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3 MORE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FOR WINTER.

13 December 2017 9 comments

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A   S N A P   H A P P Y   W I N T E R

Winter always brings the perpetual problems of shorter daylight hours and less sun to utilise, which can make blogging photography a tad tricky.

Last year's tips for brighter Winter photography was so popular and received such lovely feedback, that I wanted to supplement it today with just a few more tips, including an update on my photography style, and a handy little gadget that's entered my life! Hope you enjoy :)




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E M B R A C I N G   T H E   U N E V E N   +   I M P E R F E C T


I used to search for moderate, even fill-light, I suppose replicating what you might find in a professional studio, and spent forever playing with the brightness/contrast/curve levels in Photoshop to try and achieve a 'perfectly lit' photograph.

My style of photography has definitely changed from those days of crisp, white backgrounds and high contrast blacks, just a quick glimpse at my Instagram feed these days confirms that! It also turns out that embracing the shadow, the over or underexposed, the uneven and the imperfect, really lends itself to seasonal light changes, and makes my editing job infinitely easier - so much so that I only do a quick tweak in Lightroom now.

If you feel like you're struggling with the light, and you've tried some of the tips in my other post but you're still feeling dissatisfied with your photos, then I'd really encourage you to experiment with the imperfect and change your style of photography, rather than trying to change the lighting - it's exciting, it's liberating, and you might just save yourself both time and effort.

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creative-lighting-fridge-photography
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U S I N G   C R E A T I V E   L I G H T I N G


Something that I'm currently experimenting with is creative light sources. I think my very old photographs with terrible use of ceiling lamps has blemished my view of artificial lighting, but with a little help in editing, alternative light sources can be a really interesting way to beat the lack of sunlight in winter.

Computer or tablet screens, lamps, candles or fairylights, or even utilising the fridge light can all be used as creative light sources - and just tone down the warmth/coolness or blue/yellow saturation in Lightroom (or whatever editing medium you use) if you're unhappy with the tone.

We seem to be having a welcome batch of sunsets at the moment in the South East, and that golden hour before the sun sets in winter is the perfect time to chase the rays and find pockets of light in your home - you can even close the curtains or shutters all but a fraction to create little spills of light.

(I love Britt and Fiona's feeds for lighting inspiration - both stunning accounts.)

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illuminated-iphone-case-lumee

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T O O L S   O F   T H E   T R A D E


There are all sorts of tools and aids to help in our low-light struggles, and my latest favourite has to be this illuminated phone case from Lumee - it's the perfect answer to evening selfies.

As a natural beauty lover, it's not until the evening that I unleash a darker, bolder palette in my makeup, and by that time, the sun's rays have all but waned, if not disappeared completely, and so the opportunity to capture my handiwork with it.  The discreet, dimmable, illuminated strips down the front of the case bask your face with warm radiance - enough to accent the glow of your inner corner highlight, but not so much to wash you out, like you might experience with flash (they're pretty handy for a spot of post-sundown, covert lipstick reapplication too ;).

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Above // (all with VSCO a6 filter)

Picture 1 // with no lighting - fine, but pixelated and lacking in detail
Picture 2 // with the Lumee front lights - even, creamy with sufficient detail
Picture 3 // with iPhone flash - detailed but scary and unflattering! (F says terrifying ;)

(I've always been a slimline case lover, or heaven forbid no case, so I thought the extra bulk of the Lumee would bother me, but it has such a lovely, tactile feel in the hand, and the smooth, moulded plastic feels delightful to swizzle round absent mindedly. My case, in Plum Noir, also has light strips down the back, which I've been using incessantly in place of my phone's torch - the few seconds I save from unlocking my phone, locating the menu and tapping torch clearly mean a lot to me ;) A case that's simultaneously sturdy and useful, it'd make a great gift if you're stuck for stocking fillers!)

(oh, and the best thing? You can't leave your phone's torch on inadvertently and drain it's battery..)

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F A I L I N G   E V E R Y T H I N G . .


Venture outdoors - for even the cloudiest of days don't seem half as dark out in the open!

Lifestyle or style photos lend themselves here ideally, but even if you're all beauty blogger down to the core, I'd encourage you to set up a product shoot in the garden, and experience just how much brighter it feels.

If you're after more specific details as to my manual settings, and more on the equipment I use, then may I direct you to last year's post, whose 11 tips still stand, and which goes into the more technical aspect of brighter photography :) Let me know if you've any tips for winter photos!


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xx

This post is in collaboration with Nakturnal.
Thank you for supporting the sponsored content that makes Barely There Beauty possible.



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