Tom Bol's blog

 In a perfect world, we would always shoot with perfect light at the right time of the day.  But reality is different. We often have to shoot in terrible light at the wrong time of day.  What to do? Create your own reality, or in this case, create your own light.

Every rule or guideline in photography has an exception. A lot of what we like in our images is subjective, although composition and lighting principles give us a common framework to critique our work as well as the work of others. One important aspect of an image is the quality of light.

Have you ever found yourself on a tour in some exotic country, visiting a fantastic shooting location, but at the wrong time? Say you are on a tour in France and would love to photograph a certain castle in evening light, but you only have an hour to visit the castle at midday. You do the best you can shooting in this light, and then continue with your tour.

Tornado warnings. 60 mile-per-hour winds. Rain. Lightning. Generally, when you hear these weather alerts, the last thing you are thinking about is going out to shoot. But time and again I have learned the hard way, that if you don't give it a try, you may miss a great shot.