Question number six in a series of short videos answering the most frequently asked questions about senior portraits.

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Oops – that was supposed to say “Who’s your photographer?” Sorry!!;-)

The summer senior portrait season is approaching fast and we’re gearing up with lots of new stuff. If you’d like to get a FREE report we put together with tips for selecting your senior photographer – GO HERE – if you’re a current high school junior – someone graduating in 2011. If you’re the parent of a 2011 grad you can – GO HERE – and get some equally informative information.

If we’ve already done your senior portraits and you were overjoyed with your finished images (and overcome by my charm, wit and intelligence . . . but not necessarily both) – we’d love it if you’d send your friends to the above links. We really appreciate your referrals.

Here’s hoping your spring is wonderful – if the weather would only stay like this!!

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This post comes from our January client newsletter due to hit the streets this next week. Enjoy.

There is nothing quite like the look of a natural light portrait. The images we create outdoors, be it a high school senior, a family or child, are always some of my favorites.

Controlling natural light can be a bit more of a challenge than studio lights but once you learn a few tricks it can yield some beautiful results.

You may be thinking, “Hey cool Dave, but it’s the middle of January, what good is this article to me right now?” Well grasshopper, you can also utilize natural light indoors, and I’ll tell you how.

The key to good portrait lighting is to look for “light direction” and “light quality”. On a bright sunny day (if there ever is another one) look at the sunshine coming through the window (light direction) hitting the floor in your home—notice how defined the shadows are—it’s either light or dark with a very definite edge. Now lock that vision away (or better yet take a picture of the floor with your digital camera) and then on a cloudy day look at the light again and notice how soft the transition is between light and dark, no definite edge—compare that in your mind (or on your computer screen) to the sunny day image. Hard or soft—light quality.

Next you want to make yourself a simple light control device. You may recall, if I did outdoor portraits of you, my fancy-dancy foam-board reflector. I use 3/4” insulation board you can find at Home Depot—it’s covered in silver foil. Even easier would be a piece of white foam-core you can get at any office supply store. This is your reflector and you’ll use it to fill in or open up the shadows on your subject.

Now you need a subject. (If it was me I’d use a newly minted grandchild but not everyone is as lucky)

Move the clutter out of the background, sit your subject on the floor in front of the patio door and look at the light on their face. Now hold that reflector on the shadow side of their face and slowly move it closer and then farther away. What happens to the shadows? Cool huh?

Now take pictures. Experiment with reflector distance, with types of reflectors and with subjects. And no, you can’t borrow my granddaughter.;-)

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Finally we are grandparents. You would think the older we get the faster the months would fly by – apparently that’s not the case with pregnancy – nine months is nine months; an eternity no matter how you look at it.

Ellen Paris Meir arrived at 1:30 am on Thursday December 31st. She weighs 8 pounds and 13 ounces, is 21.25 inches long and has a full head of dark hair. She is obviously the most beautiful baby in the country and I’m currently offering three to one odds for anyone who can find a more adorable newborn;-)

If anyone is looking for a special gift for that new grandparent I would highly recommend Ellen’s Christmas gift to Kate and I; a book titled “The Gift of Being Grand” by Marianne Richmond – a Minneapolis author. One of my favorite lines from the book reads; “Your house is for loving and cuddling and baking, stories and coloring and sweet memory making.” Just try not to cry after you read that.

Be sure to watch our Broadway windows over the next year for a glimpse of Ellen.

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It’s Christmas Eve and here we sit – waiting on a baby – and we’re not even wise men. I understand now why God chose the middle East for the birth of his son – no chance of anyone getting snowed in and not being able to make it to the blessed event!

If I haven’t told you already our son Ben and his wife Kelly are expecting a baby – literally any minute now. They live in St. Paul and have a full house with Kelly’s parents and sister and boyfriend there to celebrate . . . whatever happens first. We won’t celebrate our Christmas with the kids and new grandchild until after the first. We will of course be heading for St. Paul the second Kelly goes into labor – which will naturally occur at 6:09 pm this afternoon – just when the “real” snow starts falling!!

Apparently I’m somewhat more pragmatic that my wife would like. I do believe the baby will still be there on Saturday and Sunday and Monday. We could wait and go after the storm has passed but then of course the Vikings could win the Super Bowl as well. (oh wait they might this year – ’cause now they have a Green Bay Packer leading the way)( Sorry Vikings fans – we have become fans of sorts this year – but then we have good reason.)

So . . . keep us in your thoughts if you would. If you’re headed that way and see a little red Camry in the ditch – don’t forget to wave.

This wouldn’t be a photographers blog if I didn’t post a couple of pictures. My wife makes the best cut-out cookies on the face of the earth. She wasn’t going to this year but I guilted her into it. The deal is she makes the dough and the frosting, cuts out the cookies and bakes them – but I have to decorate (and eat them). Which – now that I’m 51 – requires the use of reading glasses just to see the cookie.

The other picture is one of our niece at a family Christmas celebration last weekend. Kate and I got her a “Fancy Nancy” book along with a tutu, a feather boa and a pair of furry high heels. She was a riot – thought my mother in-law was going to stroke out!!

That’s it for today. Kate and I wish you and yours a wonderfully joyous Christmas and all success in the new year.

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Hey, I’ve got Gabe working overtime on our new website and he has the main page up. Still a few things to get working but I’m liking the look so far. Check it out,  sign up to receive our updates and we’ll send you a super-duper discount certificate!!! Click Here for great savings!

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Here’s a slide show of a cute little three month old guy.

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Elizabeth was in yesterday for her two year portraits and some family portraits with Mom and Dad. She was wearing her new Christmas dress and thinkin’ she looked pretty cute. She started out standing straight legged, arms at her sides, looking straight ahead – standard two year old pose. I asked her to cross her arms and  she bent her knee in this classic fashion pose. Sometimes they just do it – you have to be ready with your finger on the button.

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We are fortunate to live in a mature neighborhood with lots of big trees. We have a huge maple in our front yard as well as one on the boulevard. Once, after a hard week at the studio and with the help of a Leine’s Honey Weiss, I starting counting leaves – lost track at just over 4,000,321. I wonder if anyone really knows – other than you know who. Guess I’ll have to ask him someday; “how many leaves are on a maple tree and what were you thinking with the willow tree!?!?!?”

Enough philosophy;-) I have a little trick I’ve done for the last several years with my leaves I thought you might find useful. Kate and I came home last night – and since it wasn’t raining like every other day for the last month – figured we better rake leaves. One hour flat was all it took to rid the front yard of a virtual (actually actual not virtual) carpet of soggy brown maple leaves.

We rake and use the leaf blower (my old “hair blower” from the studio) to move all of the leaves onto the driveway. Then I fire up the Honda in mulching mode and grind all the leaves to dust. This is much easier and faster than bagging them as the bag always fills up in about two and half seconds and this way the leaves are much finer. (kind of like the freshest fish at Finney’s diner – if you read Dr. Suess)

After that we shovel them into the wheelbarrow and take them around back to mulch the garden. You don’t want to mulch with whole leaves because they trap water and can cause nasty mold junk in your garden.

My lawn care tip for the day! And you thought I was just a photographer.

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This little guy is a friend of our son and daughter in-law. Rowan was in a few weeks ago for his six month portraits – have you ever seen such an expressive face?! This slide show gives you an idea of our typical six month baby session for those clients that are part of our Bebe Steps portrait club.

The music for the slide show is used by permission from Sister Song. If you’d like to purchase a CD of beautiful lullaby music  – each song personalized with your child’s name – visit their website at: http://www.sistersong.com/index-old.html

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