Have you ever wondered how photographers capture the magic of a moment, while others just look like any other photo?
As a natural light on location photographer, I don’t think you’ll find anyone quite as obsessed with the sun’s position and the weather conditions.
“Why?” I hear you asking.
Because light is everything in photography. The word “photography” even translates to “drawing with light” (Britannica, 2024).
But isn’t Light, Light?
To answer this fully I’m going to need to go into a few things in more detail, but let’s start off with the short answer.
No, light isn’t just “light”.
I definitely asked this question before I learnt about how the light changes throughout the day, and how various weather conditions can impact the light. And the more I learnt, the more I realised how much of a science approach there is to choosing locations, times of day and weather conditions to get the exact look you’re after.
While studio-based photographers can work year-round and achieve consistent results, photographers like myself aren’t quite so lucky. It’s why we generally have clauses in client contracts that allow us to move a session if needed to ensure we’re getting the best light possible (especially if we know the client is after a very specific look for their photos).
We want to make sure that we’re getting enough light from the sun to sufficiently light our subject, but we also don’t want harsh shadows. We often want the pretty “golden” look, not a bland blue sky. We may want fog, dramatic colours in the sky, or rainfall to create specific effects. Or we may be capturing something fast such as sports or other action sequences.
Each of these choices, needs or requests will need different locations, times of the day and potentially even the time of year. Are you curious about what my favourite type of light is?
Would you guess that it’s dawn along the Yarra River in my local area, in winter when the fog is rolling off the river (but there’s no rain).
Ok, let’s dive into the different types of light and weather conditions in more detail now.
Time of Day – A Quick Snapshot
This is the biggest factor for photographers, and often why we tend to work early mornings or late evenings.
When we do sessions in (roughly) the hour after sunrise or before sunset we can get a beautiful soft golden glow. This time of day is called “Golden Hour” and is a highly favoured time for photographers around the world. The light during this time of the day is often soft as it’s being filtered by the horizon and any tree, building or other elements between us and the sun. And it’s a really warm tone that many people enjoy seeing in photos.
During the day however, the light tends to become harsher and cooler. How harsh then depends on the weather conditions – but you do lose that glow that so many people love seeing on Instagram. Often photographers will avoid doing sessions from about (and I’m assuming we’re somewhere in October through to April in Victoria, Australia when I’m saying this) 9am through to about 5pm.
Not sure what I mean by that?
Below are three images taken in the exact same location, on the same day – one was taken around midday, one around 3 or 4 pm, and the other as the sun was setting. Before continuing, take a moment to carefully look at each photo.
Can you see a difference in the way the light is hitting the subject, how obvious the shadows are, how interesting the sky is and how the landscape looks different in each photo? And even the subject’s expression and body language?
Don’t forget to keep reading to find out more about how and why photographers may choose to do sessions in, or avoid sessions in certain times or weather conditions.
Golden Hour
Golden Hour is a special time of day, that depending on where you are and the weather conditions – you can get vastly different results. To see what I mean, let’s look at three different examples.
One of my favourite Golden Hour photo I’ve taken so far is of my own personal dog, Bones. I took this photo for the Glow Up Challenge in Embark in 2024 with the sole purpose of getting a beautifully backlit photo in Golden Hour, with enough ambient light (ambient light in natural photography refers to open sky that allows light, but the sun is generally behind the subject) to ensure I could maintain all the details in his face.
To get this photo, I had meticulously scouted a location that would have tree cover (dense to filter the light, but not so dense it’d block the light entirely) behind him and nothing but open skies in front of him (it also happens to be one of our local walking tracks). I also worked out what time we needed to be at that location to be ready for the light. In this case, we were there from about 6.45am through to 7.15am when I got the exact photo I was looking for. To get this exact lighting, I needed to take this photo within the minute or two the sun was in the right position. I know this because I was taking a new photo every 5 minutes to make sure I got the exact moment I wanted!
In comparison, this photo of Goose produced an unexpected golden glow that changed depending on the angle that I was facing. As we were in a creek at the bottom of a valley in Flowerdale with a steep bank and some tree cover on the eastern side and dense tree cover before a field and then a hill (almost a mountain) that the sun was setting behind. In some photos where I’m almost facing directly into the setting sun’s rays – you can see how all the water particles in the air are lit up, almost like a mist that wasn’t visible to the naked eye. With a slight change to get the sun further to my right, you lose that mist appearance entirely. And when facing even further away from the setting sun, the feel of the light lighting up the trees and the eastern bank becomes so soft and ethereal. All three of these photos were taken within a 5 minute span, making my rotation on the spot the only significant change between each photo.
For the final example, we’ll look at Cowboy at Brighton Beach during sunrise. With the steep bank and then houses blocking the rising sun, this Golden Hour photo looks very different to the above examples. While we’re missing that strong golden glow lighting the subject and its surrounds – we do get some amazing colours in the sky. You can see the sun’s glow hitting the trees in the background on the left, while also producing a soft peach coloured glow in the clouds. This is a much softer and subtler appearance of Golden Hour – which some may prefer to the more obvious golden hues.
Do you like Golden Hour photos? Let me know in the comments, and if there’s a particular reason you like them.
If a Golden Hour photo is something you’d like, it’s good to know how different it can look so you can speak to your photographer about the best locations to get the look you’re after. If you’re wanting that really deep golden glow that both Bones and Goose had, you’re going to be looking for flatter, more open areas that have some tree cover between the rising or setting sun and your subject. If you’d like the softer tones and more of a dramatic sky like Cowboy, you’ll be looking for locations that screen the rising sun more with big open areas (beaches are great for this) and some cloud cover (check down in the cloud cover section for more information on this).
Finally, if you’re wanting action photos along with Golden Hour photos – make sure you speak to your photographer to ensure there’s enough time while the sun is higher in the sky.
Clear Sunny Skies
Days where there’s no (or very few) clouds are generally considered to be a photographer’s worst nightmare for many locations. This is due to the full sun creating really harsh light and shadows. While it’s not always avoidable, it’s something I prefer to avoid wherever I can.
Sometimes going to locations such as Sunflower Fields can only happen during these harsher lighting times – such as Kiki and her owner Jocelyn. You can see in both photos some very obvious shadows that draws the eye away from where I want it going. In the one where Kiki’s paw is in Jocelyn’s hand – I want your eye going to that connection.
Instead, because of the shadows, it’s likely heading more towards the shadow of this moment because it’s much higher in contrast (contrast is the difference between light colours and tones and dark colours and tones, here, the skin is a light colour and tone while the shadow is a dark colour and tone). In the photo of Kiki standing in a row of sunflowers, you can see a very clear shadow on her chest from her head and her eyes are more hooded as she naturally squints a little to protect them from the sun.
The exception to this is when you’re wanting action photos. Due to the high shutter speed (shutter speed refers to how long the “eye” of the lens is open to allow light in to create the image in the camera) often required for action (I typically use 1/2500 of a second or faster for action compared to just 1/500 of a second for portraits) there needs to be lots of light. Remember how I said that photography is drawing with light?
Well, the faster the shutter speed is, the less light is able to come in to create the image. Therefore, really bright sunny days are perfect for action as we need as much light as possible coming into the camera to allow us to set our shutter speeds at crazy fast speeds. The first photo below was taken at 1/2000th of a second (this is slower than I usually like for action due to the forest location and Golden Hour time), and the second photo was taken at 1/3200th of a second.
If you’re wanting action photos taken, make sure you tell your photographer so they can recommend the right location, time of day – and in some cases time of year to ensure you get the best results possible. Other times where these clear sunny skies are beneficial is when the photographer’s style is lighter and airier – so if you like this style, you’ll want a photographer who prefers this type of light.
Overcast Weather
While overcast weather will prevent Golden Hour from being super pretty, it’s one of the best lighting situations to do day sessions in. That little bit of consistent cloud cover dissipates the strength of the sun creating a really nice soft, even light source that creates next to no shadows. While this isn’t typically available in the summer months, in the cooler months overcast weather enables sessions to occur throughout the day.
Additionally, angles that are inaccessible due to flare (flare is when the sun is shining directly into the camera lens creating a bright spot, or sometimes multiple spots, in the photo) and harsh lighting conditions can now become accessible. For instance, in city and other urban environments there are certain angles that can’t be used (regardless of how pretty the scene looks to our naked eye) without cloud cover as the sun will create harsh shadows that ruin the photo. Typically with shadows of objects such as hand railings, bins and pedestrians. Where I’d typically remove a lot of these in the editing phase, the more you need to remove the more you compromise the quality of the photo. Therefore making overcast days a great option for sessions in these busier environments, such as Southbank, Docklands and around Flinders Street Station.
When I run Seasonal Mini Sessions I actually prefer overcast days as it enables me to provide really consistent work for all my clients. For example, Buckley the Cocker Spaniel could only have a session in mid-afternoon for her Japanese Cherry Blossom session to work within her owner’s work schedule. Thanks to the overcast skies we were able to get a really consistent light falling on her face regardless of the direction we had her facing.
In comparison, if you’re wanting the Golden Hour look, overcast days may not be the best option – as you can see with Kobe here. While there are hints of the golden light coming through the forest behind her, it’s mostly obscured by the cloud cover and forest. Knowing that this would happen, we purposely had our session late in the afternoon to end as Golden Hour was starting to happen to ensure we had enough light to get some great forest photos.
Have you tried taking photos on an overcast day? How did you find it? Was it harder or easier than you expected to get a nice photo?
If you’re wanting to get photos taken at a location that could have some problematic shadows, or you’re only able to do a session during the day time. Booking your session, or being flexible enough to move to a day that’s overcast will be your best bet at a consistently lit Gallery to select photos from.
Cloud Cover
Cloud cover is a weather condition that can be hit or miss if you’re not sure what you’re looking for. Any photographer whose style is bright, airy and relies on a lot of natural light will generally prefer not to do sessions when it’s cloudy as the light won’t work for their editing style. On the other hand, some photographers will only work when it’s cloudy.
Since I live and work in Melbourne, and my style isn’t light and airy, cloud cover doesn’t bother me too much. While I might opt to bring along a small artificial light to help add some oomph to the lighting situation when I need it. I choose to work with the lighting and weather when composing and editing sessions when there’s cloud cover.
In fact, I sometimes purposely opt to do sessions on days with cloud cover to get a really dramatic sunrise or sunset in the sky. Depending on how much cloud cover there is, you could get hints of peachy tones in the sky like Cowboy at Brighton Beach at sunrise. Or a much more eye catching and dramatic sky like Brady.
Brady’s sunset was so spectacular that we got a second angle to show the transition from the warmer tones where the sun was setting through to the cooler twilight tones in the east.
If you’re thinking you’d like a more dramatic sky, finding a location that will ensure it’s easily visible and having a session on a day that’s chillier and potentially going to rain a little will give you the best chance at the fluffy clouds. The fluffier the clouds, the better they glow. For the location, beaches, hill tops and really large open fields are your best option to avoid pesky buildings like Brady has in the background.
Have you taken some dramatic sunrise or sunset photos with the clouds all lit up? I’d love to see them, just tag me when you post them on social media (@malonephotographyau on Instagram).
Rain
There’s not a lot of people who actively enjoy going out in the rain, and there’s quite a few people who feel that photographers can’t work if it’s raining. While there are certainly some considerations and accommodations to make if it’s raining, it’s not impossible to capture photos in the rain.
One of the things I like about rainy days is that it can add a really different mood to the scene and the photos – as Nash the Coolie demonstrated while at the Sir Alfred Nicholas Memorial Gardens while it was absolutely pouring. With the waterproof cover on my camera I was able to still run the session, and we fully embraced the typical Dandenong Ranges rainforest vibe. Instead of trying to edit his photos like I did for Cowboy or Brady, I highlighted the unique ways that rain can change a location. For example, in the first photo where the rain is obvious in the lake, I highlighted each and every raindrop in the sky to really enhance our ability to see each raindrop. In comparison, the second photo was a bit more sheltered under tree cover so I focused on the rich colours and subtle light shining down onto Nash.
If you’re thinking that a darker, moodier kind of artwork is what you’re looking for – I’d highly recommend making sure your dog is comfortable in wet weather. Also, not all photographers will work in the rain so it’s best to check with photographers before booking if you specifically want these kinds of photos.
For anyone with a reactive dog who’s considering a session with me, rainy days are a great option as the rain will keep a lot of people home. So long as your dog is comfortable in the rain, it’ll give us a lot more space to work in and give you more options to get photos in locations you may not have thought possible before. Can you think of any locations that would be better for you to explore on a rainy day?
Summary
All in all, no – not all light is equal. Depending on the time of day and year, and the weather conditions. Each session a photographer does can look vastly different from each other.
If you’ve seen a particular type of photo that you’d like to get done, make sure you discuss this with the photographers you’re looking at ahead of time. It may even be best to show them what you’d like so they can let you know if they’re comfortable or able to do this. That way, you can make sure that you’re hiring someone who can create the type of photos and artwork you want, before you commit to spending money with them.
As someone who’s born and raised in Melbourne, I’m very much used to all weather conditions – and the fact that they can pop up randomly throughout the year. Add onto that my own experience with a reactive dog, and I know sometimes the weather conditions that most people avoid (aka cold mornings and rainy days) are the best times to go out and try and do the things I really want to do. Like getting a photoshoot with my dog!