Friday, July 24, 2009

How to Take Portraits in the Sun: Finding Shade

A couple weekends ago, Mindy and I traveled down south for a wedding. I thought I would post a couple pictures of my family I had my cousin take to illustrate two more quick ways to take portraits in the sun.

Method 1: If the sun isn't too bright, just put it behind your subject and
shoot away.

In this first image, the sun must be slightly blocked by clouds because our faces are still well exposed. A side benefit of this technique is the "rim lighting" the sun is providing. Notice the bright light around the edges of my family, which helps separate us from the background and adds interest.






Method 2: Move to shade.

Notice how in this second picture the subject's faces are slightly brighter than in the first picture? Also, when you're shooting in full shade, you can be reasonably certain that you will obtain an even exposure all around.









I personally use both of these techniques all the time in my professional shooting, and there's no reason we can't use them with our point and shoot cameras too. I hope these tutorials have been helpful so far! Let me know in the comments if there is anything else you would like to know about.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Bowker Vow Renewal and Baby Dedication

You might remember the Bowkers from their maternity shoot, which took place a few months ago. Well, now Ava is here so Brian and Kristi decided to combine a baby dedication with a vow renewal on their 10th anniversary. We gathered at Marine Park in Bellingham for pictures, celebration, and lots of good friends and lawn games. It was a wonderful afternoon, and it was especially cool to see what the Bowkers marriage is like after 10 years. It's amazing to think about all the good that has come from their marriage in just the few years I have known them.

Congratulations Brian and Kristi.
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Before the ceremony, this cross was bare:
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...but the Bowkers asked their guests to each bring one stemmed flower, and just before the ceremony started the cross looked like this:
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Andi from Pure Bliss Desserts provided the sugar:
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