Baby Rabies
  • Start Here
    • About Baby Rabies
    • Baby Registry Top Picks
    • Favorite Pregnancy Apps
  • The Book
  • Pregnancy
    • Birth Stories
    • Perinatal Mood Disorders
  • Parenthood
    • Babies
    • Toddlers
    • School Age Kids
    • Parenting LOLZ
  • Photography
    • Photography

      6 Stunning Photos You Would Never Guess Were…

      February 11, 2019

      Photography

      Simple Tips For Editing Snow Photos On Your…

      December 13, 2018

      Photography

      I Wrote A Photography eBook And This Is…

      December 6, 2018

      Photography

      Creative Lighting Ideas To Help You Take Great…

      November 27, 2018

      Photography

      Learn How To Take And Edit Photos On…

      November 19, 2018

  • Reviews
    • Reviews

      The Answer To Last Minute Holiday Gifting For…

      December 19, 2018

      Reviews

      I Was Never A Barbie Girl Until Now

      October 1, 2018

      Reviews

      Finally! Jeans For My Jean-Averse Kids!

      August 22, 2018

      Reviews

      If Your Kid Loves Dump Trucks & Garbage…

      August 13, 2018

      Reviews

      Nobody Tell My Kids ABC Mouse Is Part…

      September 4, 2017

  • Subscribe

Baby Rabies

pregnancy & parenting

  • Start Here
    • About Baby Rabies
    • Baby Registry Top Picks
    • Favorite Pregnancy Apps
  • The Book
  • Pregnancy
    • Birth Stories
    • Perinatal Mood Disorders
  • Parenthood
    • Babies
    • Toddlers
    • School Age Kids
    • Parenting LOLZ
  • Photography
    • Photography

      6 Stunning Photos You Would Never Guess Were…

      February 11, 2019

      Photography

      Simple Tips For Editing Snow Photos On Your…

      December 13, 2018

      Photography

      I Wrote A Photography eBook And This Is…

      December 6, 2018

      Photography

      Creative Lighting Ideas To Help You Take Great…

      November 27, 2018

      Photography

      Learn How To Take And Edit Photos On…

      November 19, 2018

  • Reviews
    • Reviews

      The Answer To Last Minute Holiday Gifting For…

      December 19, 2018

      Reviews

      I Was Never A Barbie Girl Until Now

      October 1, 2018

      Reviews

      Finally! Jeans For My Jean-Averse Kids!

      August 22, 2018

      Reviews

      If Your Kid Loves Dump Trucks & Garbage…

      August 13, 2018

      Reviews

      Nobody Tell My Kids ABC Mouse Is Part…

      September 4, 2017

  • Subscribe
Photography

Creative Lighting Ideas To Help You Take Great Photos Even When It’s Dark Outside

by Jill November 27, 2018
November 27, 2018

Today I’m sharing an excerpt from my new eBook, Picture Play, coming out November 30th and available for pre-sale at $5 off the regular price. Order your copy at ShopBabyRabies.com. Since it’s the time of year where the days are getting shorter and darker, I wanted to help you find creative light sources in your home! Enjoy!

So, it’s not daylight outside, or you can’t get much sunlight to stream into the room you’re in. Now what? There’s nothing wrong with using other light sources to light your photos. This is a great time to get creative with what those light sources can be.

A well-placed lamp that illuminates your subject can make a beautiful, moody photo. Imagine if I’d turned on the overhead lights for this too. This photo would feel less dramatic and it would have less depth and interest than it does with this single, focused light source.

Just like sunlight, creative lighting is all about where the light comes from in relation to your subject. In this photo, you can see how the lamp is directly behind my head making my face dark, my hair too bright (notice the complete loss of detail in those bright white parts of my hair), and the overall feel of the photo very messy and grainy.

By simply repositioning my phone so that the light source was off to the right side of the frame instead of directly behind me, I was able to light my face properly and even capture some catchlights in my eyes. The shadows and highlights fall naturally across my face and the top of my baby’s head.

With a little editing, I can brighten the photo a bit more.

Here’s a great example of using a lamp to create a silhouette of subjects—very excited subjects who were listening to a hockey game way past bedtime when their favorite team won. The mood and the motion are more important than the subjects’ faces here.

Tip: Your light sources don’t have to be traditional lamps. Consider a TV, a lava lamp, an iPad, or a computer screen.

Sometimes all you need is an open door and lights on in the room next to you. This photo of my daughter and husband at bedtime is lit by an adjacent bathroom with the lights on.

You can still get well-lit photos with incandescent, fluorescent, or LED overhead lighting. A common issue when relying on interior lighting is that your white balance may be off. Do you see how the white bed in this photo is taking on a yellow tint?

That’s a white balance issue. When you have proper white balance, the whites of your photos will appear, well, white. There’s a proper balance of temperature and tint: warm yellows and magentas and cool greens and blues. When this is not balanced, your photo can look more yellow, magenta, blue, or green than the real scene appears to the eye.

There are simple fixes for this we’ll get into later on in the apps section, so don’t stress too much over it now.

Tip: One easy way to deal with white balance AND low light? Convert the photo to black and white. (We’ll get into black and white conversions more in the eBook.)

Many of the indoor photos you take without natural light can still look awesome with just a little brightness and contrast added.

I hope you found these tips helpful! Be sure to pre-order your copy of Picture Play before November 30th so you can save $5 off the regular price! Head over to ShopBabyRabies.com to get your order in today.


50 Things to Do Before You Deliver: The First Time Moms Pregnancy Guide
Available now: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

  • 11
    Shares
Android photographyiPhone photographymobile photographyphone photographyphotography appspicture playsmartphone photographySnappin'
previous post
It’s Small Business Saturday And These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Places To Shop
next post
I Wrote A Photography eBook And This Is What People Are Saying About It

Keep reading

6 Stunning Photos You Would Never Guess Were...

Simple Tips For Editing Snow Photos On Your...

I Wrote A Photography eBook And This Is...

Learn How To Take And Edit Photos On...

I’ll Never Apologize For These Selfies

This Photographer’s Project Takes A Stand Against Mommy...

Moms, Direct Your Own Photos

Get Inspired By These Baby Photo Ideas- Birth...

Work Smarter, Not Harder- This Service Will Design...

How I Edited This Pic On My Phone

1 comment

imgrum December 17, 2018 - 8:25 am

Thank you! I’m glad to find the tips. It’s very helpful for me.

Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

@babyrabies

Instagram did not return a 200.

Buy Jill’s Book

50 Things to Do Before You Deliver: The First Time Moms Pregnancy Guide

Up Your Phone Photography

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

©2019 | BabyRabies.com


Back To Top