Tech:
Handheld Nikon D200, 50mm f1.4 lens, set to f3.2, at 1/500th sec., ISO 200, B/W Mode, Normal Parameters.
For this image, I asked the two sisters and brother to head into the courtyard of their home and just play… as I off handedly hinted at ring-around-the-rosie. They took my subtle suggestion and proceeded to have a pretty fun time with it. They played long enough (about six frames worth) for me to get a shot where their faces were showing adequately, something I always try to do when shooting for clients (but personally I would not need to see all faces).
Although the lighting is doing different things with the kids’ clothing, what I mainly aim for is even lighting on the faces, which I was able to get here by shooting with the sun located behind the kids. This means the faces are illuminated only by indirect light from the front (from the camera’s point of view), which in this case is sky light, and a bit of reflection off of the kids’ white clothing.
In a closer up portrait (waist up, for example) in this same lighting, I would not have been happy with how much the clothing and hair (on the boy) are being overexposed by backlight, however, with the portrait being one taken at a distance, a certain amount of “blowout” is not objectionable to me, and in some cases can add to the impact.
