today, we are learning A LOT from the amazingly talented, Stephanie of Behind the Camera & Dreaming (blog) and Gray Mornings (shop). Stephanie also is one of the hosts for the Edit Me Challenge that happens every week. i played along this week and have my fingers crossed to win the prize!
you can usually find me each morning drooling over stephanie’s photos of her adorable baby and life. she has such a way for capturing the light just right. today’s she sharing with us how to set up an in-home natural light photoshoot.
go get a pen and paper.
you’re going to want to take notes (or just “pin” it).
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How to: Set up an In-home Natural Light Photoshoot
Hi new friends! I’m so happy to be here on The Hollie Rogue with you today. Hopefully, you’ll find this little tutorial helpful no matter what skill level you are or age of subject. Whether you are using a DSLR, Point and Shoot, or your Smartphone Camera, LIGHT is your best friend! I take a majority of my professional photos outdoors at a time of day when the light is pretty good (early mornings or late afternoon). One big exception to this is Newborn and small baby photography. These are mostly done indoors and I prefer early mornings for in home sessions, but depending on the home, later in the day can work too. My experience in photography ranges from part-time pro to momarazzi. I use these techniques for clients as well as photographing my own little man. You can see his monthly photo sessions here (yep I’m THAT mom – my blog is my wallet full of photos)!
Okay. Here we go!
1. The Prep Work: If you are taking the photos in your own home, I would suggest doing your prep work the day before – or week before whenever – just know where you plan to take the photos. Here’s how to find your best light.
- Turn off all the lights in the house and open ALL the curtains and blinds in your home. If you are a budding pro. give these instructions to your client to do in their home before you arrive for the shoot. That way you won’t lose your light looking for the right spot. You may also want to warn them about the need to move a little furniture. =)
- Do a walk through. Observe the natural sunlight coming in through the windows. Do the windows have panes that create shadows? Look at the floor and walls in the room to see where the shadows are created. Stand in front of the window looking into the room. Then, move to the left and right of the window. Take along some kind of object and observe it from all angles seeing how the shadows are cast (you won’t really need an object after you’ve practiced this a little).
- I usually wind up choosing the largest window facing the direction of the sun.
- If there isn’t great light from windows in your home, try opening a door.
- You may also want to use a filter over your window/door. A light piece of fabric or sheet will work.
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| This photo was taken in a client’s home in front of an open door using a thin piece of white fabric over the door as a filter. This shoot was done in the morning and the home had an eastern facing door. It was a VERY sunny day, hence the need for the filter. A few clouds and it wouldn’t have been a problem. |
2. The Setup: Now that you’ve chosen your location, choose your set up. If you are going to a client’s home you’ll want to talk to them before hand to make sure you have the type of materials they are looking for. Have them look over some of your past work and pick a few favorites. Then, introduce something new, but similar in style. You want your work to be ever evolving. Also have them bring out any special items or clothing they would like for the baby/child to be photographed with or in.
- *For an indoor shoot you can choose to set up a backdrop…
*OR use the room as your backdrop. For this type of shoot, you’ll need to observe the particular room for the time of day when it gets the most natural light.
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| This particular photo was taken in my Jonah’s nursery/room mid morning. His windows face south, but we have freakishly large windows and a lot of them in our 1940′s Bungalow style hom |
3. Positioning: This is an area where you should experiment. Use your light to create different shadows by moving around positioning yourself with the light behind you, to your left, and to your right. Just make sure you follow a few simple rules (and break them too).*Catch lights – if your subjects eyes are open, we want to see that twinkle position your subject and yourself to capture those catch lights. See last week’s link partyfor more on eyes.*For sleeping newborns there’s no need to look for catch lights, but I prefer for them to be facing the light.
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*For others try experimenting like I said above. Shadows can create beautiful natural photos. Make sure the shadows you are seeing are created naturally by the subjects features, not by an object out of sight.
*If the shadows aren’t working for you, use a reflector. These can be purchased for under $20 on amazon or you can use a white poster/foam board from a craft store. Position your reflector opposite your light source and move it around until you find the right amount of light hitting your subject.
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| In this photo of sweet Caden, I am obviously standing over him. He is lying on a bean bag covered with a baby blanket with the light from the door slightly to my left. Notice the angle of the shadows and catch lights.
A different angle and use of light during a newborn shoot. I love getting these shots!
And this shot is not really the style I usually shoot for, but it was taken with Asher positioned facing the front door slightly angled with the light behind/slightly to the right of me. With the lights off in the home, in late afternoon and probably a little increase in blacks during processing, this natural light photo looks as if there is a black background or it was taken in a studio. |
4. Finally, break all the rules! =)
Both of these photos kind of break my own positioning rules. You don’t want to miss out on the precious moments because you were following a set of rules. This particular shoot I did with Jonah was to showcase him in his environment at six months old. I could have easily done his 6th month shoot outdoors, but I really wanted to document his everyday environment. Two things I always LOVE seeing photographed: a child in their room and on their parent’s king sized beds!
Thank you so much for having me here today! Good Luck and please tweet me, find me on Facebook, or follow along on Instagram (stephaniesclark) to ask questions or follow my photographic adventure!
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oh but wait, THERE’S MORE! stephanie is also giving away a $25 shop credit to one of you lucky photo friday(ers)!
she has prints (i’d pick this one), blog design, cards & invitations! seriously ALL CUTE!
This is a great tutorial- thanks!!
I love the alphabet print!
Beautiful photos and tips this week.
These are gorgeous. I just love Stephanie’s Photography – the natural light gives everything a dreamy touch!
really great tutorial, and beautiful photos!!
I’d use this for blog design
I love the alphabet print, and maybe some new blog buttons!
Your photos are stunning.
Thanks so much! It’s so much getting to share with some new friends!
I would TOTALLY take advantage of the blog design!
This is fabulous tutorial! More importantly, though, the pictures are gorgeous!
Great tips!! I would get the Alphabet print.