How to Brighten Up a Shot Without Flash
- 1). Move the subject to a better lit location if possible. If shooting indoors, try to position the subject near a window or other light source.
- 2). Move the subject outside, if possible. Photographs taken outside tend to have better natural light than photos taken inside. The best time to take outdoor photographs is in the morning or late afternoon. Photos taken at noon tend to be too bright.
- 3). Install studio lighting equipment if shooting indoors. Studio lighting equipment provides fluorescent, tungsten, LED or HMI lighting, which is softer and cleaner than regular light sources. Studio lighting equipment does not negatively affect the color quality.
- 4). Open the aperture of the camera to allow more light into the shot. Aperture is the size of the opening of the lens, and aperture size is measured in f-stops. The smaller the f-stop number, the larger the opening. Thus, setting the aperture to a lower f-stop increases the size of the lens opening and allows more light into the shot.
- 5). Decrease the shutter speed of the shot. Shutter speed is the amount of time that the aperture remains open. Setting the shutter speed to a lower speed keeps the aperture open for longer and therefore allows more light into the photograph.
- 6). Use photo-editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop, to add lighting to a photograph after it has been shot. Most photo-editing software has a lighting effect filter that can add multiple light sources to a photograph.
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