Samuel Sarfati’s natural light portrait hacks

Natural light can make a portrait feel effortless, but it rarely behaves that way on a shoot. The sun moves, clouds appear, shadows deepen, and the whole mood of a location can change within minutes.

For portrait and fashion photographer Samuel Sarfati, that variability is part of the appeal. “I love shooting outside on location and using the ambient light,” he says. “When you shoot in natural light, the location, the model and the time of day are so important.”

For Samuel, the trick is not to fight the conditions, but to understand what the light is doing and find the right place, angle and settings to make the image work. “I ask myself, ‘What can we do with that?’ I love architecture too, and playing with the light.”

Want to try it yourself? Here are Samuel’s tips for taking more control over natural light when shooting portraits.

Samuel’s starting point is switching his camera to Manual mode. This might sound intimidating if you are not used to using it, but Samuel says Canon mirrorless cameras like the EOS R5 Mark II he used make it much easier to learn because you can see changes to your exposure in real time on the screen or through the electronic viewfinder.

“I want to control my image, rather than letting the camera control it,” he says. “I want to choose the shutter speed and ISO I need because I have a certain look in mind.”

Samuel likes to keep his ISO between 100 and 1,600 where possible, helping preserve colour, sharpness and image quality. He will sometimes go higher if he needs to in low light conditions, but his preference is to keep sensitivity controlled and recover small exposure changes later, if necessary.

When the light changes, ISO is usually the first setting he adjusts. Aperture depends more on the look he wants for the portrait.

Samuel chooses aperture settings largely for the role he wants the location to play in the portrait. “I love looking for lines and creating something graphic and strong, which is why I like modern architecture,” he says. “If I want that sense of perspective and I want the scene to be sharp everywhere, then I need to close the aperture."

If the model needs to stand apart from the background, he can open it up (use a lower f-number) for a narrower depth of field, creating a softer look.

"It really depends on the mood of the image and what I want to highlight first.”

One of Samuel’s favourite workflow tricks is utilising the lens control ring available on RF lenses. On many lenses, the control ring can be customised, and Samuel assigns it to ISO. He then keeps aperture and shutter speed on the camera body dials, giving him quick access to all three exposure controls without having to take his eye off the shoot.

“It’s a bit like playing videogames,” he explains. “When you play, you don’t think about your buttons, you’re just doing it from muscle memory.”

For fast-moving portrait shoots, that speed is important. If the light shifts, the model moves or the mood changes, he can adjust quickly without breaking the flow of the session.

Samuel doesn’t rely only on how the image looks on the screen. He checks his histogram “all the time” to make sure he is exposing the way he wants.

The histogram is especially useful outdoors, he says, where bright daylight can make the screen harder to judge. The histogram also gives him a more reliable view of whether he is protecting highlights, holding enough shadow detail, or deliberately pushing the mood darker or brighter.

For portraits, Samuel says Eye Detection AF on his EOS R5 Mark II is a “game changer”. It means he can spend less time worrying about sharpness and more time thinking about exposure, composition and directing the model.

In a fast-moving portrait shoot, his camera’s subject tracking can also help when the model is moving, turning or changing pose between frames. Once the camera has picked up your subject, it will continue to follow them through the scene, helping to keep focus consistent.

When working with natural light, Samuel keeps three key devices in his kit bag: diffusers, reflectors and negative fill.

A diffuser softens hard sunlight, which is especially useful in summer or in the middle of the day, when overhead sun can create strong shadows under the eyes. A reflector can bounce light back onto the model to lift those shadows, while negative fill does the opposite, blocking light from one side to create stronger contrast and a more sculpted look.

If he doesn’t have any of those tools to hand, Samuel looks for natural versions of the same thing: a narrow street that offers shade, a bright wall that bounces light, or a darker surface that adds contrast. The trick is to stop thinking of natural light as something unchanging, and start treating the location as part of your lighting setup.

“That’s what I like about natural light,” Samuel says. "You don’t need a huge setup or a lot of lighting equipment. When I started fashion photography, I shot a lot outside on location because I didn’t have the budget to rent flash or continuous lights.

“The best way to create a strong image is to find the right time, the right location, the right model – and just shoot.”

Join the Canon Club challenge and try creating your own portrait using only natural light.