Light and Airy Photography 101: Perfecting Your Photo Aesthetic
Creating a light and airy photography style takes more than just snapping a photo under bright lighting situations and hoping it comes out the way you intended. To stand out, you need to capture the soft, romantic, and ethereal qualities in airy photos that make an image feel like the subject is floating in an enchanted bubble of light.
If you’re interested in the light & airy aesthetic, keep reading for a guide covering the basics of this perennial favorite look and a walk-through of the steps you can take to achieve it.
Characteristics of Light and Airy Photography
Bright and airy photography is known for soft, dreamy lighting using pastel colors and muted tones. These photos evoke a sense of carefree romance, making them a great choice for weddings, portraits, and lifestyle shoots.
The composition is light & airy with a minimalistic touch, focusing on negative space and simple backgrounds such as white walls. This kind of photography can enhance the subject’s natural beauty by creating an ethereal and romantic atmosphere.
Creating Soft Lighting
Though natural light is your best bet for light and airy photography, knowing how to work with different conditions is an important skill. Early mornings and the time right after golden hour has a soft, diffused light that’s perfect for airy images. If you’re shooting indoors or in less-than-ideal lighting situations, be sure to use reflectors and diffusers to reduce harsh shadows. In editing, using presets geared toward a light and airy feel, like Fuji Original, is a great way to correct some of these elements.
Shooting With a Wide Aperture
Understanding your camera’s aperture settings is essential for creating a light & airy style. Shooting with a wide aperture (a small f-number like f/1.4 or even f/4) gives a shallow depth of field. It’s a simple technique that creates a lovely bokeh effect. The shallow depth of the composition makes the subject stand out with a soft, airy focus while keeping the background beautifully blurred.
Colors and Tones
Light and airy photography is usually defined by the types of colors and tones of the images. Pastels and tones that lean warmer and brighter will be your best bet if you're aiming to achieve this look. Bringing up exposure and the shadows a little higher than you might for a true-to-color edit can add to this, along with pulling the hue sliders to the warmer and more pastel side.
Utilizing Light and Airy Presets
Capturing the right style of image is a great first step, but knowing how to edit vibrant & airy photos is the perfect way to enhance the shots you’ve worked so hard to capture. Presets can be the ideal complement to call on when fine-tuning each composition to really make it pop.
What Are Presets?
Presets are ready-made editing styles that you can apply to your photos with one click. Light and airy presets help deliver that dreamy look by automatically changing things like exposure, highlights, shadow depth, and hue. While the benefits of presets can’t be understated, it’s important to make your own adjustments to each photo to make sure they match your unique style.
Tips and Techniques From Professional Photographers
One technique you’ll see pros using is positioning the subject relative to the light source. Placing your subject with light behind them or slightly to the side creates a soft, flattering illumination. Capturing movement, like a breeze blowing through hair or clothing, adds a dynamic, natural feel. Experimenting with different angles and perspectives can also help find the most flattering and unique compositions for each shot.
Editing for a Light and Airy Look
You can fine-tune individual elements with Lightroom presets to create dreamy photos that are still in your personal style. Start by adjusting the exposure to brighten your image. Emphasizing highlights and reducing shadows can add softness and a luminous quality. Correct color and skin tones to help keep those pastel and muted tones that are so important to the light & airy aesthetic.
Get the Light and Airy Photography Look Today
Ready to start creating beautiful bright, airy images? All it takes is understanding the key elements, knowing how to use available lighting, pairing wide apertures and simple compositions, and fine-tuning light and airy presets when editing.
If you’re looking for the perfect presets for this style of photography, check out Mastin Labs’ Light & Airy Lightroom Desktop Presets. These presets can help you achieve an ideal airy aesthetic every time.
