As most of you know, about 2 years ago I decided to make the switch from natural light to studio light. There were a few reasons for me making this change…. mainly from my frustrations of working in my studio space that had very inconsistent light. Some times the light would be good, some days it would be really really dark. The colour temperature would change throughout a session, the changing direction of the light. Having to move baby instead of being able to move the light. The list goes on!
I took the fantastic online studio lighting course run by the Milky Way. I brushed the dust off my studio lights, put on my big girl pants, and dove into the world of studio light photography and haven’t looked back! I feel like my images have improved dramatically since that time and I don’t feel that dread in my stomach when I have a client coming and it’s a miserable dark day outside.
But, in the photography community I still feel like there is an extra badge of honour for natural light photographers. That somehow their work is more… i dunno “natural”… a bit like organic vs non-organic milk. That perhaps because I’m not using the sun’s natural rays as it comes into our atmosphere that I’m somehow less of an artist….
I’ve really got to thinking though…. can my clients tell the difference between images photographed in natural light vs studio light?
Studio light vs Natural Light
My genuine “a ha” moment about studio light photography came when I finally lost the fear I had about studio lights and realised that the knowledge I had about light was the same irrespective of the light source. So long as the white balance is right and you have a light modifier to make the light lovely and soft, light is light is light. It didn’t really matter whether it was coming from my window with sheer curtains to make it soft, or from my huge softbox, the rules about the direction of light are the same. The only important difference was that with studio light I had far more control and consistency. Used in the correct way, I truly believe you can’t tell the difference between natural and studio lit photos.
Some people are devout natural light enthusiasts, but if you are struggling with consistency in your work, I HIGHLY recommend doing the Illuminate Studio lighting e-course with the Milky Way. Take the fear out of studio lighting and you’ll never look back!
