The Beauty of a Good Window & the Bonham Kids

This picture:


...is the first one I ever took using natural light. I had my first digital camera - a 3 mp Sony Cybershot. I'd found an article in a scrapbook magazine about positioning your child near a window, turning off the flash and getting a natural light portrait. And I was happy with the result. Much happier than I'd ever been with my previous flash snapshots.

Thus began my interest in natural light portrait photography. I've come a long way with my photography since then, but I still haven't gone far from the window.

The other day, I took pictures of three cute kids who are the nieces and nephews of my friend and neighbor, Jill. And as it turns out, their dad is now our new insurance agent.

We'd had an appointment for several weeks, but it was kind of a rainy day, so we found a big window in Jill's house and had our shoot there.

And we got portraits like this...


and these...






I love the way natural light curves around faces and gives them texture and dimension. I love the way natural light makes catchlights in eyes. And you don't need a fancy camera to get this nice effect.

But you do need cute kids. Cute kids help A LOT.