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Natural Light Photography Tutorial: No Bounce, No Studio, No Equipment. Just the sun!

In this article, you'll learn several inspiring points that should take your photography to the next level. Read and watch below! 1. You don't need to live in NY or LA. 2. You don't need professional models near you. 3. You don't need a studio or expensive equipment. 4. You now have an even playing field with other photographers. Curious? Read further!

By Walid AzamiPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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This is a photographer's reaction video giving full commentary of my photoshoot with model, and it's a learn-as-you-go system.

You don't need money. You don't need LA or NY. You need vision.

I am often asked if there's a chance to have a photographic career without residing in Los Angeles or New York. The short answer is: Yes, of course! In fact, never before has the opportunity for other photographers to achieve success been more available than now! You also don't need to have expensive equipment or modeling agencies near you. Here's how and why!

Here is why you don't need New York or LA.

Yes, models tend to live in the bigger cities like NY and LA. Yes, that's also where the agencies are and the more successful photographers, makeup artists, stylists, etc... But guess what? They didn't just pop out of a box like that in NY or LA! They came from the smaller cities that you and I came from. Get them on the way up to the big cities and get them when they come home for holiday breaks. You can do it, and they'd love to shoot somewhere local vs. the big cities' typical locals. You also have websites like ModelMayhem.com (which used to be better) and models sign up on that. Who else signs up for ModelMayhem? Stylists and everyone else you'd need for photography.

To lead by example, I found this model on ModelMayhem. He just booked a TV show. You can find quality people still. Use the website!

You don't have a studio. Who cares because here, this is your new studio.

I went to the beach. You'll see the full experience in the video on this page, but here's what you need to know. It cost me zero dollars to shoot this project. I didn't need photography permits (those are ridiculous and not necessary).

I could have done this in a field, a rooftop, a river, or anywhere else. You don't need much to capture a beautiful photograph, but good vision and lighting. Sometimes the best images come from the simplest backgrounds.

Yeah, but you need a good camera. I don't even have that!

That's precisely why I photographed this shoot with a first generation Canon 7D. I love Canon, but it's not the best camera, trust me. I left my Canon 5D at home and my Sony Alpha camera. It sits there with my Hasselblad on a shelf. I took my "backup" camera, and here you are! You can even get a great shoot on a Rebel or your iPhone.

You don't need equipment, no equipment at all.

I photographed Todd without any studio strobes, bounce or reflectors, or any assistants. That's what this photograph is, zero equipment. I used on camera, one lens, and the sun. Look at the video and see how I used the sun, why I shot a certain way, and got images that were published.

Did you know that the best strobes in the world are modeled after the sun? Yes, they are modeled after the sun we all have access to. Softboxes? They are modeled after window light and cloudy days.

We all have the sun; it's free. Use the sun! It's a glorious light, and your images will look radiant. Master the sunlight and you'll master photography.

I don't have a team here, no hair, makeup, or stylist.

Great! You can still shoot and be amazing at it. You can use your negatives and make it your positive. What do I mean by that? Well, I didn't have hair or makeup, so we opted for a beach shoot where the model's hair was wet and messy. It looks like we paid someone to give us that beauty look. We didn't have a stylist either, so we used skin and played the beach shoot. See the video and how I created this. I also used shadows in place of clothing, as this is a very shadow heavy photo shoot.

photography
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About the Creator

Walid Azami

Walid Azami is a photographer & director from Los Angeles who has photographed the greats like Kanye, Usher, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, VW, Target Stores, Courtney Love, and more. He still shoots but also teaches.

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