It’s time to take advantage of the bad weather. When snow covers your sidewalk, driveway, and path to the newspaper (if you still read one), it’s time to grab the camera and take the kids outside for a quick portrait session.
The next time you’re in the grocery store or at the book store, make sure you tell me what you see when you look into the eyes of Oprah.
I’m guessing at least two light sources and probably a reflector from below to create what is now called glamour lighting. Oprah pays a lot of money for a photographer to create that flattering effect.
You can do the same naturally with the largest reflector created. It’s a snow-covered yard.
The best day to shoot this is while the sky is still cloudy so your subject doesn’t have harsh shadows. No amount of natural fill will overcome the sun’s strong light source.
Also make sure your background is slightly darker than where the subject is standing. Even the open shade of a nearby tree or building will do.
Move the subject so they are in an open space facing a wide expanse of snow. I shoot with a narrow depth-of-field to keep the background blurred and to keep viewer’s interest on the eyes.
Controlling the lighting by moving the subject to a variety of places to see how the different angles affect the fill light. There will be a sweet spot where fill meets cloudy sky. Be ready.
Notice the size of this subject eyes. The large iris shows the light level was low which made it easier to a more narrow depth-of-field.
Most kids would rather be building a snowball armory ready for attack when the camera disappears.
