Karen Carey Photography Blog

This post is for my photographer friends. I thought it would be helpful for me to share some images from a challenging session and offer my 5 tips for handling a difficult lighting situation.

Here is the scenario… Dark cold winter day. Dark small home. Gorgeous newborn baby and lovely accommodating parents. The only natural window light that we have to work with is the west facing living room picture window. Space is limited and the low light from the window falls off quickly into the room (which has cozy dark floors and dark furniture so there is no light bouncing around).

Tip #1: Look at the light and take note of how and where it is falling. Identify the light as either hard or soft and think about ways to modify it if needed.

In this particular case, the light was soft because it was not directional, and there was not much of it.  Even with the curtain sheers pulled back, there was none falling far into the room.  It would have been impossible for me to get enough light onto the baby if I did not bring her up to the window.

Tip #2: Don’t be afraid to move furniture in your client’s home (with their permission) and ask for help finding what you need as a replacement so you create your image.

After moving a small chair and floor lamp away from the front of the window, I attempted to photograph the baby on an ottoman so that I could get her off the floor and up closer to the window…but even on the ottoman there was just not enough light. So I walked the house and decided that the bar stools in the kitchen were the perfect height. Mom, dad and I covered the bar stools with layers of blankets and nestled the baby for her portrait. You can see the set up below.

Tip #3: Don’t settle for mediocrity. If something is not right before you depress the shutter…then fix it.

Now as you can imagine, I have been in my client’s home for about a 20 minutes already and have not taken a single photograph. I am anxious to get started. The beautiful baby is beautifully lit, but now I am struggling to get the best angle. From where I stand, the baby’s face is falling into shadow and the window sill in the background is creating a distracting “horizon” line in my image.  You can see it in the image above. I am feeling a bit frustrated but determined not to settle for a mediocre image…especially after all of our efforts.

Tip#4: If you can’t move your subject, move yourself.

So with the ottoman beneath my feet and mom and dad as my “spotters” it was time to take this image from good to “great!” Up I went on the ottoman with one foot, while the other went on the window sill so that I was above the baby, straddling the two bar stools and shooting down on her.  (Unfortunately there is no photo of that to share… but you can see from the image below that the angle was now perfection!)  Luckily for me the baby slept through the entire session and I was able to capture some glorious images from my new vantage point that her parents will cherish for a lifetime.

Now the position that I was in was not very comfortable, so I didn’t want to stay there too long. I made sure to concentrate on my exposure and my composition while straddling the babe… but as soon as I knew that I had what I wanted, it was time to get back on the ground.

Tip#5: Use a reflector or light modified when needed.

In tip #1 I mentioned modifying the light as needed. Too many photographers have become slack in their efforts to “get it right” in camera. Don’t reply on post production to make your image right. Post production is a tool for enhancing, not correcting, your images. So when needed, find a source of reflection to help bounce light into your image, or use a dark fabric to take light away and create shadows for mood. In this case, after climbing down from my perch I wanted to work on a few different angles. After all, baby was still sound asleep and I never take a gift like that for granted. So we repositioned the baby with the light falling beautifully on top of her head and I brought in the “spotters” for more help.  As you can see in the image below, mom used her vanity mirror as my reflector and dad held up the blanket so that there were no distracting window panes in the background. The results were flawless. I love it when it all comes together.

I hope you find these tips helpful the next time you find yourself working with “challenging” light. Push yourself and refuse to settle for anything less than extraordinary. You owe it to yourself and you owe it to your clients! xxoo Karen

All of theses kids had “personality plus” and enough energy to power an entire city! We laughed hard and took a spill in the dirt now and then… but it was all worth it! You should see the gorgeous portrait gallery going up in this family’s living room. FABULOUS! I will post pictures after the install!

Next is a brother and sister that could easily have their own television show. Both are absolutely gorgeous, full of charisma, and spunky as ever. Clearly dad has an idea about what he is in for over the next few years with his daughter wrapping him around her finger already! LOL

And finally, a one year old little man who stole my heart with his coy little grin and spirited personality!

I had so much fun with this little guy last week. He is absolutely gorgeous and there are so many photographs of him laughing out loud and giggling up a blue streak from this session!  Eventually, I wore him and his mama out!  LOL!  Check out the giggles and more of the session in the album of images of Baby J on my facebook page!