Unwanted Shadows

[yulchick]

Hi there, Just wanted to ask, how to get rid of the unwanted shadows when taking portraits..almost all the shots I take have the shadow behind the person... I use natural light for taking my shots, and I do not have any of that fancy camera equipment to work with...

are there any techniques on minimizing the shadows during the shoot, and maybe a way to fix it afterwards?

Here is an example of my daughter, having a shadow behind her..



Thanks for the help

[zona5101]

move her farther from the backdrop.

[yulchick]

Originally Posted by zona5101

move her farther from the backdrop.

well that was simple, will definetly try that! Thanks for the tip

[OsmosisStudios]

You've also got a fairly harsh light source. Use some kind of diffuser to make the light softer and those shadows will disappear.

[iLight]

Yup. You could move her from the wall or maybe a reflector on the part where the shadow is since you were using natural light. And yes a diffuser could soften the strong shadows.

[yulchick]

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I dont have any of those reflectors or defuser things, so I guess my best bet is to move her further away from the backdrop

[RLucas]

Originally Posted by yulchick

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I dont have any of those reflectors or defuser things, so I guess my best bet is to move her further away from the backdrop

There are all types of diffuser alternatives that you can do DIY. I have used bed sheets, and different types of cloth to soften the hard light. Foam core board works really well as a reflector. You can pick most of this stuff at a craft shop.

[awaxa]

Hi,
Since you are shooting at home, you can use a piece of paper, maybe grease-proof or even paper napkins secured to the flash with a rubber-band. This will work.

[i speak in math]

Softness is a quality of the apparent size of the light source. Adding materials in front of the flash will only make it dimmer. You need to make it bigger.

[BigFuzzy]

Originally Posted by i speak in math

Softness is a quality of the apparent size of the light source. Adding materials in front of the flash will only make it dimmer. You need to make it bigger.

This is true, however if you place something in front of the light source that makes it as if the "material" were the actual light source (as opposed to the original light source) and it's bigger than the original, then the light would be softer. Granted, the light would be dimmer/weaker due to the material in between).
You could keep her on the wall and if the light source were big enough you'd have practically no shadow.

So everyone's pretty much been right on some level.
Though, if you want her on the the wall, I would suggest a larger light source which will soften the shadow.. or a ring light which makes cool shadows.