We had thought about canceling this session. It rained off and on throughout the day. Thankfully we didn't. The rain let off and the sun shone behind a thin layer of clouds in the same way that an umbrella diffuses the light from a flash. So the light was soft and directional and by placing the subject a different angles to the sun you can achieve different effects.I always look for cool transitional areas. Areas that are in full sunlight but transition slowly to shade. This are in our downtown has some of those that I like. This is an overpass. The rocks make an interesting background. If you move the subject far from the opening you get flat light. As you move closer to the entrance, you start to get some direct sunlight that you can use as an accent light on the face or shoulder.
Here is one with the sun almost directly behind me. You can see that there is very little shadow on the face. The little bit of shadow that is there has a very soft transition showing what a great soft box the Lord provided with the clouds.
Here is one of my favorite walls.
This gate was a new find. I've probably walked by it a hundred times.
A yellow door. Wasn't sure about this one but I like the rustic look. Notice how he has the direct light giving a nice highlight on the right side. Again, you have control in a situation like this. If the highlight is too big or too bright, back the subject farther into the doorway.
Not much to say here. Adorable kids sitting on the curb.
I think these are my favorites of the bunch. The sun is behind them giving the great accent light on the hair and shoulders. The sky behind just blows out. GEEK TECH STUFF: If you're not interested skip this paragraph.This can be a challenging photographic situation. Most cameras set to automatic will try to meter this down to get details in the bright sky. And that will put the subject into almost complete silhouette. That's a cool look if that is what you are going for. If not, you have to do a little work to get details in the subject. If you have exposure compensation you can dial in some positive number. This acts like an offset. Whatever your meter thinks is the correct exposure, this positive number will be added to it. For instance, here I dialed in +2/3 or +1 depending on how much sun I had in the frame.If you have exposure lock on your camera you can point your camera toward something that you want to meter on, press and hold the exposure lock button, recompose the photo and press the shutter release. I used that technique here as well. I have not settled on my favorite way yet. In this case, I would point at the shadow in front of the subject or maybe his dark jeans, hold the auto exposure (AE) lock button, recompose and shoot.
Maybe these are my favorites. I can not make up my mind. I always like the silly faces. Wow, this is seriously the longest post I've ever made but hopefully on top of enjoying the photos you may have picked up a little something that you did not know before.
Be blessed!
Labels:
backlight,
cross light,
kids,
natural light,
one light,
rim light
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I had the privilege of photographing our friends' baby yesterday. This baby, we are particularly happy to see because we have been praying for her for such a long time. And now she's here and she's beautiful. Mommy and daddy and grandma are extremely happy and she is destined to be neglected I'm sure (if by neglect you mean spoiled like crazy). :)
The shots were taken in the hospital. because of that I wanted to travel light so I brought the camera, a flash, an umbrella, and a stand. I didn't bring any reflectors because I knew there would be no shortage of white sheets, white pillows, and other items that can be used as stand in reflectors. So some of the shots were taken with the umbrella and for some I shot the flash into the ceiling.
Labels:
backlight,
family portraits,
kids,
one light,
portraits
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I should probably have named this "The Aftermath Of The Ice Cream Truck". Our kiddos got their first ice cream from the ice cream truck. We were playing board games on the living room floor when, ever so quietly, you could hear the tell tale sounds of the truck of bliss. Out the garage door they went parents in tow. We did not have time to grab a camera for the purchase but captured the ensuing feeding frenzy. 
Again the light here is so nice. The sun was low in the sky at sunset so you can see the direct sunlight creating a rim light while the still blue sky creates great flat light on the faces.Oh yeah, did I mention that while me and the boys were playing Angry Birds Space board game, Maggie was getting her hair colored (temporarily of course).
Labels:
backlight,
kids,
natural light,
one light,
rim light
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This was the latest wedding. A wedding overlooking the beach. Funny how you take for granted the place that you live. But the ocean really is amazing. And makes for amazing photographs.
The above shot and this one are a couple of my favorites.
Here are a few more on the beach.
Always be on the lookout for details that help tell the story of the wedding day.
The rings are obvious. I found some of the flowers to shoot through for the ring shots.
Necklaces, hairpieces, shoes etc. are some details that may be overlooked.
Candids, of course, are requested by most every one. Capturing moments that would otherwise pass by. Here is the bride with her brother and sister.
And the kiddos are some of my favorite subjects. This particular one was difficult to get a shot of.
Be blessed.
Labels:
beach,
ocean,
one light,
wedding,
wedding portraits,
weddings
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This was my first official Senior Portrait session. I thought they came out great! What a great subject. She is a tough one to get to smile but as we got more comfortable the smiles came. The shot above should be an advertisement for something.
The family was interested in a walking bridge near their home so we got in the vehicles and headed over. The bridge made for a great backdrop. It was a challenge to time shots so that there wasn't traffic in the background. People were slowing down to see what we were doing.
We took some natural light shots like this one here. Sun is coming from behind so when we expose for the face some of the highlights get blown out. I like the effect.
Then we broke out the umbrella and took some using just that balanced with the ambient light.
This should be a magazine cover.
I wanted to have everything from closeups to full length shots so that they would have plenty of choices.
Here's a closeup using the umbrella to capture the eyes.
We had Mom become a photo assistant and hold a second flash. I used the second source for accent like the hair light on camera left here. I love the sitting poses. I also dig the far away look here. Mom was concerned that she wasn't smiling enough. I am thankful that she was giving the "say cheese" look all the time (like my kids). I prefer having to dig for a smile.
You can see the accent coming from camera right in this one. Still using the umbrella as key light.
Another great time with a great family. Glad you like the shots.
If you are interested in booking me please contact me using the links above and right. Would love to work with you. I will be available next year (in a few weeks).
Be blessed.
Labels:
backlight,
balancing ambient,
kids,
multiple lights,
natural light,
one light,
portraits,
senior,
shoot thru
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