White Apple Blossoms

Hello all. I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend like I did, whether it was chilling out on the back patio or diving into some gardening project.

This was not taken on the weekend, rather a mundane Wednesday on a run to the local home reno store for some garden compost, flower seeds and pots. The light shining through the translucent petals of the apple blossoms was striking. It echos the leaves that are coming out on the trees which are soft, small and brilliantly green. Looking up through the branches while walking underneath the trees in my neighbourhood, the leaves look like stained glass. It’s one of things I love about spring, especially because it’s so ephemeral. Once the leaves have toughened up, the light will no longer be able to shine through and the effect will be lost.

So with light on the mind, lets talk about how we can use it to our advantage in our shots.

Morning and late afternoon are the best times to take photos. The angle of the sun and the colour of the light are gentler and more complimentary than the harsh light of noon. The high angle of the noon sun tends to flatten shots and leave short, hard shadows.

Grey, overcast days are really great for taking portraits. The diffused light casts muted shadows and you won’t get hot spots (bright spots of light that are reflected back to you. The forehead, cheeks, nose and chin are the most common place to find them).

Translucent objects like flowers and leaves look great with light shining through them. The colours are enhanced by the sunshine and the delicate nature of the subject is highlighted.

When shooting images of people (or your pet) outside, it’s more flattering to your subject if the light is shining on them from the side. It’s more comfortable for your subject, and you don’t get people squinting into the camera.

Don’t be afraid to move your subject around (or move around your subject) to find the most interesting lighting effects.

That’s plenty for you to think about for your next shots, so I’ll leave off here.

As for my garden projects, they went well. My flower seeds have been sown in my trough planter, ready to go and my garden bed got a new blanket of compost. Hopefully next week my tomato seedlings will be set out in their permanent home and I can start dreaming of tomato sauce.

So get out, enjoy the weather (if safe and legal), take some great shots and enjoy the beauty around you!