Shutterbug Sunday: Natural Light

I positioned them so the sun was to their backs.

Since spring is just around the corner (fingers crossed), and everyone is itching to slip on their flip flops, I thought it would be fun to think about natural light. Believe it or not when I first was starting out and clueless, shooting in manual mode using natural light seemed so intimidating to me! I was more than happy to keep using the basic P mode on my camera, but thankfully my husband encouraged me to branch out and LEARN! You have all seen those pictures. The ones where the everyone is sitting perfectly and its close to being a perfect photograph, except for one HUGE problem. All of the subjects faces are squinty and distorted from the direct sun. I made this mistake many times back in the beginning!

Shady spot with a tree as a natural reflector.

When scheduling summer sessions in NY you never know what you’re going to get for weather. I have had clients ask me on several occasions if we should reschedule due to the overcast gray skies. From a normal persons perspective a cloudy day does not seem like a good day for pictures. Due to our severe lack of sunny days around here we consider a perfect day to be warm with lots of sunshine. But for the rest of us behind the camera, a forecast of cloudy skies is music to our ears! On cloudy days the sky acts as one giant soft box which makes almost any outdoor location ideal. On sunny days however, let’s just say my job is a whole lot harder! So what do you do when the sun is blazing and you want to avoid those squinty eyed and scrunched face pictures? Concentrate on shaded areas, try using natural reflectors, and pay attention to how you position your subjects. The first thing I do is look for areas with shade. The shade will provide you with the break you need from the sun, but will still allow for you to shoot your subjects with natural light. The second thing I for look are natural reflectors. This could be almost anything that works to softly reflect the suns light onto your subjects. It could be a wall, a tree, or other object in the area. Lastly, if your chosen spot is short on shade, and placing people in direct sun is your only option, position them so the sun is either to their backs or their sides. This should also help to eliminate the harsh shadows and scrunched eyes. So the next time you’re out taking pictures in the hot sun, try to use natures natural soft boxes and reflectors. It might just make all the difference!

Shady Spot

For some great info on using natural reflectors check out this blog post from Jasmine Star, and amazing “GO TO Photographer”. http://www.jasminestarblog.com/index.cfm?q=reflections+%3A&x=0&y=0

Enjoy your day!

://www.marynicholsphotography.com/

Shutterbug Sunday: Crafty Girl Advice

 I just got back from a Trip to Dallas for work. On the way home I soaked in the most beautiful sunset. It's kind of hard to really capture the beauty of our world through a camera lens but I have captured a couple shots that help me remember the moment. The above shot was one of them.

First off, I took this picture with my I-phone. I don't like to carry my fancy, more expensive camera when traveling because it's  just another thing to carry. You'd think I would take it with me because that's the time it would be most needed- but, honestly- sometimes I just don't make sense to myself-so I can't explain it to you.

I turned off my flash and allowed my lens to adapt to the natural warmth of the light peeking through my little window. I held as still as possible and snapped. I got one picture. The light changed in an instant and the warmth changed. I was so thankful for my camera taking a clear image. Turning off the flash was the key to this shot. Even as I look at this picture 2 days later I remember how excited I felt about coming home to my beautiful babies and husband who managed to keep the house moving along just fine in my absence.

The picture below was shot obviously from the ground. I took a couple shots and discovered the composition was the key to this picture. I took the shot in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Sorry, to reveal the magic- but I tell you this because I want to help you think more about how you frame your pictures. In this instance I tilted up as high as I could to at least have some tree tops and mostly see the sky. You can see a couple lamp posts if you look really hard- but your eye gravitates toward the beautiful sky.  The way the clouds sweep up and the glow of the sun make this picture beautiful.

Sometimes it's luck, sometimes its talent- but as you are taking pictures for your scrapbooks, art journals or just to remember a special moment- today's advice is to take the time to think about what makes the picture so special and focus on it. It's easy to just snap away but when you look back on that picture you want it to be able to transport you back into your feelings of that moment. It can happen with some mindful snapping!