The McKenna Family

I took the time yesterday to practice for an upcoming family session in my parents’ backyard with my youngest brother and my mom. I was prepping for a session that I was supposed to have last night but had to cancel due to it being so dark much earlier than I had anticipated. At any rate, I was able to take some of these practice shots in the middle of the afternoon in FULL SUN.

I came across two major problems during this practice session.

The first was the full sun I mentioned above. Mind you, I am still learning. But I do know that LIGHT is one of THE most important factors in taking a great photograph. Lots of photographers stay away from the midday or mid-afternoon sun to avoid the harsh light it exudes. I don’t typically like to shoot in harsh light either, but I needed the practice and my mom and my brother were willing to help me out. I really have to admit, I am super proud of myself for how these came out, considering the sun was blasting down on us. I will also admit that I had to trash several photos that were WAY too sunny to be fixed in post-processing.

The second problem I knew I would have was POSING. I will be the first to admit that I am not great when it comes to posing. I know what looks good and what doesn’t, but when it comes to giving direction, I am like a sad, flopping fish out of water. (Is that a weird analogy? Probably). BUT! With that having been said, I have been cramming pose ideas from Pinterest in my brain hours before every session I have. And not only that, but I have now taken several online photography courses that have helped me improve on this weakness of mine. I’m still a work in progress, but I am getting there.

ANYWAY! Who cares about all that, right? I know you’re just dying to see the photos already. Without further ado, here they are! Enjoy!