Family fun!

Had a really fun family (Mum, Dad, 2 children &  their dog) for a studio portrait shoot recently.  The shoot was mostly in our studio in South Oxfordshire, as it was pretty cold outside – although the light outside was soft and flattering.

It was pure chance that in this shot the shuttlecock was right in front of his face, and between his eyes.  It has not been put on afterwards in Adobe Photoshop; sometimes you just get lucky! 

We also tried some more serious shots with the racquet. 

Here I’ve set a wide lens aperture to use what’s called “differential focus” in a creative way.  The boy is nice and sharp against the dark background, whilst the racquet strings are well out of focus and give an attractive graduated pattern down the image. 

With this dark background image of the girl, I used simple lighting from one main light, and used her hair and hands to frame her face.  With the image converted to B&W, her expression made for a nice moody shot. 

Finally, when we were back outside, I couldn’t resist taking a portrait of their dog “Tigger”.  She was a real bundle of energy (like her namesake), but I managed to get her still enough to get a few shots. 

The dark background (a hedge in shadow) makes it look as if she’s been lit by flash, but it’s a natural light image.  Her alert expression is due to the fact she was being offered a treat to encourage her to sit still. 

As I said, it was a fun shoot (with lots of laughter), and they loved the images. 

If you would like to experience a shoot with Gale Photography for yourself  just get in touch to arrange the date! 

Cheers, 

Derek 

www.galephotography.co.uk