It's all about the lighting - some tips and tricks

So I thought I'd share a couple of fun photos today. When I took one of my photography classes, the instructor was teaching us all about lighting and how important it was. The assignment was to take photos in the rain. Easy, right?

Wrong.

Lighting is absolutely everything in photography. Whether it be weddings, babies, families....or in this case for me - nature. Having the perfect light can make the most ordinary things look magical.

First, these are a couple of my favorite pictures. Second, they were the absolute hardest to get right, which is why I think I love them so much. I can remember how long it took me to take these and how frustrated I would get because I just couldn't figure out HOW to get it to where the 'rain' showed up in my photo.

Great photos sometimes always require you to think outside the box. There was no rain in either of these pictures. It was the dead of summer, and I live in the desert. After some serious thought as to how I was going to make rain, I had someone hold a hose with a sprinkler attached to the end, over both of my subjects. I also had to make sure the light was behind my subject as to show the 'rain'.

Had it not been for my instructor giving me this assignment, I feel I never would have fully grasped just how important lighting - and the placement of lighting - truly is.

If you've never taken photos like these, I'd recommend giving it a try. You can use anything, and it really is so much fun to get your creative juices flowing!