Real people, real moments, real stories; capturing life's most precious moments.

Welcome to my blog - hopefully I've updated it recently. If not, it's probably because I'm too busy - sorry!

Easy natural light photography

August 30, 2017 • 1 Comment

Last weekend I was taking pictures of Kate and George and little 6 month old Jonah. With it being August the light is strong outside so to make sure that Jonah (and his parents!) were able to comfortably open their eyes, I positioned them on a chair by an open doorway, to get some lovely directional light. This was one of the resulting pictures:

Natural window lit baby portrait

Whilst the lovely warm colours of the interiors are quite friendly feeling I think they were too distracting. One way around this is to turn the picture into B&W:

B&W photography of 6 month old baby on father's lap

I was still not happy with the distracting background; whilst I wanted an informal picture using natural light I wanted a bit more focus on the baby, so I used my white pop up background and propped it up behind Jonah and Kate:

Much better! You can use any clean sheet or large bit of card or foam to give the same effect.

Baby sitting on mother's lap A mother and baby cuddling B&W family portrait

Try to experiment with window light in your home - the light can be amazing!

Why I love this picture

July 04, 2017 • 1 Comment

Good wedding photographs are triggers for bringing back so many memories from your wedding day; this wedding was very much a DIY wedding - with the bride working so hard in the months leading up to the wedding making dresses and decorations and organising lots of games for the reception. The bride's dress was made from old tablecloths found in charity shops - it was a work of art!

On the day the weather was perfect and it was such a fun, joyful wedding. I love this picture as it shows the alternative nature of the bride! Jodie and Adam love their jumping pictures, so of course we had to do one with the bridesmaids. I chose this location, with the sun behind, so that the girls could open their eyes. The dark green hedge means that their dresses show up really well. And I love the streams of sunlight coming through - perfect!

Bride and her bridesmaids jumping with sun streaming behind them. Jumping for joy!

Wiltshire wedding

June 29, 2017 • 2 Comments

Charlie and Ric got married in Chippenham Register Office back in April. It was a small family affair, but that didn't make it any less special. The bride wore a yellow short length vintage dress that was perfect for a spring wedding.

Wedding at Chippenham Register Office

On the way down the stairs after the ceremony I quickly took a few pictures making the most of the lovely window light on the stairs.

The wedding breakfast was at Calcot Manor. A perfect place to get some lovely outdoor photography.

Bridal couple fun portrait having fun at Calcot Manor Bride and groom natural light portrait in front of tree Wedding couple portrait

We also had a quick photo session back in Hullavington to make the most of the late afternoon sunshine - the first of the day!

Bride and groom portrait back lit by the sun, in front of a willow tree Bride and groom portrait

Vintage portrait session

June 29, 2017 • Leave a Comment

Howard and Sue wanted pictures taken for a display at the Violette Szabo museum in Wormelo in Herefordshire. They are dressed as Violette and her husband, Etienne. A very sad story: Etienne was killed in the war 3 weeks after marrying Violette. Violette went on to have a baby, but then joined the SOE and on her 2nd mission was captured, tortured and inprisoned. She was shot 3 days before the end of WWII, aged just 23. A very brave woman.

Violette and Etienne Szabo re-enactment I love all the effort that Howard and Sue have put in to be as authentic as possible, from the map handkerchief that could be stuffed down clothing if necessary to hide from the enemy, to the 1940's spy camera. A really interesting afternoon!

Vintage portrait photography

The full length picture will be shown at an exhibition at the Violette Szabo museum in Wormelo in Herfordshire.

Narrow lighting versus broad lighting

June 28, 2017 • Leave a Comment

The way you light a face has a big impact on how we see it.

Narrow lighting (an example is shown below) is achieved by photographing the side of the face away from the main light. In this case the light is coming from an open doorway; the background appears almost black because the room behind is much darker than our model's face.

An example of narrow lighting

Narrow lighting makes the face appear slimmer as the eye sees what is lit; shadow can be a good friend!

With broad lighting the face is photographed on the side of the face that is lit; an example is shown below:
Broad lighting a face

Martha looks gorgeous in both pictures, but you can see how the face appears broader when it's fully lit.

Children generally look great with broad lighting, but more often than not most adults will appreciate having narrow lighting on their faces. The same applies to a body - if it's lit then the eye sees it, so if you want to fool the eye for a flattering image then use narrow lighting.

I teach this and many other aspects of portrait photography on my Portrait Training day courses at Lacock Photography.