I wanted to show a cheap and relatively easy way to create ‘open shade’ on a sunny day at high noon. In the image below you can see how harsh the light is: intense highlights, harsh shadows, very contrasty. I’m sure as a photographer you find yourself in situations where dealing with time limitations you might have to shoot in such awful light.

You can solve this problem with a California Sunbounce. It will only set you back $700. Instead why not try a DIY version ($25ish): PVC pipe and ripstop nylon. It’s like a 4′ x 8′ softbox! You can find ripstop nylon at your local fabric store. My wonderful wife sewed the edges and added elastic on the corners to quickly slip over the frame. I’ve had this diffusion panel for a while and have found other great uses for it, such as a backdrop. Want to create a nice high-key white background outside, just place this panel between the sun and your subject.

Now, this image isn’t anything special, but that’s why it’s a ‘Proof of Concept’. I just wanted to show how you can create soft flattering light at a hard time of day.

The picture below is a 2011 | 2012 shot from the bench I proposed to my wife 7 years ago. The image on the left was shot with a 17-55mm and the shot on the right with the 50mm. Both images where shot by an amateur (after I set all the settings). But you can see the 50mm is sharper, and also appears less distorted.

She piled the sled full of snow and sticks and towed it around the yard.

This is probably one of my all time favorite pictures of Kate. I used a special trick to create the utmost cooperation in my model, hot chocolate! Yep, I promised her hot chocolate, instant perfect model! So cute, even at 3 she’s a sucker for chocolate. The hat was designed by By Jackie Lee.

Baby A is already a couple months old and beginning to smile and show expressions. He wasn’t too sure about me at first, glaring at me like I was crazy! He’s probably got a point, but he eventually came around and we got some smiles before he wore out and fell asleep!

I love in the collection above, the bottom right image, where Baby A looked up and found his Mommy.

I was so busy with enjoying the day, I didn’t even get a camera out until the very end of the day. These girls were having a great time together enjoying good hot dogs by the fire (my daughter is in the middle). I love how candid the last three images are. These girls would be my daughter’s 2nd cousins, and they were having fun playing with their dad down by the pond. I was actually shooting the first image above right before they came down to the pond. It’s so wonderful to share Thanksgiving with family.

However the inside of the barn has 1 speedlight with a pocket wizard. The last two windows and last sliding door had no light in the room, so I stuck a speedlight in there with a pocket wizard. You can see how dark that room was below. This shot was taken about 20 minutes before ‘perfect’ light.

You can see my crazy setup below. Because the ground where I needed to shoot the barn was significantly lower, I had to use a 10′ step ladder, and I mounted my tripod to the top. It was a bit tricky to look through the view finder while standing on top of the ladder without falling off!