Daughter at the lake.

[terri33inne]

This is a picture I took of my daughter at the lake yesterday. It was pretty much full sun. As for composition I like that she's involved in her play & not paying attention to me. I also know the green shoe at the bottom is distracting, but I can't crop that out b/c I'd cut her off at the ankles. Also, the red buoy near her head, again I can't crop it tighter as I'll cut off her head.

My question would be in this type of situation is there anything I could have done different to get more light on her face? I was too far from her for a fill flash, and it was just a quick candid I tried to get, so I couldn't turn her so the sun was on her other side. I feel like the rest of the photo would be overexposed if I'd opened it up more. Thoughts? Recommendations?



Exif;
Camera Pentax K10D
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/350)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 135 mm
Focal Length 135.0 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias +1 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

[roostabunny]

First off, cute shot, great colors, great moment, good exposure in a tough lighting situation. Love the color-matched, dual band-aids!

To your specific question about lighting the shot itself, it's tough. A candid moment in bright overhead sun. Maybe an assistant holding a white reflector low and off to the right (even a piece of white paper or a white towel could potentially help. But how do you do that quickly without ruining the moment?

Bright afternoon sun generally needs modification (like reflectors and diffusers) to fill shadows and soften that harsh light. That's part of the reason why photographers refer to the time around sunrise and sunset as "the golden hours". Because the light at those times is much more flattering and easy to use for photographs and portraits in particular.

But there's lots of good shadow detail here. You still may be able to brighten her face in post.

Meanwhile, keep shooting! Think about the edges of your frame and your point of view. You didn't ask about this, but I'm a little distracted by the cut-off bucket lower left, the red thing at the top, and the orange thing to the right. Perhaps by moving a little closer you could frame the shot from a slightly higher angle and see her surrounded by sand and water, without any background distractions. You could include the green bucket (of whatever else was too close to eliminate) but try to get the whole object so your viewer doesn't have to wonder what it is.

[terri33inne]

Thank you so much for the feedback... yes as it was a candid an assistant or even hand held reflector wouldn't have worked... This was my crop... the original (below) was much wider as I was a ways away from her.



Is this crop better? I have the green shoes & the red bouy included... I can't include all of the orange toy b/c of the kid in the upper part of the photo.

[fais54]

I like the second crop a lot better! And yes, very adorable picture.

[Ridgetop]

Second crop is much better. I don't like the buoy in the background, but I think the shoes actually add to the shot. The thing about the buoy is it is white and somewhat grabs the attention from your daughter. Otherwise, I really like it better.

[wigglebugsmom]

+1 for like shoes not floaty.