Embracing the light of summer
Ahhh, sweet summer time. If you have kids, then thoughts of lemonade stands, splash pads, baseball games, popsicles and late bedtimes probably comes to mind. Maybe you’ve even got a weekend getaway or a vacation planned as we enter our last weeks of summer before school starts. (Say it ain’t so!) Or maybe you’ve been making memories with your friends, attending summer camps, spending days at the lake or the pool.
Often times, the summer sun is less than ideal for soft, beautiful pictures. As a photographer, my favorite time to shoot a family, child or senior session is an hour or two before sunset, where the light is more filtered and soft. But in the middle of the day, often the sun is unfiltered, producing harsh shadows and tricky lighting. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to document our family memories, so here are a few tips to help you embrace that summer light and be confident with your camera, whether that’s a phone, point and shoot, or DSLR!
Summer = COLOR. Embrace it!
Summer means bright blue skies, fluffy clouds, lush greens and bold color. If the sun is hitting your subject from the front, it also means the colors will likely be pretty vivid behind them. Embrace it, back up, and take a wide angle shot to capture that color! I also find myself thinking more carefully about what my kids are wearing - I will usually think about what the environment is going to be and try to find clothes that will be complementary or harmonious on the color wheel.
This was shot in the early afternoon. I loved the vibrant color of the green grass and that beautiful sky. Here I chose to dress him in an analogous color scheme.
Be mindful of the time of day and adjust accordingly
if I’m taking pictures in the middle of the day, often I’ll capture shots of my kids engaged in activities, sometimes even with their backs to me - it’s actually more comfortable for them than asking them to face towards the sun. Often times this decreases the appearance of harsh shadows under their eyes.
I grouped the girls together here and told them to find their best strawberry. I gave my subjects something to do, and backed up to get the landscape behind them.
Asking my subject to look up at me/the camera was too much - it was way too bright and after trying to squint at me, he just put his head down.
If you do find yourself getting harsh shadows and highlights, play with converting your image to black and white. Often times this can create a striking composition. You can also play around with your point of view - find a different angle to tell the story from.
Converting to black and white - I converted this to black and white and love the contrast in their sweaty hair and the the beautiful sky.
Point of view - I wanted to make her adorable outfit and little red boots the star of this image.
Find open shade or wait for the clouds
Sometimes I want more than an environmental, wide angle shot and want to get a close up shot of my childrens’ face. If it’s really sunny out, I’ll move them to a more ideal location to snap a quick picture…this usually means placing them under the shade of a tree or building.
The sun was coming out and starting to create harsh shadows and highlights; and it was causing the tablecloth to reflect some pretty unsightly green on their faces.
I moved the girls to a spot just a couple feet away, under the shade of a tree. While there’s still a little dappled light on the girls arm, this is an improvement over the first image.
Have fun and get in the frame!
You were there, too! If you’re shooting with your mobile phone, place it on a sturdy surface and set the timer, or ask someone nearby to take a picture for you. A selfie is better than nothing! Your kids will want to see pictures of you, too! There are also lots of apps out there that have more advanced timer features. I like to use Photo Timer+ on my iPhone. I can set the number of pictures it takes, the interval, and it will even audibly countdown for me.
Having fun with my girl at a baseball game.