Snapshop Peeps: March 2015

Light can often be the difference between a good picture and a "not so good" picture (because remember, AT LEAST it's a picture that you have!!!)

Often we've metered the best that we are able...and we think the shutterspeed and aperture are such that we won't get blur, as long as the subject doesn't move...but the image just still looks blurry...this is generally due to not enough light.

Light can sometimes be our biggest nemesis...especially when we don't have enough of it...

We are coming into the Spring season...where the daylight will stick around longer...however, in this part of the country, it often means rain and just the usual spring weather...which, in turn, keeps us inside...a lot!

I receive the most questions about LIGHT when people start talking photography with me. If you remember in our Snapshops, we talked about light just a bit (there is even a little page in your booklet about it)

We discussed just basic things like:

*if you put the light source BEHIND the person, depending on the time of day, faces could be completely shadowed...during a "golden hour" you might get more of a halo, gorgeous glow...regardless, it all depends on where that light is and how it is settling onto your subject.

*If a light source is to the side of a person, you might get those half and half shadows on their skin...but, again, this depends on the strength of the light and whether it is filtered through clouds or the time of day...

There is so much to consider when trying to capture just the right moment...

~You are trying to determine the part of the story that you want to showcase (character, setting, details...etc)

~You are choosing the best "frame" for the picture (principle of thirds, close up, angle up or down....etc)

~You are then asking your camera to measure the light on your subject while simultaneously determining how much bokeh you'd like, as it coincides with your shutterspeed (whether you've got a moving kiddo) all the while making sure you don't get too much grain with ISO...

WHEW!!! That's a LOT to think about all at once!!!

AND THEN...before all this even takes place, you've got to determine your light source...

the color of the light (sun, lamp, window, reflecting off walls)

the angle of the light (straight overhead, filtered through clouds, setting in the sky)

the strength of the light (time of day, size of window or doorwall, lightbulb)

All these things factor in when you are determining where to take a picture...

Let's spend a little time with "indoor light" for the sake of this blog post :)

Where are the best places in your home that give you the best light for a photo?

How can you set yourself up for SUCCESS when we're stuck inside this spring?

1. WINDOWS: near windows are sometimes the best places to get pictures in our homes...however, as I mentioned above, you still have to consider the strength and angle of the sun coming through at any particular time of day. You wouldn't want to sit your child in the area of the most intense light on a bright, sunny day. You'd want to find the area where the light becomes softer versus harsh.

2. SHEER CURTAINS: Have you ever seen softboxes in a studio? Sheer curtains act like a soft box...they can be a great backdrop for a photo, especially on days when the sun is most harsh streaming through the windows.

3. OPEN DOORS: we practiced a bit in front of the open door in my home at the Ohio Snapshops. However, you need to follow the same guidelines as with windows with regards to strength and angle of light streaming in, otherwise, you get too harsh of light hitting faces and it looks similar to sitting outside at noon with squinty eyes. Open doors are also great for silhouettes (if you wanted to practice increasing that shutterspeed to make your subject DARK, but allowing the light to be seen...if you want to completely blow OUT the light in the door, you would make your shutterspeed slower...however, the slower you go, the more light you allow on your subject and it isn't as much of a silhouette at that point.

4. LAMPS: using lamps as your light source can be tricky, especially with the color of the light...things have more of a yellow glow to them...I would use this for a dramatic look...like a candlelight service at Christmas...these are photos that you are focusing in on a detail or the subject's face...not so much the setting or action taking place...your ISO will need to be higher and your image will take on a warmer tone.

5. REFLECTIVE WALLS, COUNTERTOPS, TUBS: Anything that is white or light colored will reflect light...I get much better lighting in my music room which has light khaki walls and cream carpet as opposed to my kitchen with my bright red wall and cherry wood floor & furniture.

(see images above for that "reflective" light as well...the walls were yellow...combined with the ceiling lights, the "color" was definitely warmer in these situations)

These are just examples of situations that I've had "low light" OR I've been stuck indoors and wanted to still capture a moment. Once I know what I'm working with, I can figure out my storytelling options and work with the light & my camera settings to get the best image...

You've heard it said a million times before...

What stories do YOUR pictures tell?

Are you still in "point & shoot" mode?

Do you take a moment to really LOOK at a moment as it's unfolding?

Try to think about the pictures that you love to look at most...

I like looking at pictures of my girls when they were younger...as I'm scrolling through them, I sometimes feel like I don't have enough, I want to "know" more...I want to "see" more...

It's often because I've only snapped one picture or one angle of a moment...

it's as if, I started to "read" the book and the next 5 chapters have been ripped out.

I know, I know...sometimes, just one shot is all you have time for...but, I challenge you to look at your "life through the lens" for just 5 minutes...and see if you can tell the entire story...

just by using the composition tips you've learned in your Snapshop booklet...

Here are some storytelling ideas by which you can practice:

1. Focus in on Food

Perhaps your 10 year old enjoys cooking, or you are preparing to sit down to eat a meal together for the first time since soccer season started, or it's ice cream sundae night at your home. Whatever the case, it doesn't have to be something huge or forced...those mundane things are sometimes the most special because wrapped in the story is a sense of belonging, security and a sigh of contentment.

2. Try a Hobby or Something they LOVE

My youngest is into legos (we all are at Christmas time with our lego winter village too) My middle girl loves all things music...be it piano, the drums, the guitar. You can always find her practicing in the music room.

3. Play Outside

It's finally getting warmer outside now...get out those old scooters and bikes. If you are more northern, perhaps you still have snow, but it's not as bitter cold...

4. Play a Game

You might remember these examples from the Snapshop. My girls have always loved to sit down as a family and play a game.

5. BE CREATIVELY CRAZY

Remember the ALS challenge with the ice water bucket? Or maybe your family gets a bunch of nerf guns and goes wild in your house...

With any of these ideas there are some things that you can do...in just 5-10 minutes.

First, grab your camera (put it on aperture mode if you are just in a super hurry and don't want to have to think too much at first) But remember the technical side...USE your settings to get that bokeh blur, or to catch the action taking place!

Take a deep breath and really WATCH what is happening...pretend to be a fly on the wall and just examine the surroundings, the voices, the light, their eyes...

Take a couple pictures of just the whole thing (the whole dining room table, the messy floor of legos, the driveway with them riding the scooters, the entire living room with everyone on the floor rolling the dice)

Now, move in a bit, focus in on just a couple of your kiddos. Snap an image from behind, then move and get their expression from the front.

Move in even closer and focus in on hands and fingers and fill up the frame with their smiling faces.

My sample pictures are just quick examples...they aren't perfect...we were IN the moment, so they were quick shots that I grabbed before I jumped back into the activity ;)

It only takes a few moments, to capture the story...

but you'll be able to "read" it for a lifetime...

BE ENCOURAGED!!! DON'T GIVE UP!!! PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!!

I love photography because it's something in which you can always be GROWING...

I'm a big "affirmation" and "immediate gratification" type person...

Therefore, when I can make before/after comparisons and see how far I've come...oh my, it makes my heart happy!

In the hopes of encouraging you...I thought I'd share a few of my beginning mistakes...

1. Pop Up Flash

Oh lordy...that pop up flash! I can't tell you how many "Lovely" shadows I had boxing in my children at special moments in their lives...or how that adorable pastey white skin gave off such a reflective glow from their cheeks...I knew that I needed I needed to figure out how to shoot in low light situations indoors...

but, that sometimes led to other problems...

*fixes: external flashes, learn ISO capabilities on your specific camera

2. Too Slow Shutterspeed Problems

I was learning that aperture gave me my creative "edge" and that it helped bring in more light...but, I still had to figure out how that combined with the shutterspeed and ISO (that exposure triangle if you will) ...especially for active, young daughters!

This was before I read up that you should probably never go below 1/250 of a second for shutterspeed when photographing kiddos...YUP, that would be very helpful in the future!

Once I started to learn about how light came into my camera, how it was measured and how I could control it with that "exposure triangle"...it helped me to start understanding the ways to use my settings to may advantage when in low light situations, but still be able to capture action when I needed.

**fixes: use the cheat sheet to help you remember what settings do on your camera, know your lighting

3. OVER and UNDER Processing

When I first discovered photoshop, I was overwhelmed...But, after I learned a few things, well I just thought I was the cat's meow! What I still hadn't grasped was how to properly expose an image...white balance wasn't even in my vocabulary...and I was over compensating for the fact that my pictures weren't coming straight out of my camera correctly.

I slowly discovered that the better my pictures came SOOC, the less I had to fiddle with them...and the more natural and beautiful they became. Learning how to slighting adjust for exposure compensation and/or white balance issues was immensely helpful as well.

4. Not Understanding Light

I thought that if the sun was shining, then I ought to get out there and take a picture! I didn't recognize the shadows and angle of light. I didn't even know about reflective light or "color" of light for that matter. I look back on these pictures and can't believe I was satisfied with the shadows on their faces, and the over exposed highlights. Learning to understand histograms and becoming a student of light has helped propel me in the right direction...to make sure I use light to my advantage instead of letting it hurt my photographs.

**fixes: become a student of light...notice shadows in your home or in your yard at certain times of day...look for walls, water, things that reflect light to help you in lower light situations. When outdoors, adjust your subjects accordingly, but also be aware of YOU having to move if your kids are playing outside so that YOUR angle will give you the best contrasts/brightness in your camera

5. Clueless about Depth of Field

Don't you love that branch coming out of my daughter's head? Yes, aperture & depth of field were enigmas to me for a very long time. Remember the story about how I put vaseline on my lens so that I could get the blur? The fstop numbers correlating with the aperture ring...UGH, you might as well have been talking Chinese in the beginning.

However, once I began to get the slightest grasp on how my positioning of myself a certain distance from my subject, combined with the fstop setting and then combining that with the distance my subject was from another object...when I started to put it together in baby steps...that's when I started to see change in my images!

**fixes: Know what your lenses are capable of with regards to f-stop...once you have a grasp on that, you will be able to position yourself and your subjects a correct distance away in order to best utilize what you are able to do...if you have a lens with 1.4 or 1.8 f stops, be mindful of your focal points and your movement

Another area that I can see being a "blunder" is:

6. Not Intentionally Composing a Moment I didn't understand, at first, that there were actual "rules" and "tips"...I've always seen a "story" through my camera lens, but it was helpful to start forming a list in my head so that I covered all the main parts of my "story" during the moments of my family's life.

You can check out the current state of my photography on my facebook page or back at the HOME page of the blog. However, I know that I still have so much more to learn...and my subjects are always changing...telling different stories...and that's my challenge...the goal to which I aspire...to continually be growing with them...so that their story is captured in the moments!

This was by no means an exhaustive list, nor was it filled with fail-proof, specific remedies for these situations. These were just examples of things that I noticed in my pictures early on...and that now, I have seen a change in the way I see life through the lens as well as what I focus on currently in order to make the pictures into what I envision in my mind!

If YOU want to learn your camera...as in REALLY understand HOW it works so that you can actually TELL IT WHAT TO DO...then click HERE to get the scoop on a Snapshop and then contact me at ctphotomemories@gmail.com and put SNAPSHOP in the subject line...Let's get you signed up and on your way to taking Ahhhhhmazing pictures of your kids!!!

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