Natural light headshot photography

Romeo felt VERY strongly about Juliet.

Troilus had more than a passing interest in Cressida.

Lady, I am reliably told, was head over heels for the Tramp.

But there is a new love in town—a new crush that may rival the poison-swilling, Greek-battling, spaghetti-sharing love affairs of old...

The gossip is true: I may well have fallen hard for shooting headshots for actors using nothing but natural light. There it is. I've said it. It's out there. The weight is lifted. Now, I'm not saying I've turned my back on using studio lights—perish the thought! Flash and LEDs will still be a large part of my workflow going forward, but I'm certainly excited at the moment about everything that natural light has to offer.

I moved to a new headshot studio space last year, and one of the main attractions was the large bay windows that I knew would be really useful for incorporating natural light into my headshot and portrait sessions. Quite a few people inquire about working with natural light, and for a while, I used to steer them toward the idea of a studio light setup or pass them on to other photographers who I knew preferred that medium (I know that sounds like bad business, but you've got to spread the love, right?). But NOW, my response to "Can we shoot with natural light?" is a powerful, resounding ABSOLUTELY.

The sun's rays can be fickle. The light changes all the time. Clouds drift in and out, and it seems like they don't always want to give you the easiest time of it, but all this helps keep you on your toes as a photographer. Throwing in an additional challenge just helps keep you sharp. Adding some natural light work to my headshot sessions has opened up new looks and feels in my work, and the slightly more "real" quality of light it offers gives people great options when selecting their photos.

Change is vital. Incorporating natural light into my headshot sessions has been a wonderful experience, and I'm really excited to see how my new romance with the sun's rays turns out. Will they? Won't they? Watch this space...