Blog: Tips, news & ideas

Shopping Memories

August 24, 2011, 11:56 am

Most everyone who walks through my studio door is creating or saving a memory.  They all are wonderful, unforgettable stories.  But one day last week was a little different.  It wasn’t a family or senior portrait session or a photo restoration that made the memory, it was a visit by a birthday party. A group of four or five young ladies and Mom were having lunch at G’s and when the birthday girl was asked what special thing she wanted to do, she said shop downtown.  So they were going from store to store, looking around, asking questions and having a wonderful time.  I gave them suckers and gum, answered their questions about photography and off they went to the next shop.  Well the story doesn’t end there. Today I received a note from our birthday girl thanking me for the gum and candy.  Mom also added a note thanking the downtown merchants for “receiving them with open arms”.  She closed by saying “I’m so glad to live in a small town where others make events like this even more special”.  West Branch is a special place…

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Mid-day portraits

August 19, 2011, 7:04 pm

So.. if the Golden Hour produces portraits with soft shadows and rich golden hues, what qualities do portraits created at mid-day have? Great question!

 

Mid-day the sun is high overhead and the light is much more intense. Impressionist painters like Renoir & Monet often painted plein air (in the open air) and created some wonderful pictures. http://arts-wallpapers.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Impressionist-Painting-Claude-Monet-Paintings-Wallpapers-3.jpg

 

On a sunny day in the shade of an oak or maple tree wonderful dappled light is available like in this painting by Renoir.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Auguste_Renoir_-_La_Balan%C3%A7oire.jpg

 

Mid-day pictures can have a light, airy quality like these examples. I love creating portraits at all times of the day (and night). Each lighting environment has it's own challenges and rewards.

 

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The Golden Hour

What is the best time of day for portraits? This question comes up all the time. And, as with so many things in life; it depends.

The ancient Greeks believed the Goddess Aurora drove her golden chariot across the sky about an hour before sunset each night. In fact, Aurora translates into Golden Hour.

Painters, poets, movie directors and photographers have long admired the qualities of light in both the hour after sunrise and before sunset. The sun's low position in the sky gives off a golden hue that makes water, mountains and people look richer and more vivid. The Golden Hour also produces softer shadows that produces a wonderful depth to the portrait.

Here are two examples of senior portraits created during the Golden Hour.

 

In my next post I will show some portraits created earlier in the day.

 

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