Winter Portraits

 

This is the point in winter when all my friends are hating

snow and cold.

 

Not me...I relish winter and it's elegant beauty in my portraits.

 

 

I have enjoyed several amazing photo shoots with pretty girls

in these past few weeks,

and thought I'd share more winter shooting tips.

 

Every Christmas Santa brings me a big bag of these chemical

hand warmers.  I used them when I was a television

news reporter and was outside covering a story in winter.

 

I SWEAR BY THEM!

 

They stay warm for more than 7 hours.  I tuck them into

my fingerless gloves and boots.

 

 

If it's really cold, I give a set to my subject and

they are much cozier and happier.

 

You can find these in stores where they sell hunting gear.

My hubby picks up a bag of them at Dick's every Christmas.

 

In planning wardrobe for winter shoots...I love pastels against the snow!

 

Light blue really sets off Jessica's blue eyes.

 

 

We have a woods near my house that I use for summer

photo shoots.  We ventured back last weekend

and I was stunned at all the open light without

the leaves on the trees.

 

I love how the light twinkles through the bare trees creating

a pretty background for a pretty gal!

 

 

 

I love playing with long hair to give some movement

to the photo.

 

 

I found this mint blue coat and matching shawl at a

thrift store and thought it would photograph beautifully

against the white snow.

 

 

It was cloudy on the day we shot these.  I much prefer

the sun being out to add some dazzle, but on

cloudy days, I can have the subject face the sun..

thus opening up the light in their eyes.

 

 

Sometimes, even on cloudy days, facing the sun makes

my subject squint.  I have them shut their eyes and tell them to open

their eyes when I count to three.  I tell them they can shut their

eyes the moment they hear the camera click.

 

I wait just a moment before I snap the photo...and it WORKS!

 

 

I also like white coats with bright colored scarves against snow.

 

 

 

 

The pop of color around Jennifer's neck really

brings the focus to her face and amazing eyes.

 

 

Winter backgrounds are so simple

and exquisite!

 

 

The day I photographed Emilee, the sun was out.

 

I took her to the woods to play with the light.

 

 

Backlighting is my favorite....her hair just GLOWS!

 

I took these at 2pm when the sun was high in the sky.  I know

most photographers avoid that hour, but I LOVE it!

 

 

I hope these inspire you to get out there and

ENJOY shooting winter portraits!

  

 

Set up For Winter Portrait Shoot

 

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I am LOVING winter portrait shoots!

 

My client, Bella was born on January 29th, but we had to wait a

few weeks to get some snow for her fourth birthday outdoor portrait.

 

I wanted to commemorate her winter birthday.

 

Winter shoots like this in the bitter cold take a ton of

PRE-PLANNING...especially with little ones.

 

I always style birthday shoots and pulled together this

adorable outfit for Bella using thrift store finds.

 

The boots, coat, hat and mittens are all from thrift stores

for a few dollars.  I added the flower to the hat...made with

thrift store flowers and ribbon!  I bought the skirt off E-bay

and have used it in many shoots.

 

I laid the outfit out on my kitchen table before Bella arrived.

 

 

We got EIGHT inches of snow the day before the shoot

and I was THRILLED this day was SUNNY.

 

I scheduled the shoot for 10 am because that's when the sun is

perfect in my back yard.

 

First, I determined the best LIGHTING spot.

 

I knew it would be too difficult to traipse through all that snow

to get to it, so I shoveled a path across our back porch and even

shoveled the GRASS!

 

I needed area to move around with my camera.

 

I placed the table just beyond my shoveled area

so the snow would be pristine in the photos.

 

Notice how the table is placed in the ideal spot with the sun.

I did this just minutes before Bella arrived because the

sun moves by the minute.

 

 

I planned ahead and put great thought into the

styling and the look I wanted.  All of this stuff

is from thrift stores.

 

 

Next, I took some sample shots to get

my exposure perfect.  Now my camera and settings

were ready for Bella.

 

I had her daddy place Bella on the stool while I

was already in place with my camera.

 

I wanted to capture those first candid moments

of awe and joy.

 

She didn't even know I was shooting...it was

all about those pretty cupcakes.

 

In some of the photos, I used the

editing technique I shared in this blog post.

 

After she was over her initial rapture she

was all posey for me.

 

Notice how I cloned out the footprints in the snow around the table.

 

Turned out, the cute pink boots were too big, so she wore her own.

 

 

 

 

I shot all these photos in less than ten minutes because

I had planned so carefully before the shoot.

 

This is the KEY with children in cold temperatures.

 

Bella was so beautiful on her fourth birthday,

and was delighted to go home with those pretty cupcakes!

 

 

Creating Movement in Photos

 

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Capturing photos of moving people and objects, like your

kid playing sports, may seem

daunting...but actually it can be very creative and FUN!

 

First, set your camera at shutter priority mode.

On my Canon it's the Tv mode. 

This way you can choose your shutter speed and

the camera will choose the aperature for the correct exposure.

 

The above photo is the typical FREEZE the action shot

achieved by using a fast shutter speed.

 

But you can also achieve this next look and SEE the motion:

 

Once again, these next two photos froze a moment

in time with a fast shutter speed.

 

 

But to create the look of motion with blur in the

background, you simply slow down the shutter and pan

with the moving subject.

 

It takes a ton of practice shots, but every so often

you get the face in good focus.

 

This next one was shot at 1/15 shutter speed:

 

 

Even when the face is blurred...I think it looks FAB!

 

William loved these photos of himself in action.

 

 

Okay, let's go through exactly how I did this.

 

Set your camera's focusing mode to Al Servo.

(Check your manual on how to do this on your camera.)

 

In this mode, while holding down your shutter button half way,

 your camera will continually adjust focus and exposure

as your subject moves.

 

 

This method works best when your subject is moving from right to

left, or left to right rather than moving towards or away from you.

 

Hold the shutter button halfway down and get initial focus on the moving subject

preferably the face.

 

Click the shutter all the way down and pan

with the movement until the shutter closes.

 

I know it's hard, but TRY to pan smoothly.  I tried using a

tripod, but it was highly irritating and confining, so I

prefer hand-holding the camera.

 

 

You will take a ton of photos trying to get a few

good ones.

 

But it is FUN!!!!

 

Try this with kids riding bikes, running, sledding, skating,

playing sports like soccer, hockey, basketball, baseball, football.

 

Place yourself so the movement is going left to

right or right to left.

 

I know you'll get some good ones and want to use

this method when your kids just want to be kids and MOVE!