A few weeks ago, I attended a photography class taught by Emilie from Photo By Emilie. It was SUPER fun. And uber informative. Okay, let’s just start by saying, taking a class with these yahoos makes it 10 times more entertaining.
L to R: Kari, Emilie, Amy, Mandi, Me
You may know that a year ago, I got a DSLR camera…and named her Rachel Berry. (You may NOT know that too, that doesn’t make you a bad person in any way.)
For the record, my camera is a Nikon D3100. It is a very nice camera, but is considered entry level for a DSLR.
I learned lots of little tid-bits but I pretty much loved the lighting portion. Emilie talked about how photography is very much focused on creating the perfect light for your subject. My “Oprah type” A-ha moment was during the whole lighting portion. Particularly the talk about not ELIMINATING shadows, but placing the light in the correct place so that shadows work in your favor.
To create the perfect shadows one needs to pay special attention to the direction and strength of the light.
The least flattering light is light coming from directly above our heads. Light coming from directly above our heads creates very unflattering shadows.
Like remember Gwen from Seinfeld? I do. She’s a two face.
Look how I tried out some “two face” lighting for myself!
Remember: the least flattering direction of light on our faces is from directly above our heads. It makes our eyes dark, it make our noses look big and our teeth and smiles dark. So, essentially, it turns you into a two face.
- The easiest way to solve this problem is don’t choose a spot with top down light to take a photo.
- A reflector reflects the light back up into the face, filling in the shadows with light. When you have a bad light direction your goal will be to fill in all the unflattering shadows.
- Reflectors feel all “fancy photographer”-ish. But it doesn’t have to be expensive. And it makes a HUGE difference.
Yes. You have to love me now!
Oh my gosh! Genius! I’m going to travel everywhere with that round, golden, pretty-maker.
Emilie’s workshops include:
- how to shoot in Manual Mode
- more lighting rules
- her go to poses
- easy Photoshop process for editing
- and TONS more
I learned SO MUCH. And had so much fun.
Emilie is based in Salt Lake City, UT. But don’t fret if you don’t live here. She also offers online classes. Featuring tons of personal 0ne-on-one help.
So make sure, next time you have your photo taken, not to be caught in a “two face”. We all want to see your BEST SIDE. (and no….that doesn’t give you permission to moon me….gross!)
I love it when we can use examples from Seinfeld in our everyday life!
Thanks for the info very helpful!!
I try to use a Seinfeld or Friends episode in my life EVERY day. It’s just a good policy.
Were you all friends at Dixie?
We weren’t. But we should have been! Such a small world sometimes, right?
Yes indeed!! We should have been!!
I loved this part of the class!!! Emilie is genius and I really really love your new hair color!!
Thanks Mandi & I agree about the hair color!!
I bet you guys had SO much fun!!! I loved reading the lighting tips. Emilie is just amazing. I hope to be able to take her class soon!
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Jen
Thanks Jen!! You’re just a doll. I hope you can take my class soon too
OMG, most amazingly stupendous timimg…I ‘just’ got a dslr (wanted a slr forever)..like bought it after much fretting, saving, re-considering last saturday! I almost signed up for university online class today too…checking out Emilie Thanks!
I will forgive you for calling me a “yahoo” but only because you referenced Seinfeld who makes everything better! Emilie is such a great teacher. Love this tip and I really could use it as I tend to get really heavy raccoon eyes…which are totally from bad lighting…and not from bad genes…at least I like to tell myself that
Love this comment!! Raccoon eyes… totally all lighting for sure!!
Dang- I’d love to be in the yahoo club. You girls look like you had so much fun. And learned a ton! Thanks for sharing the tips. I loved you before, but after sweats/no make up, I love you all the more. xoxo bed buddy
Great post. I am married to a photographer, so I’ve seen the reflector before, but this is the first time I really understood. Great photos to compare to see the difference.
And I’m also loving the hair color.
that explains every picture ever taken of me…….does this work for walls? i would love to take the online class if they cover how to take picture without people.. our business is decorative painting and i feel the pictures do not capture his work .