Last month, I took an online photography class at BetterPhoto.com on Natural Lighting. I didn’t plan on posting my photos, but Thomas convinced me otherwise. There’s something different to me about photos that I submitted for homework and critique, than the photos I post on my blog. Honestly, most of my blog photos are snapshots – taken just to record my life. I try to make them into good shots, but most of the time, I’m using auto settings with aperature priority. All the extra thought and consideration I put into my class photos makes me feel more sensitive about them.

Still though, I said I’d share, so here goes…

Week 1′s lesson was to learn about the dramatic light at sunrise and sunset. I took the same shots at 6AM, 8AM, and 1PM to see how the lighting compared. I was a little rushed so I’m not completely happy with the photos I took, but I was able to identify the golden light hour.  For me, it was around 8AM.

Week 2′s assignment was moody lighting – working with fog, mist, rain, or artificial lighting. After a thorough critique on my first week, I used a tripod and thought about my photo settings this time.  I was very pleased with what I captured.

Week 3′s assignment was about backlighting, including silhouettes, transillumination, and rim lighting. Finding interesting subjects for this one was challenging, but I finally figured it out.

Week 4 was about window light and I think I got my best shot of the class for that week. Thomas graceously volunteered to be my model.  I sat him next to the front window during sunset and pulled a dark curtain behind him.  I got a few shots that I was really happy with.

Overall, I really enjoyed the class. I felt a little rushed trying to find time to go out and shoot, but I learned the lessons taught and picked up a bunch of other good tips. I’m thinking of trying another one of their classes this Summer – maybe child and baby portraits if I can find some volunteer models.  If you’d like to see some of the other shots I took during this 4-week class, I’ve posted them on Flickr:

• Natural Lighting Class (25 photos)

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1. Advent Candles in the Window
2. Swedish Class Dropout
3. Bird Class Bookmark
4. Spot Metering and Manual Mode