Everyday Magic

by Kelly

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary. ~Aaron Rose

They don’t call it the magic hour for nothing.

It’s that special, fleeting sixty minutes before the sun sinks down below the horizon.  The light is soft and golden. And it transforms even the most ordinary moments and humble of subjects into something extraordinary.

Wandering the neighborhood, camera in hand, that’s where you can often find me during the golden hour… on my quest to try to capture a little bit of this magic to bring home with me.

During the golden hour, my favorite lighting technique to use is backlight. Turning my lens towards the general direction of the sun, the light fills frame and bathes the whole scene in a soft, hazy glow.

But, if I adjust my position just slightly, rather a having the entire scene evenly lit... now I have a little more shadow but with a thin outline of light, right along the edges of my subject.

Pure magic.

This effect is known as rim light for the way it wraps around and illuminates the edges of the subject with a glowing thread of light.  I love the way it sort traces the outline of a subject and lifts it right off the background. I find it easiest to achieve this look by positioning myself so that the light is coming in from the side of my frame.  Then I will underexpose my shot by one to two stops so as to keep the features of the subject somewhat in the shadows.

The thing to remember with rim lighting is that it’s more about capturing an overall effect rather than capturing the details of the scene.  And because of the high contrast, it's a great technique for adding some drama and mood into your images.

Playing with light.  It inspires me and fills me up in a way that nothing else does.  As always, I thank you for letting me share that with all of you.


Until next time,

Kelly