The SMUGS Blog

As the morning progressed and the light changed, the more experienced photographers showed the group how to use diffusers to soften the harsh, direct sunlight into beautiful, soft light perfect for portraits. By shielding the subject with the diffuser panel of a 5 in 1 reflector, it eliminated the harsh shadows. Shots were taken with the diffuser and without to show the dramatic effect. Many tips were given on composition including the need to be aware of the background. We were under a pier and discovered just a small movement of the photographer or the model made a huge difference in the final picture. The shots where a pole was sticking out of a model’s head was not quite as appealing as one without.

We set up the models against a backdrop and experimented with the effects of the lens’ aperture. When using larger apertures (small F/stop numbers) and a large distance between the subject and the background, the bokeh effect increases as well, creating a much more dramatic portrait with the model in focus and the background blurred.