Working With Difficult Lighting Conditions: Practical Solutions for Photographers and Videographers

By Delight Technical College | School of Media & AI- Photography & Videography | 2026

In an ideal world, every shoot would happen in perfectly controlled studio lighting. In reality, Delight Technical College photography and videography graduates will spend much of their professional careers shooting in challenging, uncontrolled lighting environments like the harsh midday sun, dim indoor venues, mixed lighting sources, and rapidly changing conditions. The ability to produce excellent results despite difficult lighting is one of the most practically valuable professional skills a visual media professional can develop.

☀️ Harsh Midday Sun

Direct overhead sunlight creates harsh shadows, unflattering facial shadows (particularly under the eyes and nose), and high contrast that can blow out highlights and crush shadow detail.

Solutions:

• Move subjects into open shade- under trees, building overhangs, or any area shielded from direct sun while still bright
• Use a diffuser between the sun and the subject to soften harsh direct light
• Position subjects with their back to the sun and use a reflector to bounce fill light into their face (preventing harsh squinting and shadow)
• Shoot during golden hour (early morning or late afternoon) whenever timing allows, when sunlight is naturally softer and warmer

🏚️ Dim Indoor Venues

Many events like weddings, church services, evening functions take place in venues with limited, often warm and uneven artificial lighting.

Solutions:

• Increase ISO as needed, understanding the noise/grain tradeoff and using noise reduction in post-production
• Use a wider aperture lens to maximise available light capture
• Bring portable LED lighting for key moments where supplementary light is essential
• Use a flash with a bounce technique (bouncing light off ceilings or walls) rather than direct flash, which produces harsh, unflattering results

🌈 Mixed Lighting Sources

Many real-world environments combine different light sources with different colour temperatures simultaneously, daylight through windows alongside warm tungsten interior lighting, for example, creating colour cast challenges.

Solutions:

• Identify the dominant light source and white balance for that source, accepting some colour variation from secondary sources
• Use gels on supplementary lighting to match colour temperature to the ambient environment
• Shoot in RAW format to maximise post-production colour correction flexibility
• Where possible, turn off or minimise one light source to reduce the mixing challenge

🌧️ Rapidly Changing Conditions

Outdoor events, particularly in Kenya’s variable weather, can shift from bright sun to overcast to rain within the timeframe of a single shoot.

Solutions:

• Monitor exposure continuously rather than setting once and assuming consistency
• Carry portable lighting and reflectors that can compensate for sudden changes
• Build flexibility into the shoot schedule, prioritising weather-dependent shots for the most favourable conditions available

🎓 Lighting Problem-Solving at Delight

Delight’s Photography and Videography programmes include practical exercises specifically designed to build comfort and competence in challenging, uncontrolled lighting conditions, not just idealised studio scenarios because professional reality demands this adaptability.

“Anyone can take a good photograph in perfect lighting. Professional photographers and videographers are defined by what they can achieve when conditions are difficult. At Delight, we train for the real world, not just the ideal one.”

📍 Delight Technical College | Muindi Mbingu Street, Opposite Jevanjee Gardens, Nairobi | +254 722 533 771 | www.delight.ac.ke