I’m taking an awesome online photography class and am excited to learn about natural light techniques.

Here are a few shots that I took of Vivi on Sunday morning before church. Everyone had a role: Ariana held the reflector and Tad’s job was to make Vivi laugh. Vivi loved being the center of attention, and when the photo shoot was all over, she wanted to know when we could do it again.

I also learned a new trick for helping to prevent sharp pictures from appearing softer when posting them the web: save files at 72 dpi and at the size you want it to appear (max 590 pixels wide for my blog theme) so the blogging software doesn’t resize them. I also run a subtle “sharpen for web” action that seems to also help.

Side-lit, no reflector

Instructor feedback: Light pattern nearly perfect. Just turn her head and shoulders a tiny bit more toward the light source. We’re aiming for a triangle of light on the cheek away from the light.

Front Lit, No reflector

Instructor feedback: Crop just a tiny bit closer to the top of her head. Lighting looks good.

Side-lit, reflector

Instructor feedback:In side-lit, indirect light settings, reflector should be held parallel to the side of her face away from the light and not under her face causing the light to bounce up on her. The shadows under her eyes, nose and chin are caused by not positioning the reflector properly.