As a studio newborn and family photographer covering Coventry, Solihull, Warwickshire and the West Midlands, I've spent many years working with light. When photographing tiny babies, I use a large, soft light source placed close to baby to create that beautiful soft look, and when photographing families, I'll adjust my lighting approach to ensure everyone is evenly and naturally lit.

Understanding how light behaves is such an important part of both newborn photography and family photography. But don’t worry - you don’t need to be a physics expert to get it! In this blog I hope to share a simple and friendly explanation of one of the most useful lighting principles we use every day in the studio

 My daughter and son-in-law asked me recently if I had ever considered teaching photography. To be fair, I have been asked before over the years. And every time, the answer has been the same:

"No!"

Now, this might seem odd. I’ve been a professional photographer for almost two decades. I’m qualified, experienced, and I know what I’m doing. So why not teach?

Confidence.

Simple as that.

When I first started out, I wanted to learn everything. And I really did throw myself in. I learned about lighting ratios, the quality of light, the inverse square law, how different modifiers change things, and so on. All those technical bits were once burned into my brain.

But here we are… quite a few years later (ladies of a certain age, you’ll understand 藍)… and those once crystal-clear technical explanations that were seared into my brain have, shall we say, 'blurred' somewhat. I now work very much by instinct. I look at the light, move it, and know whether it’s right or wrong. I just don’t think about the maths anymore.

And that’s why the thought of standing in front of a group explaining the physics of light makes me break into a cold sweat!

So yes, I did dig out the old textbooks (yes, actual books, no ChatGPT in those days!), just to double check the technical wording of the inverse square law if you're interested:

The Inverse Square Law states that:

Light that travels twice as far from point B to point C as it does from point A to point B is only 1/4 as strong at point C as it is at point B.

(Christopher Grey - Studio Lighting Techniques for Photography)

Now if that explanation leaves you in a cold sweat - here’s what it looks like, simplified:

The Inverse Square Law (In English, Not Science)

(Note: the term ‘fall off’ simply means how quickly the light fades across your subject or the scene.)

If I put my softbox very close to my subject, the light will be lovely and soft but it will 'fall off' quickly. The closer the light is, the more quickly the brightness changes between the parts of your subject that are nearest and furthest from the light. This means the background or the opposite side of my subject will appear darker, even though the shadows themselves remain soft, so I’ll usually use a white reflector opposite my main light to bounce a little brightness back onto my subject.

This is exactly how I light my newborn images because I want soft, gentle shadows.

If I move the same softbox further away, the light spreads more evenly across my subject and the scene. It spreads more evenly because the light intensity changes more slowly over the distance across your subject when the light is further away. This is helpful when photographing groups or families. The shadows might be a little harder and more defined, so I’ll often use a fill light behind camera to soften those.

That’s it. As a certain meerkat says - Simples.

Now - not that I want to complicate things - but the size of your light source is also very important:

• Bigger modifier = softer, more flattering light.
• Smaller modifier = harder light with more noticeable shadows and texture.

These Things I Know to Be True

If I use a large softbox and a small softbox at the same distance from my subject, the large softbox will create soft, gentle light with smooth shadows because it’s bigger. The small softbox, being smaller, will produce harder light with more contrast and sharper shadows.

 When my large softbox is FURTHER AWAY:
The light source appears smaller in relation to my subject, so the light looks harder with sharper, more defined shadows. However, the other side of my subject and the background appears brighter (less fall off) which is perfect for family photography, especially when I want to light multiple people evenly.

It's important to remember that even a huge softbox can produce hard light if it’s placed too far away. Think of how enormous the sun is - but how on a sunny, cloudless day you get very hard shadows. This is because of the huge distance between the sun with its massive light source and us. You'll also notice how, when there is a layer of cloud between the sun and us, shadows are soft - this is because the clouds act as a giant softbox above us.

So to summarise:

Am I upset that I can no longer instantly recall the technical equations I learned years ago? Aside from the usual regrets of ageing - not really.

Do I still understand light?

Yes. Every single day.

Because at the end of the day:

Light is light. It behaves predictably.
And once you’ve worked with it long enough, you simply know.

So that’s been my attempt at sharing my knowledge. As for teaching? For now, I’ll stick to writing blogs and making babies, families, and furry friends look beautiful 藍

Thanks for reading!

Lorraine Jardim LBIPP QGPP

Newborn Photography Coventry

Newborn Photographer Solihull