Chuck Gloman

As a child, I clearly remember my father taking Kodachrome images of my sister and I in the snow. I always associated childhood winter 35mm slides with the blue cast they possessed. Not understanding color temperature, I assumed photos were always blue because it was cold outside. Summer images were understandably warmer looking.

Lighting fair-skinned subjects can be a challenge, but when working outdoors or indoors, controlling the flash, managing external illumination or simply shading the areas you don’t want highlighted can yield great results. Here are some tips on lighting that also includes groups where skin tone varies. As we’ll see, fair-skinned people have a beauty all their own that can easily be brought out in correctly exposed portraits. Play around with the color temperature and see what can be done with a little extra warmth or coolness.

Sometimes the lighting in your environment is too strong, whether daylight or artificial, and you need to soften it slightly—that’s where diffusion comes into play. In the following examples, we’ll look at how diffusion can soften “direct” light.

Diffusion Disc
Ashleen is using a collapsible diffuser (26” Flexfill) to block the sunlight from falling on Anne Marie (#1). The semi-translucent fabric prevents the sun from falling on the subject, which can be seen by the shadow cast on Anne Marie. If we look at a medium close-up of Anne Marie we can see that the sunlight is filtered on her face casting an even, pleasant illumination (#2). Using this method is great if you want a one to one lighting ratio outdoors by just shading the sunlight falling on your subject. This method usually requires a helpful assistant to hold the diffuser, although some folks use a light stand and a C clamp to good advantage.
Nikon D700, Nikkor 24–120mm lens, f/9, 1/250th, ISO 250, daylight balanced 5600K.

There may be times when you need to capture the action in a performance for a local newspaper, publicity shots, a memory of a child’s concert or simply because you want to capture images of the event. The first step is to make sure you are allowed to photograph during the performance; that’s easy if you’re hired to do so, but always check and find out the ground rules. Shooting during the actual performance has challenges so it is always a good idea to shoot the dress rehearsal—if you can. The shots here were mostly made during rehearsals of a dance recital, but the tips can apply to other types of performances as well.