Sunday Smiles - Taking pictures on a windy day

Gold star if you can figure out why I chose this topic today. :-)
What is with this wind??
We were booked for outdoor photos at a preschool this week and the wind was a menace!
We did what we do best, though, and got some gorgeous shots. Some super model fab. No wind machine necessary. :-)
I can't use those for example because we haven't obtained permission from the parents yet, so I took Charlie out into the yard.
Problem is, the wind is worse today. I looked it up on the weather network, and the wind is gusting at 63km/hour. That's the equivalent of sticking your head out the window of your moving car and expecting a nice portrait.

First thing I always do is check the sun and find a spot/direction where my subject is not in direct sunlight. Unfortunately, the great spot to avoid harsh sunlight was wide open to the wind gusts.

To freeze the hair (or whatever you're shooting) as it's being whipped around, you'll need a fast shutter speed. If you set your camera to a fast shutter speed you need to make sure that you've compensated in other ways for reducing the amount of light you're letting in. You can do this by increasing your ISO, throwing your aperature wide open, or simply moving to a different spot that's better lit.

Next I took a different approach and sought out refuge in the doorway. Seek somewhere you're at least partially sheltered. You can also have someone position themselves as a windbreaker.


But the doorway felt like cheating so back out into the yard we went. I positioned her so the wind was blowing her hair away from her face.

This had good results. The downfall was that the wind in her face kept causing her to close her eyes and blink a lot. I definitely had to snap a lot of pictures and sift through to find the ones with the most wide open eyes.
There were a lot of really natural candids going on as she struggled to keep her long hair under control.

(also a great shot of the most recent missing tooth. I pulled that bad boy on Thursday.)

All in all, windy day portraits are possible and can have some interesting movement and effect to them. Today was a little over the top, though. I'd opt not to do your portraits on a day as blustery as today, but if you do it's easier to just go with it rather than trying to fight it.
It turned out great for being silly :-)






And some really great silly shots are always a win in my books.

Comments

[JQ]

Two words: pixie cut.

[Jesse Hake]

Definitely agreeing with your comment! It's always difficult to get a moving subject right, but your focus here is amazing. It just brightens up the static parts of the picture!

That little gap on the teeth is a nice touch.

[Mickey]

gorgeous photos in the wind.
beautiful subject you are Charlie!