Photo tip - Lighting

Photography tips by kat

You're here because you are enjoying your DSLR camera and taking photos of your family but perhaps when you look at your photos something seems off. For instance, there may be too many shadows, you don't know how to position yourself in relation to the sun, how far or how close you need to come in to your child etc. Maybe you're new to photography and would like some help. The trick to making a great magically enhanced photo art is to start with good and eye candy photography.
I want you to have that ultimate magical photo of who you love so that your heart will sore every time you see it in your home. The bonus is that you'd be able to tell people "I took that photo!" with pride. Today's topic is about lighting....

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LIGHTING.
​When photographing anyone, light is extremely important. The wrong kind of lighting can ruin a photo by making it look flat, dark, or having annoying hotspots etc. When photographing a baby indoors you can use indirect lighting that can bounce off the walls. Depending on the time of day and how your baby's room is facing, observe how the light is shining on her. In my photo here the lighting was pretty even all over which made a real nice photo in my opinion. 
​​Positioning your camera right in front of baby's face is much more pleasant to look at than from a standing position. It's also good to keep the top part of the head away from the edge of the photo.

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Capturing a moment where the light source is coming from the window, or the sliding glass door, can be absolutely stunning. It tends to be more dramatic with more shadows on the opposite side of the face. You can always offset the dark shadows by bouncing back light using a white board or a reflector.

THE FLASH. There's a right and wrong time and place to use the flash. Indoor flash takes away the ambiance and mood causing a bluish cast to the photo. However, I've discovered that when I photograph inside a church building, I position my subjects almost in the center of the sanctuary, making sure the golden ceiling lights are visible, and the photo actually comes out well! The golden lights actually give off a 'warmth' ambiance, it lightens the background behind them and the subjects are lit. If those golden lights were not visible, the background would go real dark. You've seen those have you? So remember, if indoor flash is necessary, let there be some lights visible in the background.  When outdoors and the background is bright and your subject is in the shade looking dark, you can pop up your flash to shine some light on them.

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HOTSPOTS are terrible on the face. One, the sun is probably making your subject(s) squint, and two, the light is throwing off the exposure resulting in a mess of a photo. Have your subject move about until the face is even lit. 

Below I've provided some helpful videos to help give you visuals. Enjoy!

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Shooting with the sun behind subject

I have a whole blog post about this one. Click here to check out the magic!

Photo  gear  recommendations

I personally have the Canon Speedlite flash and the flash bender. Both have been excellent when I photograph indoors. What I like to do is turn my flash to face behind me and having the light bounce off the wall. Wow my subjects light up very nicely! I use the flash bender when I'm outside or away from a wall and so I don't blind people behind me too. *smile* They come in various sizes. I have the small but I bet the large would work excellent. 

I don't have the diffusers myself, although if I was still an active photographer I would get them. I've used a cheap foam board to be honest. It worked fine. But it was a hassle carrying that huge board around. Also it does look "cheap" to be carrying it. It's about your own preference.
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I have the Canon Rebel T1i. Fairly out-dated now. I can't even get it fixed. Right now they have the T6i and I believe the T7i (which I want!) available.  I've checked to find a less expensive camera but I've posted the best all over value complete with a package.  Once you get a hold of one of these babies you're going to fall in LOVE with photography and you'll be photographing EVERYTHING. 
I know that was me when I first got my first DSLR camera, the Olympus Evolt 300. *huge smile*

I hope I've helped given you an idea on how to work with lighting. I look forward to seeing how you've used the tips. Please feel free to share with me your new photos!

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