate this light with a
sense of mystery, mystique.
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The darker stages of twilight can really minimalize
detail. These conditions make for poetic kinds of
photographs. Our photos can become suggestive
rather than literal – what poetry is often like.
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LIGHT ON FOGGY DAYS
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Light in these conditions is very
atmospheric and creates a
strong sense of mood.
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When the fog is thick – the light
is very soft. Everything is neutral
or grey, similar to overcast days.

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The difference from light on overcast days? When you get further
away from your subject in the fog, you lose detail. This can be amazing
creatively. You can make evocative, minimalist images. Again, as with
twilight, photos that are perhaps somewhat poetic – suggestive, rather
than literal.

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The fact that details can fade and dissapear also means that you
can position yourself in a way to make distracting elements fade
into the background.

In this scene there’s actually a lot happening behind the children. All
those elements would be distracting. It would all be a mess visually.
The fog is what makes the photo work.

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To take advantage of light on foggy days it really helps to
make the fog prominent in the photo. Often in my travel
photos the fog is as much a subject as a person might be.

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When rays of the morning sun illuminate the fog clouds, things
can look really magical. You feel compelled to shoot something.
Almost anything can look amazing in these conditions.

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LIGHT AS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE PHOTO
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 Sometimes the lighting scenario is so striking that the light is like a
character in its’ own right. For me, the fog is almost always like that.

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I also love scenarios where light interacts with
elements like smoke, water and dust. You can get
very evocative images out of those situations.

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Realistically, more often than not, experimenting won’t lead to anything worthwhile. The
main value in experimenting is that you learn from mistakes. But, also, when all things
come together you are giving yourself a chance to create some really memorable and
special images.

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You might have found out about this ebook from my Youtube video. If that’s the case, thanks for watching it. If you haven’t seen
it yet, do check it out. You’ll find it very informative.

The educational material that I make is aimed at making you a better, thinking photographer who makes more than snapshots.

If you want to improve your photography. To create photos that convey feelings and tell stories. Photos that are powerful. Then
– check out my video course. It’s called Behind The Scenes Travel Photographer Of The Year Winning Portfolio. The course
is the closest thing to a blueprint to award-worthy photos.

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mitchellk-photos.com