A Family Session in Direct Sunlight
At this point, I think most people are quite familiar with the term “golden hour” (that hour just before the sun sets and just after the sun rises). In photography, we think of this as the best time to shoot because the sun is beautifully diffused and gives off a magical glow. But, what happens when you can’t shoot during golden hour?
For this family photoshoot, Mama had requested that we finish before golden hour began because the kiddos had bedtime routines. Fabulous! I am always down to work with a family’s schedule in whatever way I can! So, we hit the park in the evening and had fun playing under the bright sunlight together.
When I look back at these pictures, I love how summery they feel — and that is largely in part to the sunlight! It was so fun to spice up my session with a time change! I always love pressing into circumstances the Lord throws at us. It helps me think outside the box and get more creative, which is ALWAYS a good time!
In this particular shoot, we used a silver reflector to throw sunlight from behind the family to the front, so that we capture the beauty of backlighting.
Posing with a Language Barrier
This shoot had me on my toes when it came to communicating with the kiddos! The Huang Family primarily speaks Chinese at home, and though I was once conversational in Chinese, I have forgotten a lot of words over the years.
During this shoot, I communicated with the littles in one of four ways. 1) I talked to them in Chinese the best that I could. 2) I talked to them in English in case they understood some things I was saying. 3) Mom and Dad translated what I was trying to communicate. 4) I acted out what I was trying to say.
I found that the most fruitful of these options was when Mom and Dad translated for me. My preference is always to talk to kids directly so they feel seen and important, but I discovered that in this particular case, it was most comfortable for the kids to understand from Mom and Dad what was going on. So, I also looked for other ways to connect with the kiddos that went beyond words! Showing a picture after I took it and smiling and laughing together were simple ways that I could connect with the littles, even when there was a language barrier.
