Title • ... like a baby

This shot was one that I was tempted to use for this week’s Photo Friday challenge, Morning, but as it was taken at 11 o’clock at night I decided that it wasn’t all that appropriate. It’s a shot of our youngest daughter (who’s currently almost 14 months old) and is part of an ongoing series of shots (some of which will make there way onto this site) that are my attempt to get the hang of single source lighting. In this instance I used a flash, bounced off the ceiling, and I’m quite pleased with the overall effect (and do realise that it would have been better if the inner corner of her eye had been in focus too ;-)

It’s also the start of what I hope will be a move towards some more ‘straight’ photography). I had a discussion with Mike Golding recently, and he made the point that much of my recent work is more akin to illustration than straight photography, and I suppose he’s right. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing, but it is about time I did some other stuff too. So, with the onset of better weather and some decent light (many of my recent images are a direct consequence of not being able to produce interesting work in the miserable grey drabness of a Northern winter), I’ll hopefully be producing more ‘natural’ work over the coming months.

Incidentally, if you haven’t seen Mike’s site, it’s definitely worth a visit. Take a look at this shot and this one for a couple of beautiful examples of naturally lit work.