When the days become longer and start to warm up, it’s time to consider revamping your backyard living areas for the summer. An easy way to make your yard more inviting is to add lighting so that you can eat, relax, and reconnect with family and friends long after the sun goes down.

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27 Awesome Lighting Ideas to Beautify Your Backyard

Backyard lighting ideas run the gamut from simple candle holders or battery operated fairy lights to high-powered spot lighting which can add a touch of grandeur to an elegant garden. The style of lighting you pick will largely depend on the size of your outdoor space and whether or not you’ll have access to power. Smaller yards or intimate seating areas located well away from power outlets can make use of simple solutions such as solar lights or small home made torches which do not require electricity. Outdoor living areas that are adjacent to your house such as porches, patios, and pergolas can incorporate more powerful lighting options like electric powered string lights and lanterns.

No matter what size outdoor space you have, the strategic addition of lighting can turn your backyard into a cozy outdoor sanctuary with minimal effort and cost. The ideas below will provide examples of simple DIY options which can allow you to enjoy your backyard more fully this summer.

2. Natural Illuminated Log Pathway Lights

Illuminated logs — we’re in love with the way the light shines through the cracks. These natural logs will be the highlight of your backyard scene. During the day, they simply look like garden stools, but at dusk the glow of golden light makes your garden path a fairyland filled with radiating light. Because they’re natural logs, each one is unique.

3. Outdoor Hanging Tealight Candle Chandelier

The perfect chandelier for the garden is this simple creation suspended by chains from an overhanging bough. Because it requires no wiring, you can place it anywhere. Small glass jars with a layer of sand hold tea lights that burn just long enough to light up the evening for a romantic interlude with a couple of glasses of wine.

4. Moroccan Inspired Lantern Step Lighting

If you dream of faraway places and exotic lifestyles, you can bring them home to your own back yard in an instant by filling the stairs of your deck with grillework lanterns in various sizes and colors. Inspired by the mysteries of Morocco, these lights will inspire you to spend your leisure time outdoors with family and friends.

5. Outdoor Seating Under Tree String Lights

A variety of outdoor seating spaces encourages different activities. Serve a meal at the picnic table; talk with friends in a quiet corner. Lounge with a good book in a swinging chair filled with cushions. When the sun sets, light up the scene with string lighting in the trees. You have created an outdoor living room that you’ll love.

6. Battery Powered Fairy Lights in Glass Lanterns

Suspend battery-powered fairy lights in glass orbs for an effect that’s as simple as it is magical. Requiring no wiring, these lights can be suspended from tree branches or hung under the eaves of your house. They’re lightweight, whimsical, captivating and as easy as can be to install.

7. Backyard Lantern Post Candle Holders

Lantern posts are traditional, elegant and functional. What’s not traditional is that the lantern holds a candle, and the post is simply decorative. But this is a wonderful solution to getting light to the right part of the garden. Paint or stain the post to complement your home and garden, top it with a metal cap, and add a tall pillar candle to the decorative metal lantern.

8. Simple Fenceline Christmas Light Illumination

Oh, we love this idea. We can almost hear the sounds of caroling and sleigh bells, but if you leave these Christmas lights atop your fence year-round, they’ll light up a pair of upholstered benches in great style! They’re so easy, we don’t understand why everyone isn’t doing it!

9. Magical Glowing Flower Garden Planters

What — are they lights or planters? Or were they brought by alien visitors? These glowing pots are among the most unique choices we’ve found for back yard lighting. And it’s hard to imagine anything prettier! Mix them with pots of other materials for a stunning effect. They’re beautiful even in daylight, but they add extra drama to the garden at night.

10. Rustic Hanging Mason Jar Candle Holders

Mason jars couldn’t be more versatile, around the home or in the garden. Here, tied with simple string, they become rustic hanging candle holders along a wooden fence line. They’re so easy to make that you’ll want to keep a bunch on hand for those back yard gatherings throughout the season.

11. Recycled DIY Glass Bottle Torches

Unique and serviceable torches made of recycled wine bottles are a DIY project that may require a bit more time than some of the other lighting options. But the dramatic effect is well worth the effort! A few inexpensive fittings, a properly-sized wick and some lamp oil are all that’s necessary. Use a single kind of bottle or collect a variety — it’s your choice.

12. Elegant Well-Lit Backyard Dinner Party Pergola

A party pergola is special on its own. But any garden structure becomes more attractive — and more useful when you add lighting. This one is gorgeous, with string lighting overhead, a circlet of lights suspended over the table, pendants in each corner, and path lighting to direct the way to the party. It’s picture perfect and party ready.

13. Simple Mason Jar Backyard Lighting Ideas

Mason jars again: Craft these votive holders easily from wire hangers for sturdy lights that can be suspended from tree branches or almost anything else: a covered patio, a fence, a post located near the barbecue or metal brackets attached to your home’s siding. You’ll find dozens of ways to use them.

14. Charmingly Rustic Minimalistic String Lights

Less is often more, and a minimalist single string of open bulbs centered over a picnic table is a charmingly rustic solution to lighting up an outdoor dinner. Here the lights are quickly and easily strung between two slim tree trucks anchored in solid non-tip bases at each end of the table. It’s functional and funky.

15. Pretty Purple Hanging Moroccan Lanterns

At the other end of the decor spectrum, this fully-furnished outdoor room uses color and high style to great effect. Elegant purple glass Moroccan lanterns hang from the beams, reflecting the color of accent cushions on the upholstered seating. Privacy drapes that echo the same color can be pulled as needed, and more creature comfort comes from the rug underfoot. Only the massed green plants make it obvious that this “room” is indeed out of doors.

16. Rope Light Gravel Pathway Illumination

Snake an oversize rope light along a curving pathway to light the way! It’s dazzling in its simplicity, but extraordinary in its effect. Actually, it’s one of our favorite ideas for all-purpose, all-weather lighting in the backyard. How many ways can you think of to use this rope lighting?

17. Upscale Outdoor Seating Bench Lit by Candles

Patio seating takes a lot of different forms. Here a built-in bench provides upscale seating right next to a gorgeous planting area. Add soft cushions, cozy throws and a line of convenient candle holders along the back to extend its usefulness. With the adjacent dining table and chairs, you can invite crowds and still have comfortable space for all.

18. Simple Solar Brick Pathway Lights

Solar is the way to go in the garden. Plant a double line of solar lights along a brick pathway and you’ll add both safety and beauty to your backyard. There are so many kinds of solar lights available, you’re sure to find options that suit your style and your budget. Because they operate on renewable energy, they’re good for the environment too.

19. Whimsical Garden Grotto with String Lights

Have we conveyed the idea that we love string lights? Is it obvious that creativity and originality find ample expression in the garden? We hope so! Here, the homeowner uses several different kinds of lighting in tandem with string lights nestled among the vines and overhead beams. This is a case when more is more. Hanging candles in mason jars, bottle lights and tabletop candles are all perfectly wonderful in this garden grotto.

20. DIY Solar Powered Chandelier Lights

Why not hang a chandelier outside? Especially when it’s powered by the sun! This substantial multi-arm solar chandelier deserves a place of honor outdoors, and instructions for making it are easy to follow. With a round table and chairs large enough for a family dinner, it becomes a dramatic focal point, as eco-friendly and efficient as it is dramatic.

21. Flameless Fire Pit Fairy Lights

Sometimes, simulating firelight is better than having a real fire pit. Champions of norrath rom. Fairy lights create a flameless centerpiece when nestled among real wood logs. This simulated fire pit is a dramatic centerpiece of a nighttime patio seating area. It’s a safe, ingenious way to enjoy the ambience of a glowing fire. Unfortunately, you can’t make s’mores!

22. Easy DIY Mason Jar Lanterns

Easily create long-burning Mason jar lanterns in lieu of canning jar candleholders. It’s another DIY project that requires minimal effort and materials, but yields big decorative effect. They do, however, produce an open flame, so use them with caution, and always turn them off when no adult is present.

23. Backlit Garden Planter Beds and Spotlights

Not all garden lighting should be visible. Uplighting showcases a fence or wall as well as the greenery. It is especially effective when nestled among shrubbery or at the rear of a planting area. The effect is dramatic: Think about installing a dimmer, or be careful that you don’t overly light up the night sky. You wouldn’t want to block out the view of starry skies above, and some areas have restrictions on uplighting and spot lights.

24. Fun and Simple Hanging Chinese Lanterns

Another tradition; another culture. Hang Chinese lanterns in your backyard to lend a festive atmosphere to the outdoor scene, and add color and design interest at the same time. It’s hard not to smile at the playful look of these glowing geometric shapes hanging above the outdoor seating area. Leave them up for the season, or bring them out only for special occasions. Use them any way that works for your setting.

25. Tree Trunks Wrapped in String Lights

Wrapping selected tree trunks in miniature white string lights is a wonderfully decorative way to illuminate your back yard. Placing light at or slightly below eye level magnifies the effect, and creates a kind of protected bower feeling. For special holidays like the Fourth of July or Halloween, add a string or two of colored lights!

26. Year-Round Backyard Deck String Lights

Define the boundaries of your outdoor room by draping string lights from poles stationed at the perimeter of a deck or patio. It’s a minimalist approach to outdoor lighting that is quite effective. The casual loops keep the feeling light and informal.

27. Rustic Grapevine and Chinese Lantern Garland

As illustrated in previous photos, there’s no reason you have to confine your outdoor lighting choices to one, or even two. Here Chinese lanterns blend beautiful with simple string lighting woven into and around rustic grapevines. The effect is simple, but stunning. What other ideas might you think of to add light to your outdoor scene?

Our Favorite Outdoor Decor Lighting to buy on Amazon

If photography means writing with light, then lighting gear is a photographer’s pen. Adding lighting gear to a photography kit opens up endless creative possibilities to play with shadows, create a glow, or add that sparkling light source. But understanding lighting is also one of the trickiest tasks for new and intermediate photographers to tackle. So what is the?We’ve rounded up all those newbie lighting gear questions to help you not just find the best lighting for photography, but the best lights for your photography.What’s better, a speedlight or studio lights?One of the first questions photographers need to ask before investing in lights is whether or not those lights need to be portable. Studio-based photographers are going to pick up different lighting kits than photographers that need to not only easily carry the lighting gear far from any electrical outlet.A is often the best photography lighting that’s on-site because of the portability. With an off-camera wireless flash system, speedlights can do much of the work of studio strobes. Wedding and sports photographers tend to favor speedlights because of that portability, as well as the flexibility since the same light can also be mounted on-camera.

Speedlights aren’t perfect though. They don’t reach as far as studio lights or light stands, the light isn’t as strong and they can take longer to be ready for that next flash of light. (That last one is a tech spec referred to a recycle time).Studio style lights are larger, but with battery packs, many of them can be used in the studio or on site. Continuous or strobe lights are significantly larger than speedlights because along with packing the actual light, many require separate battery packs to bring along as well. But these lights answer many of the negatives of using a speedlight because they offer more power and have faster recycle times.What’s the difference between strobe lighting and continuous lighting?If you’re leaning towards those studio-style lights, you have another decision to make: strobe lighting or continuous lighting? Has that traditional camera flash with a quick burst of light, while continuous lights are on all the time. Because strobe lights are only putting out light for a short burst, they tend to be more powerful than continuous lights.

When shooting portraits, strobe lighting will also make a subtle difference in the subject’s eyes because the burst of light won’t make the pupils larger, leaving more of the color of the iris in the image.Continuous lights may be less powerful, but they are often affordable — and a must if you are shooting videos rather than stills. For beginners, continuous lights are often easier to work with because you see the light in real time, rather than adjusting, taking a picture with flash, then adjusting again. (Some strobe lights, however, do have a continuous mode to use while setting up the position of the light). Continuous lights are often popular for product photography.What about light strength or wattage?Speedlights, strobes and continuous lights all tend to have varying strengths, that is, they put out a different amount of light, measured in watts for studio lights and in the distance the light can reach for speedlights. But just how much light do you need your lights to actually put out? The answer depends largely on what you shoot.The most powerful lights are used for shooting with a telephoto lens, photographing large groups and creative lighting tasks like overpowering the sun. Photographers often tasked with those shoots often pick lights, and for flash, some of the more pricier options.But more isn’t always better.

Powerful light is hard light with harsh shadows. Many photographers favor the soft light and will largely shoot with a light modifier and that light turned down to just a fraction of its power — which means spending the extra cash on that souped-up light isn’t really necessary.What about modifiers?Lights are just the beginning. To really get the most creative possibilities from your lighting kit. There are a few different types of modifiers, and no, you don’t need every type, at least not right away.

Here are the options:. Softboxes or diffusers: Light is powerful. Softboxes and other types of diffusers soften the light, creating a more gradual transition between the light and dark areas of the image. Diffusing the light makes it possible to take an image without that obvious flash look, yet still creates a catchlight, prevents a silhouette or any number of different scenarios. If you don’t know what type of light modifier to get, get a softbox or diffuser.

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Umbrellas: A shoot through umbrella is a type of diffuser, similar to the look of a softbox. Using a reflective umbrella, you point the light away from the subject and the umbrella sends a more concentrated beam of light back to the subject.

Beauty dish: Most often used in portraits in fashion, a beauty dish creates a more vibrant light than a softbox, but doesn’t have the same extreme, hard shadows of a naked light. Barn doors: By placing doors or panels on all four sides of the light, you can leave the doors open and get a wide light or focus the light down by closing any combination of doors.

Grids and snoots — These types of modifiers focus the light down to a smaller area. The light hits the subject but then quickly falls off to leave the rest of the scene dark. Gels — Gels give light color. These can be used to troubleshoot — like making a flash match the orange of the sunset in the scene — or to get creative and add unexpected color.So what is the best lighting for photography? Recommended lighting gearNow that you have an idea of what you need, what kit should you put in your cart?

There are many great lighting brands out there at many different price points. But, to get you started, here are a few favorites with a moderate price tag.Speedlight: Nikon SB-700 or Canon Speedlight 430EX II, with the Phottix Stratto II receiver and transmitter for off-camera flash.Continuous Light: Look for affordable options from Lowel or Impact, or try ikan’s LED panels.Strobe light kit: Try the Profoto B2s, or options from Wescott, Elinchrom or Bowens. For tighter budgets, look at the Impact brand.Modifiers: For modifying a speedlight, try the MagMod diffuser or kit, or, if you are on a tight budget, a small inexpensive flash softbox.

For diffusing studio light, Elinchrom and Wescott are great, while Neweer works if you don’t have much to spend. For other modifiers, look at what the manufacturer of your studio light suggests to ensure you pick up something compatible., and you can learn how to create nearly any kind of photograph. The best lighting for photography is going to to be the best lighting for your style of photography — one photographer may swear by his flash while the next insists her battery-powered strobes are the best. Armed with information on the types of lights and modifiers and the most essential specs, you can choose the right tool for the shot.