Hey guys! I hope that you and your family are well and healthy during this time. The Coronavirus has definitely shaken up our world. Obviously there is lots that we can all worry about and most of it is probably out of our control, but I’m an optimist that looks for silver linings and distractions.
Most of us have been gifted extra time with our family. If you are like us, you are probably doing some supplemental school work, running in the back yard, baking boxed brownies, and playing lots of games. Even in a pandemic, these are memories for you and your children and worth capturing. I have a few tips to get better pictures of your kids. No fancy equipment required.
Turn off all the lights
The lights in our home have an orange hue to them. In photographs it leaves everyone’s skin tones just weird. The simple solution is open up those blinds and doors and let natural light into the house.
Here, my kids are doodling with Mo Willems while we are remaining socially distant. These pictures were taken on my iPhone with all the auto settings. In the second photo I turned off all the lights and opened our blinds. Not the most interesting photographs, but my kids are loving the doodle videos, and I wanted to document and share it. I love having some pictures of this for them. The picture quality is so much better in the second photo and the only thing I changed was the light.
Find the light
Now that you have the artificial light off, find the natural light. Hint: doors and windows. Get your subject (kids, spouse, pet, self) close to the light. You can place the light behind you to light up the subject, or you can use the windows and doors as part of the story. You can also play with the light and shadows this way. I don’t even have to ask, my kids are always peeking outside, and you can see the smudges on the window as proof. :)
The light is coming from the windows and door behind me lighting up Maeve, living her best life.
In the same room, Maeve is looking out the door window that was lighting up the room while she ate her lunch in the picture above.
Pay attention to the sun
Know where the sun is. Use the shadow on the ground to help you find it. In the pictures below, my daughter, Amelia, stayed in the same spot and I took pictures around her. In the top two pictures the sun is coming from a 45 degree angle in front of Amelia (see how her shadow is 45 degrees behind her?). The light is casting harsh shadows on her face. Plus, it’s making her squint. The bottom two pictures the sun ins coming from behind. The light on her face is more even and she isn’t squinting. These were taken with my DSLR, but most cellphone cameras you just have to tap on the subject you want to expose for and in this case it would be Amelia’s face.
I hope you find these helpful. This time of isolation is not something any of us wanted, that’s for sure. But I hope you’re making the most of it and documenting it.