Shining Some Light on Light!

Hey there! Pest Laura here with another photo tip for you!

One of the most important elements for photos (besides the adorable subjects) is your lighting! It can make or break a photo. Often something that 'looks' cute in person seems just a bit off once you see it on your screen or in print. Here are a few light pointers to help you capture the moments at their best!

1. The best time to photograph your children is at daybreak or at dusk. This is when the light is the softest and you get a more even distribution of light across the face. The absolute best time is dusk. You have 2 hours from sunrise and 2 hours before sun set to capture the best light of the day.





I took both of these shots for clients at dusk. Here is what happens if you can't catch the best light of the day.



This is just a mommy shot of my son and husband last year at the pumpkin patch. You can see the streams of light make this picture seem almost harsh and its hard to capture catch lights sometimes without your subject being blinded by the strong sun light.

2. When you can't use the best time of day, use a tree! The way to 'fake' the best even light is to use shade. You can position your children's activities under shady trees to get rid of sun streaks and capture a softer more appealing light.





Beware of positioning children ON trees. Not only do you risk the danger of falling but the sunshine peeking through the leaves can leave these harsh sun spots on random parts of their faces as seen in this photo.

3. I don't have a tree either! If you can't take photos in the best part of the day and you have no natural shading from a tree or a building, you can bring your own shade. I often use my reflector as a shadow but a blanket held up to cast a shadow or even for very small children, an adult standing over them. As long as the shadow is even across the entire photo, you have it made!




This was a senior photo I took while her friend held a reflector up to cast a shadow for me.

I hope you are taking advantage of the great sunsets that autumn has to offer! Keep snapping those memories!