We have all been there. We have all of our kids/family in a great location, and we really want to capture the memory. But, when we had a chance to look at the photos after they were taken, we realize that we have either 1) our family members squinting from the brightness of the sun; or 2) we realize that we have basically "blacked" our their beautiful faces dur to too-dark shadows or contrasts. Now we are left with less-than-perfect images to reflect our perfect memories (sigh!).
How can we make sure that we minimize the photography faux-pas?
The first way we can do this is to place our subjects in open shade. Where can you find open shade, you may ask? The answer is: a LOT of places! Have you ever been under the shade of a gazebo and noticed how much more relaxed your eyes are? Well, that's open shade! Or in shadows of buildings...open shade! Open shade is even light that allows you to get wide-eyed and less-squinty results. You can find it most times of the day, too, so it really helps to keep ample opportunites for great photos open.
Now, sometimes you can find open shade under the canopy of a tree; however, I must caution you to look for "dappling," or sunspots coming through. Those tend to be distracting when the dappling comes through on your subject's head or body when they are in otherwise evenly-lighted shade.
In order to keep this post short, I won't go into how some open shade can result in bluish light and some in more warm or yellow light, but we can save that topic for another day.
Until then, have fun looking for opportunities to practice placing your subjects in open shade. I promise that you will love the results!
Some examples of my photos taken in open shade.
The first was taken in my garage:
