Taking Better Pics: Part 1 LOOK AT THE LIGHT

So, I'm going to try this out. "This" meaning share some tips on taking better photos. A lot of what I know, I taught myself, either through reading or trial and error. Mostly trial and error!! I may not be able to teach you the workings of a camera, (we'll see) but there are lots of little things you can do to improve your photos.

First thing is the light. This is THE most important when taking a photo. This is what a photo IS. A camera's function is to take in light. It's your job to either manipulate your surroundings...or your camera's settings, to make the camera take in the light the way you want it to. The easiest thing to do is to manipulate your surroundings.

We're going to talk about working outdoors here. So, obviously your main light source is the sun...and it's SUPER bright. More often than not, your best bet is to GO INTO THE SHADE. How many photos do you have like this?

 

I love these photos and am so grateful to have them, but they could have been so much better if we had rearranged ourselves. That would have gotten rid of the dark shadows on our faces.(Oh, and yes I'm very pregnant in that photo.)Looking  back through my "learning" period I can tell that this was this first thing I set out to master. Finding the Light. I have folder after folder on my computer of files where I was arranging my children in different kinds of light. 

This day was an example. I used to go out and really not know what to do. I made the mistake that many people do....looking for a cool background. I tell my clients now not to worry about the background. We can make almost anything look good if we have good light. I took my sweet (!) middle son to our little downtown area to practice. I picked these old gas pumps thinking "they look cool". Well, the light wasn't right. You can see him squinting. His face is bright. Knowing what I know now, I could have made this location work...but not then. I just made him get up and move to the SHADE.

This worked perfectly. He could open his eyes and smile!





After learning to see the light in a situation I practiced a ton. My kids loved every second of it! You can see the joy in their faces! :)

Okay, not always, but it was worth it.

Sometimes, this is going to be irrelevant. If you're the type to get your kids in front of every landmark on vacation, you may not be able to do anything about the lighting conditions. That's okay, some photos are about capturing a moment more than anything else. But, when you want to get good, clean photos of someones face...get into the shade!

Please leave comments...it let's me know whats going on out there!! :)