Photographic Thoughts on a Very Early Monday Morning

Currently, I'm going through a period where I seldom sleep through the night.  It seems four hours after I fall asleep, I wake up and usually stay awake for at least an hour, sometimes several hours, before I feel tired enough to go back to bed for a couple more hours of sleep.  And then, sometimes during the following day, I may have a nap, usually for about an hour.  It seems this abnormal sleep pattern occurs most often during the summer when the days are long and the nights are short.  During the winter months, I usually sleep more normally.  Fortunately, this summer, I am alone and the current pattern bothers no-one.  Hopefully, when I share my home with someone else, I will be very quiet and not disturb their sleep.  I know how important an undisturbed sleep is to most people.

When I'm up during the night, I gravitate towards my computer and begin surfing the web, indulging in my ongoing or latest interests.  Lately, I've focused on learning as much as I can about portrait photography.  One area interests me in particular and that is making memorable, unposed, images of family and friends in casual settings and situations.  I'm not particularly interested in contrived studio shots except perhaps in recognizing the impact of good lighting on a person's face and the composition of the end photograph.

I prefer making use of good natural lighting whenever possible.  That doesn't always work, of course, because one rarely can photograph people in the early morning or late evening when the best natural lighting happens.  All you can do is make the use of opportunities when they arise.  It might be a family picnic, a kid's soccer game, a family reunion, an evening visit or something like that.  And, you also have to have willing subjects.  You sometimes have to leave the camera in the bag when you realize someone is tired, is not feeling well, is preoccupied with some problem or just plain doesn't want a camera 'in their face' today.  Happy occasions ... such as birthdays, family get-togethers, outdoor BBQs ... where there are lots of people present often provide the best opportunities to capture special moments in portraits.  The family portrait photographer has to be watching for these moments and make best of them.

I've been lucky over the years and taken enough images to occasionally get an exceptional portrait shot.  What I'm trying to do now is better my averages.  I'm not satisfied with one great shot in a 100.  I want to make many great shots in a 100.  All I need are willing, patient, people to help me reach that goal.  I hope some of those people read this posting and help me along the way the next time I'm pointing a camera at them.