MomShots

I love checking my email and finding a question from a reader. It really makes my day! This morning I received this wonderful question:

I took an awesome picture of my daughter the other day while she was outside and when I got in the house I noticed there were big shadows on the side of her face. I don’t really mind in this particular picture, because it is so good, but my question is how do you not get shadow on a sunny day? Do they have to look straight into the direction of the sun or what? Thanks for your help!

Thanks Julie. Your daughter is adorable and looks like she has such a fun personality! So cute!!!

What a great question! We have all dealt with this issue. I know I have, for sure!!!

This is my reply to Julie’s email:

For shadows, there are a few options but they all start with being aware of the shadows in the first place. I find that it takes a while of intentionally noticing the shadows to get used to looking for them.

Once you are aware that there are shadows the next thing you usually want to do is get rid of them. One option is called “Fill Flash”. That basically means that you use your flash to fill in the shadows with light. Some photographers always use their flash when shooting outside, just as a standard rule. I don’t do that but then, I also have had a lot of great shots “ruined” by shadows so maybe I should start doing that more often.

The next option is to position your subject so that the sunlight is shining at the front of them. This can cause problems too. There may still be shadows (like under the nose) depending on how they are standing. Plus, no one really enjoys looking straight at the sun!
But it is an option and can help you achieve the desired result.

Another option is to get a reflector. This is a silver or gold disk that you can hold and reflect or bounce light into your subject’s face to eliminate the shadows. Many professional photographers use this method. It is very nice because you can direct the light to shine on their face exactly how you would like. The downside to this is that it can be cumbersome to try to hold a reflector and take the shot at the same time. It can be done and may require practice. It is also helpful to have an assistant when using this; not always practical for the regular mom out shooting her kids…

The last option that I can think of is probably the least helpful; move to a shady area or shoot later in the afternoon. As a mom, I get tired of hearing photographers say this. Yes, the light is better during the “Golden Hour” (the space of time right before sunset and right after sunrise), but that time doesn’t always coincide with when our children are feeling up to the task of being photographed. One of my goals in photography is to learn how to take good photos in any light situation whether ideal or not.

That being said, if you want to avoid shadows completely, one of the easiest ways to do that is to place your subject in a large shadow. The shadow of a building or large tree can often dissipate all the harsh shadows from the sun and you can easily take the shot you are looking for.

I hope this advice is helpful to Julie and others. Thanks for the opportunity to think about this great subject. I love it!!!

Last night we went to the park down the street and had a picnic dinner.  After we ate, I followed the boys around with my camera for a while trying to get some good Momshots.  I have to say that they are getting better at being photographed.  They are starting to strike little poses.  I don’t know if posing is good or not, but they are beginning to understand that if they are moving when I take the picture it will be blurry.

Anyway, there was a little section that was shaded by a large tree.  Magnus was crawling around in that area and he was just adorable so I decided to try out the trick with using the flash to eliminate shadows.

This idea is something that I have been thinking about a lot lately.  My Uncle Eric (who is a fabulous photographer) posted this tip here.  He said:

…the photo of the grape juice, try using the flash to fill in the shadows.

So I thought I’d give it a try.  My results were less than perfect but I’m OK with that because this is all a learning process for me.  This first one is overexposed but I can see that if I had used different settings it might have been a great Momshot.  The EXIF data on the picture says that I used an aperture of f/3.3 and a shutter speed of 1/180 of a second.  I probably should have sped up the shutter a little bit.  Maybe 1/200 would have been enough to get more definition around his jaw line.  He’s pretty cute though, isn’t he?  

This second one isn’t perfect either but I think it is closer to the desired effect.  He isn’t engulfed in shadow but he’s not totally blown out either.  Different settings made a big difference.  I used an aperture of f/5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/180.  So the smaller aperture made quite a difference.

It looks like I was playing with adjusting the aperture.  I usually play with the shutter speed and leave the aperture alone pretty much alone.  

I read the other day that one of the differences between an amateur photographer and pro is that the pros don’t ever show anyone their bad photos.  Well, since this is a site dedicated to learning photography, I am going to be showing a lot of my not so great shots.  Maybe one day that will change.  I keep hoping that I’ll download my camera and it will be filled with awesome Momshots.  One day…  

So I guess the moral of the story is to practice, practice, practice.  I am going to keep at this until I get some good consistent results.  That’s what this is all about.