Paying more attention to light is perhaps the single most important step you can take to improve your photography. With many landscapes, having good natural lighting can even be more important than the choice of subject itself. Different types of natural light can also produce a wide variety of subject appearances — even though these all have the same light source. Learn how to achieve the right light for your subject by utilizing the unique qualities of your particular time of day and weather.

• CLEAR MIDDAY SUNSHINE
• EVENING & MID-MORNING
• GOLDEN HOUR & SUNRISE/SUNSET
• TWILIGHT, DAWN & DUSK
• SHADE & OVERCAST SUNLIGHT
• OTHER SPECIFIC WEATHER CONDITIONS

Alternatively, stormy weather can produce extremely high contrast light since rain clears the air of haze and dust. Sunsets after a storm are also often the most dramatic, in part because the sky can become much darker than the land — providing a nice high contrast backdrop for front-lit subjects. This is also when rainbows are most likely to appear.