Do your people photographs tend to look - well, nasty?

Un-flattering?

What if you could exploit a basic lighting principle that professional photographers use, without spending a cent on expensive lighting equipment?

It may sound too good to be true, but it's not. Actually, it seems obvious once you realise what it is.

So what is this amazing principle that will improve your photographs?

It's to do with the size of the light source relative to the subject. Let me explain...

The bigger the light source, the softer the shadows. And conversely, the smaller the light source, the harder the shadows.

How can you use this fact to improve your photographs?

The first thing to do is be aware of it - notice the lighting. Move things around or go to a different location if you need to.

But the main way to actually use this law is to make a rule of always photographing people (one of the most popular and common photographic subjects) with large light sources.

Here are a few examples of easy to use, large light sources:

• An overcast sky (one of the best, because not only is it huge, it's also still relatively bright)
• A window (still relatively large compared to someone's head, they're standing right next to it - yet also directional, which can provide a nice effect)
• A bright light (or lights) reflected against a white ceiling, or a white wall behind the photographer. A flash gun with an adjustable head is ideal for this technique because it provides substantially more illumination than, say, a desk lamp. If you specifically want hard shadows (less flattering but sometimes interesting), you'll be seeking out small, point sources of light - like the sun.

One more thing - remember to experiment with the direction of the light source. While lighting from the front and/or top is the Conventional method (and often gives the best or most appropriate results), interesting effects can be achieved by lighting from the sides, back, or underneath, too.

Steven Pam is a digital commercial photographer based in Melbourne, Australia, specializing in people, aviation and music photography. http://www.stevenpam.com.au