Something I am asked a lot, is how do you get your photo’s so bright and light? So I figured I would do a blog post on how I get my photographs light, white and airy looking. If you aren’t into this particular style of photography this post might not be for you, there are so many different types of photography but mine seem to have fallen into the category of bright, clear and light. That’s just how I like my images to look.
I actually cannot stand sunlight when it comes to photography, 99% of the time.
Bright sunlight is actually a pain in the butt for me, I don’t like the shadows it often creates.
I usually take all of my blog photographs on slightly overcast days in front of a large window, I only use natural lighting, I tried soft-box lighting but I wasn’t a fan. Natural light is half of the battle, my iPhone camera photo’s can look seriously professional quality in the right natural light.
If you want the elusive ‘blurry background’ without having to use an editing tool you may want to purchase a 50mm lens or 40mm lens that will create this gorgeous depth of field for you.
Manual camera settings
ISO: The iso setting simply means how sensitive the camera is to light. The lighter and brighter a room is, the lower you can have your iso setting.
Aperture: Think of aperture as a little hole in the lens, that determines how much light is allowed through that hole. This is measured in something called f stops. The lower the f stop (number) = the more light allowed through the lens which results in bright photos.
iPhone photo apps
Afterlight, instagram and VSCO cam are all great for editing photographs on your iPhone!
Desktop photo editing
Pixlr and Picmonkey. (both free to use!)
Tips and tricks
When whitening and brightening photos, sometimes black or dark objects can look ‘washed out’ simply increase the ‘shadows’ and this will bring them back to a vibrant black shade and will create a nice contrast again the white.
Increase brightness and ‘highlights’ to lighten and brighten whites, then reduce the temperature to ‘cool’ down the photo and take away the yellow warmth which can create an unwanted tinge, increase shadows, then sharpen and you’re good to go! Ta-dah!
What do you think of my tips? Please let me know some of your own in the comments or any app suggestions – I am always downloading and trying out new ones for iPhone and instagram photographs!
I’m definitely going to try playing with the ISO and Aperture settings on my camera! Thanks for the tips 🙂 x
Your photos are always beautiful – I’m so useless at photography so any tips are greatly appreciated! Fab and useful post 🙂 x
Josie | Sick Chick Chic
These are really good tips, thank you! I’ve always assumed bright daylight is best but I agree that the shadows can then be quite dark, I’ll definitely be trying things this way when I next take some photos 🙂
http://www.madeleineslittleblog.blogspot.co.uk
This so so very helpful! I prefer shooting in natural lighting and cloudy days as opposed to bright blaring sunny days haha xx
Lauren | itslaurenvictoria.blogspot.co.uk
Definitely a useful post! I love the white simplistic look to photos so always looking for tips and tricks in how to create the perfect white and simple photo. Having the desktop programs really helps too and I will definitely be downloading them!
http://www.pagefromsbeth.blogspot.co.uk
I have never thought of increasing the shadows!
Laila from Townhouse Palette
Fab tips, thank you. Going to try these out on my next shoot tomorrow
http://www.yankified.com
Love these tips, thanks for sharing the free desktop editing software!
xo, alice / T Y P E N U
With Lightroom, you can edit individual colours, so I like to desaturate Yellow. My favourite time of day to take pictures inside is in the early morning when it’s light out but not harsh 🙂 -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s
Your photos have always been my all time favourite photos so a tips post is so appreciated 🙂 xx
Sam // What I Know Now
I swear by the VSCO app for brightening my photos. & generally all editing for all my photos! It’s such a dream of an app. I also love how simply you explain ISO & aperture! Brilliantly put 🙂
Katie // Words By Katie
Brilliant tips – i’m definitely going to give these a go.
Rachael at broomfie.blogspot.com
I’m hopeless with photography and these tips really helped! Thank you! xx
http://hannahnotes.blogspot.co.uk/
Great tips! I’m still learning how to customize my Iso settings on my camera! Brighter pictures are just so much more appealing.
JennyLovesBeauty♥
Great tips. Your photos look always so beautiful!
Jana // Life of Jana
I have much to learn about ISO and Ap settings, but am trying to learn to play with them so my photos can look better in different lights. I agree sunlight can actually make it much harder to take a great photo. Love this post!
http://mylovelierdays.com
These are really great tips, I really need to start learning more about ISO and aperture on my camera! Also love Instagram and Afterlight for editing iPhone photos!
Millie x // Millie’s Wardrobe
Your photos are always amazing! Love how airy they look!
http://Www.thebeautydojo.com
This was so helpful. I have heard quite a few people talk about Afterlight I need to download that ASAP.
Trecee
I only shoot with auto mode but I really want to start exploring the manual setting. Thank you for the tips 🙂
What Sarah Writes
Such a helpful post! Thanks for sharing x
ALittleKiran | Bloglovin
Amazing blog post, I will be picking up a lot of tips from this. Thanks hun
CharlotteSamantha // http://www.charlottesamantha.co.uk
Easy, simple and well explained, thanks!
I absolutely love this style of photography!
This is really useful! I love a bright/light style to photos. Makes everything look a bit more cheery 🙂 H x
This was such an interesting and useful read! I always struggle to take very bright and sharp photos, so your blogpost comes in very handy!
xx
Jenny | Pretty as Summer
His was so nice and helpful and love your photography style. I’ve been experimenting a lot lately myself.
Jackie | fashionxfairytale |
I brought this camera on recommendation by you and I love it!! And I’ve been desperate for a simple explanation on ISO and aperture so thank you so much!! Very helpful xxx
Just what I’ve been wanting to know how to do, getting to grasp with the editing and what I can do there to brighten them up at the moment but might try and alter my camera settings after reading this! Xx
Emily | http://www.emilyrhodes.co.uk
Most times I just use my phone to edit pictures because it’s easier but I feel like digging out my DSLR and when it comes to reviews using that instead… purposely for quality reasons too.
Thanks for the tips as I’ll bear them in mind!
xo
Brilliant post, your photos are always so pretty and that’s down to the content of them too 🙂
I love the super shallow depth of field and bright photos. What do you do on the days you need to take photos, but it’s a bit too sunny?
I often forget about adjusting the temperature – thanks for this reminder! I love my 45 mm Olympus PEN lens – it’s made all the difference for getting that depth.
Such a great post thanks for the tips! Xx
http://www.laneyslooks.com
I love your photos so I’m going to try these tips, simple but effective 🙂
I am totally going to be trying this out as I am seriously trying to achieve an Instagram feed like yours.
ThinkEvelyn x
thanks for the tips ! playing with these parameters and adjusting the values to see what works best is definitely the key !
http://www.clairetalksbeauty.com/