Justin's Alternate

Justin gratefully accepts other stand-ins for my practice sessions.  Word has gotten out to siblings that if they don't behave, they will be sent to me for a torture-filled photo session.

You have been forewarned!

Meet Chris, our auxiliary son.  We like keeping our table full, and Chris keeps the table-talk flowing... he's a great target for Green Bay Packer fan abuse. It's a small price to pay if you ever need a quick senior photo to turn in.  He was so patient as we tried to work with the little light fading that dark wintry afternoon.

We used window light, to the left.  There wasn't enough light to reflect back into his face, so the trick was to position the face to maximize the light.  The ISO was turned up high for my camera (although this time I restricted how high, knowing the limitations of my own camera).  Subsequently, the shutter speed was as slow as I could make it for being hand-held, allowing more time for light to enter.  Gotta lock those arms against the body when taking the shot to stabilize against camera shake at such a slow speed! I used my prime 50 mm 1.8 because that was my lens with the largest aperture, also letting in more light.

OK, that was the basic plan.  The low light still wasn't ideal for my camera set-up, yet adequate enough to come up with several shots.  Here goes!

So cool.

Sunlight faded quickly for indoors.  Going outside helped capture any leftover light, augmented by the reflected light off the snow.  Its amazing how much snow helps. Usually when wearing a baseball cap, a darker shadow is cast across the eye area (which is why the caps are worn, right?)  Having some fill light takes care of that for photography purposes, and the reflected light off the snow worked great.  Notice Chris' face is fully lit.  The snow below bounced light back onto his face, underneath the cap. If there isn't snow around, photographers will use a reflector of some sort.

How do you get a tall guy to look UP at a camera when you are shorter than he is?

Have him crouch down and look up to you.

Start stretching, men.

Same idea, different angle - resulting in a different background.

I really like the next series.

Chris has that enviable "confident but approachable" look.

You rock.

I really appreciate the practice on you, Chris!  So does Justin :>)

As you carry on next year, go with God!

...and rock the world for Him.

"But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
and I will tell of all your deeds."
Psalm 73:28 

Come back to visit us, you hear?