How To Create A Bright Image

Whether you're a keen photographer or a blogger who enjoys taking photos for their blog, a bright image is something we all aim for and know looks a lot more aesthetically pleasing to our audience. It can be difficult to always achieve a bright image with things like the weather, lighting or using the wrong camera settings getting in the way. I know for me when it comes to taking photos for my blog or Instagram, I do struggle to achieve a bright image and have to rely on editing tools to help me out. But sometimes my images do come out bright with a good white balance and looking crisp. And not only is this such a good feeling when this does happen, but it also means I've been able to pick up some good tips and tricks to follow to even achieve this process to make it work in the way I want to. 

Shoot with a bright or white background - One of the easiest ways to achieve a bright image is to shoot with a bright or white background. This will help to add more light to images, especially when you are close to a light source. For example, if you're shooting inside and decide to shoot close to a large window, then using a white background for the back drop of your photos, you will help to reflect the light back onto your space and create a white balance. This will also help to make editing easier because you will not have any other colours to deal with. Ideas for white backgrounds include a white sheet or a white piece of card. If you're shooting outside, then remember to go somewhere where it is bright and does not have many shadows. 

Think about the time of day - Consider the time of day you are going to be shooting your images. The best times during the day to shoot actually happen to be during the golden hours. These are one hour before sunrise and one hour before sunset. Golden hour is so good to work with because the sun (a natural light source) is at a great angle. It won't create any shadows or harsh lights that the sun has during the day. It's also a good idea to think about what room within your home or whatever location you're shooting in gets the best light at what time during the day. Remember that the later in the day it is, the harsher the light will be within the room.

Reflectors - You don't have to actually purchase or own any fancy camera equipment to be able to use a reflector when shooting any images. But a reflector of any kind can make taking images a lot easier. Reflectors help to reflect light from a light source and bounce the light back onto whatever it is you're taking images of. They work in the exact same way as to what shooting on a white or bright background does. You can purchase a professional reflector that photographers use or you can easily just make your own from home. A white piece of large card or sheet will work well as mentioned before.

Learn your camera settings - I honestly cannot stress the importance of this enough! Learning how to work and use your camera in the correct way will produce the best quality results. Take the time to learn how you can create a crisp and bright image from your camera. A low ISO (the level of sensitivity your camera has to light) level the darker your image will be. But remember not to over expose your images and avoid a really high ISO level that will turn your images grainy. Aperture and shutter speed are also good settings to look into on your camera. Aperture is the amount of F stops your camera has which actually entails the opening of the lens. Whilst shutter speed is the time in which the shutter is open at a chosen setting. It's a good idea to take sometime to research your chosen camera and the shots you want to take to help you figure out what will work best.

Use editing to your advantage - Not everyday is going to have the best lighting or your camera won't always play ball, so it's good to remember that the editing stages can work in your favour. Photoshop is a firm favourite amongst photographers to edit their images because it gives you a selection of different tools to help you edit your photos to look the way you want. A cheaper alternative includes PicMonkey. I have a whole post here on using Picmonkey for your blog. If you want to edit from your Iphone or other android, then apps like Facetune and Aviary are good shouts for whitening and brightening your photos. I also find that the cooler you make a photo, the more it brings out those white tones to a photo helping to make it appear brighter.