Photographing Children In The Fog
February 16, 2010
OK, so the weather isn’t great, its early in the morning, and you want to photograph your children because they have been doing something real cute lately while playing outside, and there’s fog! As parents we know there’s a time to catch the action or the opportunity will go away to never return.
Children have this way of moving on once they get bored with doing something, so it is very important to be prepared for those rare occasions when they have come up with something truly unique and interesting. The one thing, however, that we can’t control is the weather. Here we are with fog; what do we do?
Actually, this isn’t a disaster, but just another opportunity to work with light. In this case the light will be very soft, and it gives you the chance to photograph your children in a lighting situation that lends itself to creating a mood, or feeling. There is something peaceful and calming about photographs in fog that give the photograph an extra element of interest.
Child and Mother in Fog
It’s time to use the AV, or aperture priority function, on your digital camera. All of that white mist can fool your exposure into thinking there is more light available than there really is, and that will cause your photograph to be under exposed. Therefore you will need to open up the lens wider, by at least one f-stop, so that the color in the photograph will be balanced.
Observe the photo on the right, and look at the quality of the lighting. Notice the colors, experience the feeling conveyed by this photograph.
Fog comes in different consistencies, ranging from light to thick, high to low, and can change minute to minute. If you want to use fog to your advantage avoid high fog because it will not create the beautiful haze which will cut down on contrast.
Keep in mind that fog can cause your flash to engage, and you do not want to use flash in fog because the water droplets will reflect the light and look like dots in your photograph. On the other hand, fog can give the photograph a mood which conveys gentleness, quiet and sensitivity.
Your photographs will have a more painterly quality to them as you photograph against a light background. Colors will be more muted, and the whole photograph will convey this feeling of time and mystery.
Remember, keep taking lots and lots of photographs of your kids. You will be glad you did!
Betty Muscott, Child Photographer
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