Introduction to flat lays

I took a 7 day photography challenge last week and learned a lot from it. One of the challenges was to photograph a flat lay. I've never done a flat lay before so it was a learning experience. I took the photo in front of our big sliding door with a piece of foam core board underneath and on 3 sides of the image so that the natural light would bounce off the boards and give the photo lots of light.

The next days photo challenge was to use shapes in your image. Since I had so much fun with the flat lay the day before I decided to photograph a flat lay with circular shapes. I used the same set up as the day before and sliced up a bunch of fruit. I love the colors in the images.

Natural lighting

I'm taking an advanced photography class at our local community college right now. Our homework for our first week is to take pictures of our subject in natural lighting from 3 different angles - back, side, and direct and using a reflector, a diffuser, and natural. Also, we are supposed to take the photos at the golden hour. So, I thought I would shared some of my pictures I've been working on with you all. We have to share the picture exactly as it comes off the camera - no editing allowed.

The above picture is of my subject back lit - no diffuser or reflector. Pictured below is with a reflector in front of her face. Below that is with a diffuser.

Yes, that is one of my chickens in the background, lol.

The picture below was taken on a cloudy day, so I didn't have to use a diffuser because the clouds acted as my diffuser. I love the soft even light. I am definitely not a fan of the harsh lighting that direct light creates.

 

The picture above and the picture down below are of my subject in direct light with a diffuser. I can't decide which one I like best for class. I just have such cute kids:)

The picture above is of my subject in direct light with a reflector slightly behind and to the side. I don't think the reflector did much for him at that angle.

In the below picture my subject is unhappily in direct sunlight.

The next few photos are of my subject in side lighting - first diffused, then direct, then reflected. My white balance is off in the first picture because I forgot to change it after I used the diffuser. I love the look on his face though and the white balance is an easy fix in any editing program.

I am definitely not a fan of the harsh side light below.

The reflector on the shadow side of his face helps soften some of those harsh shadows from the sun. Once he noticed the reflector though all he wanted to do was play with it and I couldn't get any more pictures.

So, that's what I've been working on this week.

Indoor Easter Photo Shoot

I had a photo shoot with my children the weekend before Easter. We had to take pictures indoors since it was too cold outside. I have tons of natural light in my living room and neutral colored walls so it's the perfect place to take pictures. With so much natural light I don't need to use a flash (In case you didn't know you want to avoid using your on camera flash as much as possible).

I have a large window in my living room so I had my children face the window - that way their eyes would get awesome catchlights and they would have soft even lighting on their whole face. Just check out those beautiful blue eyes on that handsome boy!

I did some photo editing in Lightroom to soften their skin and brighten their eyes a little more. Plus I added a slight vignette to the photos.

 I used a pretty wide aperture for most of these pictures to let in as much light as possible. I had to close the aperture down a little though for the group photos.

Here's the props that I used for the photos:

Wood flooring (I bought a box at the Restore for $10)

Pendant banner from the Target dollar spot

White fur rug from Homegoods

Wire basket

Flower tieback that I made for my daughter for these pictures - I used dollar store flowers and ribbon

Photo Shoot in a Truck

I used my dad's truck for a photo shoot for some of my family.  It was so much fun and the grandkids especially loved getting pictures done in their grandpa's truck.

Pregnancy Announcement Photos

Here are some pregnancy announcement photos that I took a couple of weeks ago.  It was so fun photographing my brother and sister-in-law for this special announcement!

Summertime Favorites

I love summertime!  Here are a couple of pictures I took with my Canon Rebel T5 yesterday.  I just got a new 50mm lens for it with a much wider aperture than I have ever shot with and I am loving practicing with it!

I have spent lots of time canning different jams and some peaches.  I just love the colors of them!

Some flowers from my garden:)

All Boy - I Heart Faces Photo Contest

I decided to submit a photo of my cute little man in the I Heart Faces Photo Contest this month.  Here's my picture of him:

We were having so much fun at the skate park.  He abandoned his bike for a few minutes to fly around like Superman and I had my camera ready for some pictures (of course).