Timing is Everything!

I am sure if you are reading this as a client or a photographer, you know that the creation of a great portrait is the product of careful planning up front… and sometimes beautiful mistakes (but today we’ll talk about the planning part). There are so many variables to consider during the planning. Clothing, location, and nap schedules are just a few that we discuss before our session. A VERY important one that we sometimes forego in order to accommodate the other variables is time of day. Generally, the BEST time to shoot natural light portraits is just after sunrise or just before sunset. Believe me, I know how important napping and schedules are for young children. Often times to accommodate those schedules, we shoot during horrible lighting conditions, seeking shade or using artificial lighting to fill in the nasty shadows. We do this in hopes of catching the carefree, natural spirit of a child during his/her BEST time of the day. Most of the time it is worth it– but imagine if we could capture 30 minutes of a child’s attention during the absolute best lighting of the day. BLISS! In this post, I just wanted to show how beautiful an early evening session can be. No harsh sun to burn the beautiful background to a blazing crisp, no squinting from staring into the sun, and no dark circles from the noon-time sun– just soft, golden, last light of the day beauty. We’re all striving for perfection in some way or another. The journey there is endless, but the things we learn along the way are priceless! Enjoy!