TIPS FOR WINTER SHOOTING IN A NATURAL LIGHT STUDIO
TIPS FOR SHOOTING AT CSS IN THE WINTER
Shooting at CSS in the winter is kind of the best. Even on the cloudiest, rainiest days, there is STILL some of the most gorgeous light around. Tooting our own horn a bit, yes, but we’re so happy about it because all that means is YOU’VE GOT IT MADE!!
This winter, you’re going to have so much fun shooting in the studio! But, just incase your session runs a bit over and the sun has gone down, here are a few tips to extend your shoot time at CSS!
PLAN AROUND TIME OF DAY
The light at CSS is just radiant! You can expect to get brilliant light from about 9:30am -4pm in the winter, and 9:30 am - 7:30 pm in the spring/summer months. You can absolutely shoot before or after those times if you know how to use studio lights. In the morning you can still have wonderful light it’s just not as brilliant and glowy.
USE THE V-FLATS!
We have 2 great V-flats (Click here to watch!) in the space that make bouncing light SO easy! Our tip? Use it with close up portraits or a big family group. Place the v-flat on the opposite side of the windows. The white foam will bounce all the light on your subjects as though there is another window on the other side.
STAY WHERE YOU ARE
If you’re a bit nervous and feeling overwhelmed, don’t be afraid to keep your subjects where the light is awesome and stay there! Shoot from different angles and vantage points using the same light. We have to admit though, the light is good almost everywhere!
LEARN TO USE FLASH
Knowing the basics of studio lighting will benefit you greatly even if you’re a natural light only photographer. We have some some video tutorials showing you how to easily use one light as bounce in the winter months to extend your shooting times in the evening. Our best advice if all else fails? Point the light away from your subject and bounce the light off of one of the white walls in the space. That will produce even, clean light that will brighten up the space if the sun has gone down and you’re still shooting.
A FEW OTHER TIPS:
Up your ISO: Doing this will increase the light let in toy our photos but be careful! Too much will result in grainy photos (thats not always a bad thing)
Lower your shutter speed: ( if you do this, try slowing down the shutter speed to 1/60 or 1/125 but be careful with movement. Try using a tripod to capture movement on purpose and make it look “artsy”...do this on purpose.
Open Up your Aperture: (Opening up your aperture has lots of benefits anyway, so if you’re having trouble with low light at the end of your shoot, open your F-stop as wide as it can be to let in alllll the light.)
We hope you have an amazing time shooting at CSS this winter! Want to learn more about the space? Head to all these amazing links to learn how to use v-flats, studio camera settings, and more!
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