Five Lighting Techniques for Photographers

Open shade, not direct sun — a doorway or a tree line does more for a portrait than any diffuser. Backlight for texture: hair and veils come alive with the sun behind the subject.

Window light indoors beats any flash for getting-ready photos. Golden hour is generous but brief — protect it with a schedule, not a prayer. And when none of that is available, a single bounce off a white wall still beats a flash pointed straight at a face.