The light and airy photography style is widely popular throughout every niche in photography, and it's recognizable for its dreamy and bright qualities. It takes much more than editing to achieve this aesthetic, so we put together some tips to help you nail it 👇🏼
One of the most significant aspects of light and airy images is choosing the proper backgrounds and locations. Avoid placing your subjects against dense, dark greens or red brick buildings. Aim for light greenery with light filtering through or cream-colored buildings. Being aware of the tones in your surroundings will also impact your skin tones. To create light imagery, you need locations conducive to the style.
An understanding of light is essential no matter your style of photography. Even clean light is another piece of the puzzle to airy photos. Many photographers adore golden hour but shooting during this time makes everything very warm. Try beginning your session an hour or two before golden hour and see what you think! You'll still be able to capture a gorgeous glow, but the light won't be yellow. Backlight and sidelight are very dreamy and dynamic. Morning is also a perfect time for even lighting!
Another piece that ties it all together is styling your clients in neutrals or pastels. It lends a high-end, luxury aesthetic, and neutrals are far from boring when textures and subtle patterns are incorporated. Being intentional with every element in a session will take your work to the next level.
Even if you're a gear minimalist, using a reflector lightens the shadows in a way editing can't. It'll come in hand when working indoors or photographing flat lays. There are many options for affordable and easily portable reflectors. Take a comparison photo with it and then without, and you'll notice the difference! We know it's not ideal for wedding photographers when a getting-ready space is dark or has some crazy color decorations, so try to guide your clients to a neutral-colored wall with good light. It may be the most unlikely spot in the building, but you can create stunning images with good light and a blank wall!
Pro tip: Consider wearing white to sessions, and you've just created a natural reflector!
When photographing flat lays, use light-colored surfaces and set up in a bright space with natural light or outdoors under shade.If you're indoors, make sure any surrounding colors won't give off a color cast and that you turn off any overhead lights.
We all realize how important it is to get everything right in-camera, and shooting at a low aperture will give you creamy bokeh and allow more light in the frame. As we've talked about today, there's so much more that goes into creating a light and airy style than editing and getting everything right in camera exceeds only camera settings.
We hope you're excited to implement these tips and apply them the next time you pick up your camera!
