Back to natural lighting in photography, there are four main ways to use sunlight creatively in your photography. They are known as: Front Lighting - also known as Flat Lighting 45° Natural Lighting - also known as Natural Lighting 90° Side-lighting - also known as Texture Lighting Backlighting - also known as Rim Lighting Front lighting is actually the worst type of lighting condition to be used in most form of photography. That is why it is also known as Flat Lighting. It make the rendering of most images rather flat in appearance and lacking depth. Front lighting is also the most popular form of lighting despite its flat tendency and is utilised mainly by beginners and amateur photographers because it is the easiest type of lighting to use. With full frontal, bright sunlight falling on your intended subject, what more can you asked for. Using front lighting is like having a giant flashgun that is always fully recharged all the time, all you need to do is to click the shutter button and a "brilliant" picture is recorded on film. As most EOS users and photo enthusiasts may know of, direct flash photography is not always the ideal type of lighting for your subjects. It is the same case, too, if you are confining your photography to use only frontal type of lighting for all your entire pictures using outdoor type of lighting. However, certain subject can look better when photographed using front lighting, especially architecture which have unique structures or facades. 45° Side Lighting -- This form of lighting is also known as natural lighting. Whether you are shooting your subject using natural sunlight, strobe or indoor studio lights, the 45° side lighting is the major type of lighting placement used in the majority of portraits, still-life or commercial photography. To use this type of side lighting with natural sunlight, just position your intended subject with the sunlight coming from a 45° angle, regardless of whether the light is coming from the right or left side of you. If the lighting is for use in portraits, the shadow of your subject's nose will form a small triangle on either side of the cheeks as with the example shown in this portrait. The effect will be the same when shooting in the studio using studio strobes as a substitute for natural sunlight. This side lighting is also used for all types of glamour and fashion photography since the effect of the light and softer shadow will bring out the depth as well as the depths needed. It is suitable for both male and female photography. << Back to Main . 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 .