Post by craftysnapper on Jun 19, 2015 18:52:45 GMT
A few people have commented on my portraits of my Grandchildren, so I thought I would share my technique for shooting at the wrong time of day which is when the grandkids are usually in my garden playing. 
As the site is all about software there does not seem to be a place for Photo techniques so I have put it here.
The quality of lighting is paramount in outdoor natural light portraiture and here I hope to show how it can be achieved without reflectors or fill in flash even on the brightest sunny day.
You can off course always correct bad lighting in post processing but getting it right at the taking stage makes it less work and always looks better.
When shooting in midday sun this is the effect you can expect, panda eyes and contrasty light.
This was taken at my son's house which being new had a open garden with no shade.
This was taken 30 minutes later and all I did was I took her to the front of the house and positioned her in the shade just inside at the front of the narrow gully way between the new houses which acted as large directional soft box.
Here I simply used a patterned bed sheet that was hanging on the clothes line in the garden to stop the bright overhead sunlight and use the open sky as a soft box.
This one is simply a swinging garden chair with a sun canopy over it which means the light can only come from a frontal angle and is more softer.
So basicly you need to modify the direction of the light by looking at the possibilities around you..look for the light.
I hope this is of use to anyone,
As the site is all about software there does not seem to be a place for Photo techniques so I have put it here.
The quality of lighting is paramount in outdoor natural light portraiture and here I hope to show how it can be achieved without reflectors or fill in flash even on the brightest sunny day.
You can off course always correct bad lighting in post processing but getting it right at the taking stage makes it less work and always looks better.
When shooting in midday sun this is the effect you can expect, panda eyes and contrasty light.
This was taken at my son's house which being new had a open garden with no shade.
This was taken 30 minutes later and all I did was I took her to the front of the house and positioned her in the shade just inside at the front of the narrow gully way between the new houses which acted as large directional soft box.
Here I simply used a patterned bed sheet that was hanging on the clothes line in the garden to stop the bright overhead sunlight and use the open sky as a soft box.
This one is simply a swinging garden chair with a sun canopy over it which means the light can only come from a frontal angle and is more softer.
So basicly you need to modify the direction of the light by looking at the possibilities around you..look for the light.
I hope this is of use to anyone,
Xanax 
in their KoolAid; that will slow them down just enough to allow photography; it works much the same as putting small critters in the refrigerator for a few hours before doing close-up work. 