Capturing mood and atmosphere in your photos is not only an essential part of the capture process, but it’s also an important part of post-production.
Capturing Mood and Atmosphere in Your Photos
Capturing mood and atmosphere in your photos is not only an essential part of the capture process, but it’s also an important part of post-production. As professional photographers, we know how to use light and shadow to create moods that make our images stand out from the crowd.
There are a number of ways you can capture good mood and atmosphere in your photos:
Use natural lighting
Natural lighting creates soft shadows which help add depth and dimension to your photographs. This type of lighting is best for creating images with a romantic or emotional feel.
Don’t just rely on color
Color isn’t everything when it comes to capturing mood and atmosphere in your photos; other elements such as tone, texture and perspective can contribute just as much (if not more) towards
Don’t Overthink It
The first thing to remember is that mood and atmosphere are not things that need to be captured in an overly technical way. The best way to capture them is by just being yourself and letting the camera do its job!
Find Your Light
Lighting is probably the most important aspect of capturing mood and atmosphere in your photos. If you’re shooting outdoors on a sunny day, try using a reflector or diffuser to create some shade so that you don’t get harsh shadows on your subject’s face. If you’re shooting indoors under artificial lights, try experimenting with different positions until you find where they look best — perhaps over by the window or next to the kitchen sink?
Use natural light whenever possible.
Natural light will produce more flattering results than artificial light, which can often look too harsh or shadowed when it’s used indoors. Natural light also tends to create more interesting colors than artificial lighting does because different types of light produce different colors (for example, fluorescents tend to produce greenish tones).
Shoot With a Neutral Background
A neutral background will help keep attention focused on your subject rather than distracted by busy patterns or colors behind them (unless those patterns or colors are part of their outfit!). If possible, choose an off-white color for walls and floors that won’t compete with their outfit.
Find a good location
The first step is to find a location that fits with the mood you want to create. In this case, I wanted to create an eerie feeling so I went out looking for an old building that was abandoned or looked like it could be haunted. This can be anything from an old barn or house, to a deserted town or even just some trees in the woods.
Once you have found your location, take some test shots to see what works best before you start shooting for real. The main thing here is trying to get the right angle and lighting conditions so that you can capture any shadows or light streaks that will help give your photo an eerie feel. Once you have found this angle, make sure you take lots of different shots from different angles so that when you edit them together they appear seamless and natural looking.
Use a wide aperture.
A shallow depth of field creates an image that looks out of focus, which can add to the feeling of mystery or intrigue. Use a small aperture (f/16 or f/22) for greater control over depth of field, or use large apertures (f/1.8 or f/2) for shallow depth of field effects.
Take advantage of shadows and silhouettes.
Shadows present opportunities for creative photography by creating shapes and patterns that can add interest to otherwise flat scenes (for example, trees against the sky).
Shadows can create some amazing shapes in your photos so look for opportunities to use them creatively. For example, if you have a long shadow on something like a building or tree branch then take advantage of it by having your subject stand close by and have them look towards it with their eyes slightly closed creating an interesting silhouette effect that will add depth to your image!
Shoot during golden hour.
Golden hour is the time of day just after sunrise or before sunset when the sun is low on the horizon. You’ll notice that there’s a beautiful glow on everything around you at this time of day, which can make for some stunning photos!
Know Your Subject
It’s important to know what type of mood or atmosphere you’re going for before shooting. If possible, try to get some reference photos so that you have something to compare your work against later on. This way, you’ll know if your photo is getting close to what you want or not.
Capture the Light
When capturing the light in a scene, think about how it makes your subject look. If it’s bright and sunny outside, for example, then there will likely be harsh shadows on your subject’s face from the sun directly overhead; this is known as hard light because it creates very defined shadows that make objects appear very sharp and distinct from one another. In contrast, soft light produces more natural-looking images with fewer harsh shadows — it’s often more flattering for portraits because it gives subjects more definition around their features without making them look overdone or fake-looking.
Change your perspective.
Get down on the ground or up high on a ladder for an interesting perspective on your subject. Try different angles until you find something that makes the moment feel real.
Put yourself in the picture.
This is one of my favorite tricks for capturing emotion in my photos! If your subject is looking directly at you, snap a quick shot before asking them to do anything else (like smile). Then ask them to do what they were doing when you took the first photo and see how much more alive they look!