As part of my on-going tagging of old photos, I came across folders of images I had recovered from a crashed hard drive.
They’re old – it was one of Sam’s birthday party (10th maybe?). And the thing that struck me was how nice the light was on everyone’s face. Smooth, even, soft – made all the kids look great.
Then I realized – it’s the shade. Yup, we were under a pavilion at a local school on a hot, blistering sunny day (like we’ve been having these past two weeks) and the light in the background of the pictures is harsh. But not under the pavilion. Any type of shade creates soft, beautiful light that is easy to photograph in and makes your subjects look GREAT.
So next time you are in bright sun look for the shade. It might be a building, a tree, a playground item, a beach umbrella – anything that will cast a large enough shadow and soften up that light.
Because even a 10 year old has to look good at the party!
Did you find this tip helpful? Leave a comment and let us know!
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July 2, 2010
Creative Junkie
I am trying to learn how to use my Nikon D90 and one of the biggest issues I have (amongst MANY) is learning how to use light. I try to take photos in shade but they’re still not very good. I’m starting a photo class next week and I hope to learn some of this stuff there.
Creative Junkie´s last [type] ..Mod Podge isn’t just for gluing mammary glands together- you know