The first thing you will know is that lighting is the key to making a better photo period, that's why we don't talk about gear first, because even you have the best equipment in the world without the understanding of light, you will never achieve the best possible picture you can create, after all a tool is just the tool, Is all about a person who controls it.
So lighting it's like when you say getting in shape is 70% diet and 30% of exercising, that's on point with taking a beautiful photo, lighting is the 70% part you must be understanding before you even take a shot, how to use it to your advantage and how you can manipulate it, this two thing alone can already take your photo to the next level.
When I say that lights are your both friends and enemy, I mean that, because shooting with the lights from the sun, timing is critical, you have to know what time of the day the sun will come up or go down to make the best out of them, I think you must have heard the term 'golden hours' from somewhere, golden hour is a short period of time when the best possible lighting is happening, it last only 1 hour or less before it becomes too bright or too dark, so first thing first, check around your house or apartment and learn where the sun is coming through in the morning and the evening, study it and take note on what time is coming up or down, the position of the sun will change a little month by month, so you might not get the same light coming through the same place all the time, and also depending where your locate, the time on my clock might not work for you, but to give you an idea, my golden hour is between 7.00-7.40 and 16.30-17.30 in October and might change again in November or December.
I shot most of my pictures by the window or in front of my house in the morning while the sun was coming up at a particular time. If you see a long casting shadow, that's a good thing because the sun is in a low ankle and not so hard on the subject. Still, you have to prepare because it is only going to be just about right for just 30-60 min, after that the sun will be to hard shoot, but someday you will get an overcast day with a perfect amount of clouds that the sun still can shine through, but that not happen a lot here in Thailand. I found that taking a photo at this particular moment has the best result, but sometimes I want to shoot something. The sun is not always available for me, so I have to create one; all the tips and tricks of shooting will be discussed in the ''shooting with natural light'' section. I will also share with you how to use artificial lighting to help with the picture and mood of the picture as well.