Tutorial Thursday Vol 1 [Phoenix, Mesa, Gilbert Professional Photography]

       Maybe I should do a Tutorial Tuesday but for now- I know, I know. It's a really bad image. But there's a reason I'm sharing it. Actually multiple reasons. This is mostly about lighting, but it's also about just getting better snapshots of your kids. Again, from the 2006 files let's take a look at the bad image first. Yes, I do have some. The biggest reason why this image is so technically poor is the lighting. If you look at the main source of light, you'll notice it comes from high above and right. The reason why using light this way does not work is because it creates a split, uneven lighting pattern on the face. Very unflattering. One way to help combat this yucky lighting on the face would have been to use fill flash to fill in the shadow areas. A second reason, is poor choice of lens. I'm sure I'll talk about lenses down the road, but suffice it to say, lens choice does make a difference. Lastly, because of a poor choice of lens, there isn't enough separation of the subject to the background. Let's take a look at the second image:

                                          SOOC

   
      No, I didn't quickly change my settings. Yes, this has been PS'd. But for a reason.  Are you sick of all my reasons yet? I can't go back and redo this image, but I wanted to demonstrate, not in the best way, how a fill flash could have helped here. One thing that can really help an image is the avoidance of raccoon eyes. Being able to see the subjects eyes make all the difference. So HOW should have this image been shot? There's more than one answer, but the easiest would have been to have the subjects backs to the sun and used flash to fill in the shadows. SHOOT DIRECTLY INTO THE SUN???? Yep, try it. When you get the right amount of flash, your background will more than likely blow out. In other words, not very good detail, but the subject will be more properly lit. And isn't a photograph all about the subject? It's ALWAYS best to get the exposure right in the camera. Why? Because this image took about 5-10 minutes just to be able to make it demonstrable for this little tutorial. 

                                         PS'd

                                      I hope this helped! If you have a specific topic you would like me to tackle in the future, let me know! Happy shooting!