Flat and even lighting might seem boring if you’re used to shooting in dramatic side lighting or backlight. But as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder—that flat lighting might be what you need to elevate your picture! Here are three summer scenes that the photographers chose to shoot in low contrast lighting. Read on to find out why. (Reported by: Takashi Nishikawa, Takashi Karaki, Digital Camera Magazine)

This is the first article in a series on lighting in landscape photography. Stay tuned to SNAPSHOT for Part 2!

 

1. You can almost smell the lush green forest

EOS R5/ RF24-105mm f/4L IS USM/ FL: 56mm/ Manual exposure (f/4, 1/320 sec) / ISO 2000/ WB: 5,100K/ PL filter
Location: Etsumi-Hoku Line (between Kakigashima and Kadohara), Fukui Prefecture, Japan
Time of shoot: Mid-July, 5:19/ Image by: Takashi Karaki

The JR Etsumi-Hoku train line, also known as the “Kuzuryu Line”, runs between the Fukui city centre and Lake Kuzuryu. It’s a huge favourite among railway fans because it travels through tranquil farmland and breath-takingly scenic gorges.

The image above shows a train as it crosses the iron bridge above the Kuzuryu River. The orange-red train and deep, vibrant greenery are complementary colours that draw attention to each other.

Low contrast lighting enhances the dense greenery
I chose to shoot early in the morning when there was no sunlight hitting the scene. Sunlight casts shadows which would obscure the greenery. When you plan your shoot, consider how the angle and quality of the light will affect the scene’s colours—especially if colour is important to your composition!

What we learned:
- Shoot early in the morning to get even lighting.
- Even lighting means lesser shadows and more green.
- More green is important for this shot because colours are important to the composition.
- Complementary colours enhance each other: Green forest, orange train.

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Learn more about using complementary colours in:
How Do I Use Colour Accents to Draw Attention to a Subject?
Photographing the Everyday: Colours in a Minimalist Summer Day Scene
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2. “I saw the sun’s position and decided to go back in the evening”

EOS R5/ RF24-105mm f/4L IS USM/ FL: 229mm/ Aperture-priority AE (f/16, 1/20 sec, EV -1.0) / ISO 400/ WB: Daylight/ PL filter
Location: Michinoku Hydrangea Garden, Iwate Prefecture, Japan
Time of shoot: Late July, 16:09 / Image by: Takashi Nishikawa

If you visit Japan in the summer, don’t miss the beautiful hydrangea flowers! The park where I took the above shot is famous for them. Over 40,000 hydrangea plants of 400 different varieties bloom there for about a month, usually starting from around late June. In the last 5 days of the hydrangea peak season, the hydrangea heads are cut off and floated in the pond, and the resulting “hydrangea pond” is a fascinating sight that visitors flock to the park to see.

The weather can be “too good”

I visited the pond the day before, at around 10am, but the sun was already high in the sky. That, plus the fine, clear skies, meant that sunlight reflected directly off the water, creating too much contrast.

So I came back the next day at around 4pm in the evening, when the sun was lower in the sky and hidden by the surrounding mountains. As expected, that softer, flatter lighting brought out the best of the flowers.

What else I did:
- Use a PL filter: it removes the remaining glare from the flowers and water surface, enhancing the hydrangeas’ colours.
- Include the green leaves on the left in the frame: This creates interest and makes the shot more interesting.
- Use a shorter focal length and narrow aperture: This increases the depth of field so that the entire sea of hydrangea blossoms is in focus from front to back.

What we learned:
- You can get even, low-contrast lighting in the evening, too. 
- Light quality also depends on geographical features—like mountains blocking the sun!
- Glare from sunlight reflecting off water = harsh contrast = washed out colours.
- Use a PL filter to reduce glare and enhance colours.
- Shorter focal length + narrower aperture = greater depth of field.

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Learn more about using polarising (PL) filters to enhance your photos in:
Using a Polarising Filter to Depict the Sky in a Deeper Shade of Blue
PL Filter Fun: Crazy-coloured Frost
Quick Tips for Photographing Rainbows
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3. Inside-outside shots: Preserving shadow details

EOS R5/ RF15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM/ FL: 20mm/ Manual exposure (f/7.1, 1/4 sec) / ISO 320/ WB: 5,300K/ PL filter
Location: Mizonokuchi Cave, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
Time of shoot: Late July, 12:14/ Image by: Takashi Karaki

The next time you explore a cave, don’t forget to turn back and look outside while you’re inside. The cave in the photo above is the mystical Mizonokuchi Cave. Formed by thousands of years of erosion by spring water, it has recently gained popularity as a spiritual “power spot”, with many people visiting for its healing powers. Some say the cave might be connected to the other side of Earth!

The red torii gate as viewed from inside the cave, framed by the entrance, is one of the cave’s must-see, and must-photograph sights.

Low contrast daylight makes it easier to preserve the cave’s textures

For this shot, I really wanted to preserve at list a hint of the textures inside the cave: the rugged ridges, bumps, and lumps that give the cave character. That made my exposure settings even more important: I had to find the best balance that wouldn’t crush the blacks or blow out the bright areas. Shooting on a cloudy day helped because of the even, diffused lighting.

Keep this in mind the next time you shoot an indoor-outdoor scene. It doesn’t have to be from a cave—it could even be a tunnel, an interior with a huge window, or even a door frame!

What else I did:
- Shoot with a wide-angle zoom lens: I wanted the composition to look like the cave was “swallowing” the scene outside: More cave, less outside. So I went deeper in and shot with the RF15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM.

Location tip: I shot this at around noon, but I’d recommend going early in the morning, too. You get morning mist and mysterious-looking sunbeams, contributing to the mystical atmosphere.

What we learned:
- A cloudy day means even, low-contrast lighting.
- Even, low-contrast lighting is great for indoor-outdoor shots like this when you need to preserve both inside-outside detail.
- Use a wide-angle lens to capture both interior and exterior detail.
- The wider the lens, the easier it is to include more of the interior.

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Learn more about cave photography in:
Landscape Photography: Shooting Caves

For another way to photograph caves, see:
Super Telephoto Landscapes: A Mysterious “Cave” in a Moss-Covered Gorge
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