More of {should-be-supermodel} Terice

Remember yesterday? When I shared my venture into the unknown world of using an umbrella to bounce light outdoors? Here's a reminder:

ISO: 400
aperture: f/4.0
shutter speed: 1/200
Taken at 7:52 pm with Nikon D700 and 50mm f/1.8 lens

Well, this is the exact same evening. Just a couple of minutes before I started using the flash:

ISO: 1250
aperture: f/2.2
shutter speed: 1/320
spot metering
Taken at 7:50 pm with Nikon D700 and 50mm f/1.8 lens

You'll notice I had to bump my ISO up in order to get the natural lighting shot. That's because with the sun going down, there wasn't a whole lotta available light to work with.

I'm amazed at how you can get a totally different look with natural lighting. And honestly, I love both looks. Once again, natural lighting is easier for me ~ it's what I'm used to doing. But I'm definitely going to have to venture into this unknown world of flashes and light stands and umbrellas and reflectors and whatnot more often. Because it's fun.

Here are a few more of my favorite natural lighting shots ...

(And you all agree with me, right? That Terice should be a super model? It was very fun to have someone pose themselves ... all I had to do was make sure I was properly exposed and fire away):




I've decided it is my personal mission to get an all-out-laughing shot every time I take someone's picture. I just love seeing happy people:


So, now I have to ask ... which is your favorite? Artificial or natural lighting? Leave a comment and let me know! And it's okay if you are like me ... and hate picking favorites ... I really do love them both :).

Working with the Light

One seriously fun evening ... a little off-camera flash ... bouncin' off an umbrella ... some tips and training from a good friend ... a gorgeous sky ... a should-be-model (seriously. Isn't she beautiful?!) and the beach. Fabulous combination that resulted in ...

... some pictures I am absolutely crazy about.



In my attempt to learn it all (not that I ever will ... please note I said attempt) I've been trying my darndest to figure out lighting. I love shooting in natural light -- mostly because it keeps things simple -- but I also want to be as well-rounded a photographer as possible. So even if I choose to shoot in natural light, it won't be because it's the only thing I actually know how to do.

And so I headed out one evening with my friend Irene and begged her to teach me somethin'. For these shots we had one Nikon sb-900 set up on a light stand and bounced the light off an umbrella, which was a few feet in front (and slightly to the side) of Terice (the oh-so-lovely model). I was seriously blown away by how much one little flash and an umbrella can do. Amazing! My favorite thing about using off-camera flash in the evening is how I was able to capture that stunning blue sky and still have Terice properly exposed in the foreground. Photography is magic.

This last shot I captured on accident ... and love. I was standing to the side, watching Irene shoot and snuck a shot of my own in. And immediately said, "umm ... that was cool..." I love how I was able to get such extreme shadows from being on the side of the light source.

And yes ... I know what you're thinking (or if you aren't thinking it yet, you will be once I tell you what you're thinking ...). This picture looks like Terice stepped right off the set of Twilight and in front of my camera. A vampire on the prowl ...

Come back tomorrow for some of my natural-light shots of Terice. You will be amazed at how different they look ... and yet they were taken at the exact same time of day.

You can see Irene's shots from this same evening {here}.