Morning and evening are the best times of day for outdoor sessions in terms of lighting. When the sun is out in the middle of the day, it can cast harsh shadows which is undesirable for my style of portraiture. Morning and evening bring much more manageable lighting situations and often bring a warm golden feeling to your photos. You may have heard the term “golden hour” before - which is the hour right before sunset which can be unbelievably beautiful lighting! The photo above of the Schmitt family was taken during golden hour, and although it was the beginning of spring while the trees were still bare and everything seemed kind of gray - we still achieved a warm beautiful photo thanks to the lovely golden hour lighting we shot in. The photo below of one of my favorite subjects, Lucy Harper, was shot in some beautiful fall morning light. We had a lot of things going for us that helped achieve a beautiful family shoot- bright morning light, beautiful fall leaves, and backlighting.
Unfortunately since morning and evening are my preferred time of shooting, that means these time slots are the first to get booked on my calendar. Although morning and evening are my preferred times to shoot, I like to work with the availability of my clients and around kids nap times. And maybe the adults nap times too ;) With all of that being said - it is absolutely still possible to have a beautiful photo shoot in the middle of the day!
The first scenario could be that the day ends up being overcast and cloudy. Sometimes my clients get bummed when their session ends up on a cloudy day, meanwhile, I’m doing a happy dance when I see a cloud symbol on my weather app before a mid day session. Here’s why - overcast days can be the perfect lighting scenario. The photo above was shot on an overcast day (which still didn’t save us from the blistering July heat). I was thankful for the clouds, because it gave us a more even light distribution (even with the water in the background which has the ability to reflect harsh sunlight!).
Second scenario - we are shooting in the middle of the day on a bright and sunny day. Don’t fret!! We can still achieve beautiful photos! I often run into this scenario when I am doing wedding photography. My first plan of attack is usually to look for the most beautiful nearby tree. I personally prefer shooting in a shady area if possible, because again, the lighting situation is much more predictable - plus who doesn’t love a good tree in the background?! Shooting in a shaded area does a few different things - it can be more comfortable on super hot summer days, it eliminates the harsh shadows that the sun can cast on your face and it also prevents my beautiful models from squinting in their photos. In the photo above, we opted to shoot under one of my absolute favorite trees. This huge tree provides so much shade and also creates a beautiful backdrop.
Keep in mind that every photographer is different. Each one has different techniques and equipment to suit your needs. This is purely based on my style of shooting. I like to encourage everyone to find a photographer that matches their personal style. If you think we are a match, you should contact me today to book your spring or summer session before my calendar is filled. I look forward to hearing from you!