Monday, May 11, 2009

For the Love of Light

I believe, actually I know that it's possible to take a great photo with a point and shoot camera. You don't have to have a big, fancy professional camera to achieve great composition and lighting. When I'm about to take a photo, the first thing I do is turn off the flash. When it's the middle of the day and there's pretty sunlight coming through your window, that's the best time to take photos!
I have a mini photo shoot with my 5 month old son every Tuesday to document his growth. I open all of the windows in the room so it's nice and bright, turn off my flash and snap away! Here's a checklist of reminders for taking pictures with window light:

*Don't use direct, harsh sunlight, just the pretty luminosity from the afternoon sun
*Make sure your flash is off
*Hold your camera as still as possible when you're snapping the shot
*Make sure your subject (or your child's face) is facing the light to avoid shadows

Although there are circumstances where flash is necessary (night time, dark rooms, etc.) I try to avoid it at all possible so that faces don't look too washed out and colors are more natural. Experiment with it! Have fun!

(I didn't edit or change anything about these photos. They're straight out of the camera)

6 comments:

Natalie. said...

the difference is remarkable! Nice!

Reader from Afar said...

I tried this today and surprisingly my baby didn't have that "scary flash" face. Thanks for the tip!

shelly said...

This is great advice! I'm excited that you're the guest blogger this week!

garden of kids said...

Well after taking pictures for so long its nice to finally get a good tip on photography. I will remember this tip and share it with others. Great post. Keep the photo ideas coming. I love my new Nikon especially now!

Karen C. said...

It's always good to hear about good scrapbooking ideas and tips, but what would our pages be without good pictures. Thank you for the great photo tricks.

Mardi and Jeremey said...

Thanks for the tip. I always need little reminders like that.

 

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