Natural Light

Earlier I spoke about light and how important light is in photography, and that one thing that will help you improve your photography is to understand light, and figure out how to use light. Without light there would be no photographs, so it is important that you learn how to use light correctly.

Right along with light comes learning how to use the natural props around the child you want to photograph. This is known as properly framing your photograph. For example, in an earlier photograph I shared with you a young girl was outdoors with light falling on her hair and the background was blurred.

This meant that the subject of the photograph would immediately draw your eyes to her and the background would not compete with the subject. But sometimes you can use the background to make the photograph more interesting, in particular if you could include the proper use of light.

Take the photograph on the right. Here, a young girl is sitting on a chair looking out a window holding a white lace curtain in her left hand. Behind her the background is dark, but the light falls on the subject’s face and knees creating a lot of interest for the observer.

Notice how the subject is slightly left and above the center of the photograph. This is using the rule of thirds (which we will discuss in another post soon) so that as soon as you see the photograph your eyes are brought to the child’s face. The photograph holds your interest and you then can take in the rest of the image giving you a feeling of peace and gentleness.

Framing your shot properly and taking into consideration the natural light that is available will help you produce interesting and beautiful photographs of your children that will take you back to the place and time where you shot it.

Remember, keep taking lots and lots of photographs of your kids. You will be glad you did!