Available light portraits

Looking through our family albums, a lot of the photos are spoilt by harsh lighting. The built-in flash has gone off, lighting faces but creating unwanted shadows. So let me make a plea for turning off the flash and using available light.

You don’t need a studio to take good portraits. The essentials are good light and plenty of practice. This picture is one of a series taken quickly on my son Matt’s 5^th birthday. The cloak and crown had been made as presents and he’d put them on as soon as he got out of bed. So I knew there was a chance of a good picture and had my camera ready – an old Rolleiflex twin lens reflex, where you look down into the viewfinder.

Breakfast was the perfect time to try. Matt was too busy eating to be interested in what I was doing. And the light at the breakfast bar was great. To my left there was a kitchen window. Then there was a large patio door letting diffuse morning light into the room – you can see the curtain on the left of the frame. Finally, there was a cream coloured wall to the right. Acting as a natural reflector, the wall softened the shadow on that side of Matt’s face.

If you don’t have a studio or sophisticated flash, don’t despair. Look around you, observe the quality of the light that’s available and take some portraits. I look forward to hearing how you get on.