June Submissions

My apologies to the talented ladies who submitted photos for this month’s tutorial – I didn’t get a chance this last week to upload your photos, but without further delay, here they are!

Kelsy Propp, of AB, sent me this photo of an adorable little dancer.  Kelsy says, “I love to take photos between our house and the neighbours house…for this photo I used the brick on the side of the neighbours house as my backdrop.  There is the perfect daylight lighting for great natural light photos.” 

Taken with Canon Rebel T1i at f/5, 1/500 sec., ISO 200

Love the result – and look at the gorgeous, flattering lighting!!  Thanks for your submission, Kelsy!

I received this beautiful submission from Kathy Tippe of AB:

Taken with Nikon D90 at f/5.6, 1/100 sec., ISO 160

I love it!  Thanks for playing along, Kathy!

Last, but not least, Michelle Kuijer of ON sent this photo for her June submission:

Taken with Canon EOS XS at f/5.6, 1/60 sec., ISO 100

Lovely!!  Thanks for sharing, Michelle!

Have a wonderful holiday tomorrow – I will be away on Friday (celebrating my birthday!) but will post June winners this weekend!!  Watch for the July tutorial early next week!

June Tutorial – Daylight/Sunlight

As dicussed in the Summer 2010 issue of Canadian Scrapbooker, there is a distinct difference between daylight and sunlight.  When we talk about sunlight, we refer to the actual rays that light your subject.  For example, I captured our golden retriever, Simon, one wintry day, as he basked in the sun:

Taken with Nikon D70 at f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200

Daylight, on the other hand, may be available even in the absence of sunlight.  Consider an overcast day - there is often still enough illumination that lights our subject without direct streams of sunlight.  It can also found in the shade of a tree on a sunny day, or on a covered porch, such as this photo of my son, Connor – taken on our covered porch, with a white reflector.

Taken with Nikon D70 at f/2, 1/160 sec., ISO 200

There are a few things to remember when shooting in direct sunlight.

1. Avoid strong, direct sunlight, if possible, for portraitures.  If it is unavoidable, try to make your own shade by using your body.  You could also use your reflector or a piece of posterboard to block the sun.  If nothing is available to create shade, position your subject with the sunlight behind them.  If you remember from last month’s tutorial on backlighting, your camera will be fooled by the bright background so you will need to increase your exposure to correctly light their face(s).

2.  Instead of using your reflector to create shade, you can use it to fill in the shadows.  Prop it up so that the sunlight is bouncing onto the dark areas of your photo – you should be able to see this with your naked eye, as you move it around.  (here’s a great video on how to use a reflector) You can purchase reflectors in a variety of colours and sizes.  You could also use white foam core, a white bedsheet, a silver windshield shade or even just cardboard, covered in tin foil or gold metallic foil, depending on your lighting preferences.

3.  Try using a lens hood to avoid flares, if desired.

Sunlight and daylight have both advantages and disadvantages.  On one hand, they both come in varying degrees of brightness, one is usually available at any outdoor shoot, and it’s free of charge!  However, there are also disadvantages – daylight and sunlight are not a constant source of lighting as it changes in both colour and direction, depending onthe time, weather and location.

Are you ready?  You’ll need to get outdoors for this assignment!

Your June assignment: 

Using the June tutorial as a guide, photograph a subject or object using daylight or sunlight.  Remember to use a reflector to fill in any shadows.  Go outside and PLAY!!  As always, if you have any questions, please leave me a comment on this post, or email me. 

Deadline:  11:59 pm EST, June 30th, 2010 

Please submit your photo, using our submission form only, for a chance to be entered into our draw to win an awesome prize.  A randomly chosen entry will be drawn after the deadline.  Please click HERE to review the rules regarding this draw BEFORE submitting.  Please note – submissions that are not relative to the tutorial and/or do not abide by these rules will not be posted on the blog, or entered into the draw.  PLEASE remember that your photos should be sized to 72dpi, and at least 500 pixels wide.  Don’t forget to  include your camera settings, including camera used, f/stop, aperture and ISO for your image in the Comments section of the submisson form!  Submissions that do not include this info may not be posted on the blog.

This month’s sponsor is Glitz Design – Check out June’s prize pack!

June 2010 Prize Pack - Glitz Designs

Thanks for playing along this month… Happy Clicking!

Our May winner!

We had some wonderful submissions this month:

Thanks to everyone who submitted their photos this month (top to bottom, left to right):

1. Cynthia Hordyk
2. Gail Bidgood
3. Sarah Lou
4. Lisanne Côté
5. Patricia Delorme
6. Tara Vosbourgh
7. Mindy Smith-Bernard
8. Erin Aumack
9. Lorie Pollock
10. Teresa McNutt
11. Michelle Kuijer
12. Lori North
13. Marla McNutt
14. Lori North
15. Michelle Kuijer

And our winner is…

Congratulations to Patricia Delorme!!  Your Nikki Sivils prize pack will be sent out shortly to the address on your submission form!

Thanks again to all – our June tutorial will be posted early next week!!  I’m heading to the Toronto area this weekend for a Donna Downey class - so excited!

Cheers,

Final Submissions to Share

I have a few last-minute submissions to share from last night!

Michelle Kuijer, of ON, sent in two submissions this month:

Taken with Canon EOS XS at f/4.5, 1/125 sec., ISO 100

Taken with Canon EOS XS at f/5.6, 1/125 sec., ISO 100

 Our last submission comes from Teresa McNutt, of NS.  She comments, “We have had such little sun…Had to lay flat on the ground to grab this one.”

Taken with Nikon 40D at f/4.8, 1/2000, ISO 320

 Looks like it was all worth it, Teresa!  Love the delicacy of this!

Thanks to you and everyone who submitted their photos this month.  I will be drawing and posting a winner tomorrow morning – check back to see who our lucky winner is!! Will it be you??

Cheers,