Mommy Moments #5: Natural even light

15May08

Welcome back, folks!  I hope you’re still around for the ride!!!

This is especially to prepare all you Mommies for the bright summer sun!!!  If you’re like me I love to be outside with the kids and of course always have my camera along!!  But sometimes that sun is so darn bright – you end up with squinty kids and very bright faces.

In photos to photograph a person you’re going for EVEN LIGHTING that means that there aren’t shadows or bright spots that distract the viewer from the real subject.  Let me show you (below).  See how even light in a photo helps you focus on the real subject, your beauties!!

Digital cameras can easily shoot open shade and that’s where you should head to get the best portraits!

Some things to keep in mind:

1.  Make sure your flash is off!  After all we’re trying to acheive great naturally lit photos!

2.  Make sure you’re not in a place where some sun rays might shoot through and brighten in only some spot of the face (like under a tree it could be open shade and it could be spotted light!)

3.  Open shade does include overcast days!  Many people I meet say – Wow this is a perfect day for taking pictures (when it’s very bright sun!)  Actually that’s a myth – on very bright sunny days I prefer to either not take pictures of my kids, only take them inside, or find open shade (which depending on your location might be a challenge!)  Whereas an overcast (but not dark) day has enough light to brighten up images while not overwhelming them, TRY IT!

When you get a bit more adventurous you could also try shooting with the sun at the child’s back.  A little bit trickier to get good exposure but a backlight portrait can be radiant!

NATURAL EVEN LIGHT PLACES:  GARAGE, UNDER A TREE, IN AN ALLEY, SIDE OF THE HOUSE THAT’S ALL SHADED

SHOW ME WHAT YOU COME UP WITH!!!! ENJOY!

such a bright sunny day – but we found this spot on the side of their house – perfect open shade!

notice in this case that we snuck by the wall to a walkway so that their faces were in the shade (see how bright it is behind them!)

this person’s yard is so bright and sunny, but we found a place near their shed, perfectly shaded!

again – a wall that provides natural shade, perfect!

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Tags: camera, lighting, Mama, Mommies, Moms, natural light, open shade, photography, photography lesson