Light and Shadows | Chiaroscuro | Laura Morita Photography

I know some amazing photographers. And amazing photographers like to push themselves creatively…try new things…think outside of the box. So, because we never want to become stagnant, we have decided that this year, we will practice shooting a different type of lighting scenario each month. Thus far, we’ve done Window Light, Artificial Light, and Silhouettes. This month, we are exploring Chiaroscuro lighting. Um, what’s that you say? Is that like a tasty sugary churro or something? Not quite, but it’s still rather delicious.

Chiaroscuro is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark. I loved this idea. I tend to be a bright and shiny photographer and while I love shadows and dimension in imagery, I don’t always look for opportunities to shoot with DEEP shadows. Well, I’ve been missing out. Photography is a journey, an exploration of light AND shadows. It was fun for me to figure out how to shoot with strong contrasting light, and I’m really happy in the results. Also of note, none of these images required much in the way of extra editing work. All the black and whites were converted in Lightroom (that’s where I always convert to black and white), and then brought into Photoshop, where I did a little extra to really emphasize the light. I really love when editing is fast.

So, here we go. This picture is of my adorable four year old nephew. I told him to try to be extra spooky as he held a flashlight under his face, so he was saying “wooOOOOooooo!” This is basically lit by the flashlight and the ambient light on in my dad’s house. This was shot at night. The light in the background is from a lamp casting light on the wall. Did I plan all this out? Nope. Lol. I lucked out, but I love the dimension. ISO 2500 for my photographer geek friends. :)

Laura Morita Photography | Editing MentorAnd just one more of this cuties, because come on, he’s cute (and oh-so-spooky)!

Laura Morita Photography | Editing Mentor

My daughter was willing to go outside with me one evening so I could try my hand at some more contrasty lighting. This was shot in my front yard. There’s a gate to the left of her and then trees on the right and behind her. Light is pretty much coming from behind me. By turning her face, I was able to get shadows on her face. If she had been facing me directly, I would have gotten great light on her face, but not as many shadows.

Laura Morita Photography | Editing Mentor

Next, I botched a pile of pictures if my attempts to find good places for chiaroscuro lighting, and then I decided just to have her sit at the door to the back of our garage. The big garage door is closed and dark. Light is just coming from the opposite way, so by having her lean against the door jamb with one side of her face facing the dark garage and the other side facing the outside, I again was able to get some nice shadows and great catchlights in her eyes.

Laura Morita Photography | Editing Mentor

Dang, I love her.

Laura Morita Photography | Editing Mentor

And just one of my little dude. He gave me maybe 3 minutes. This was shot as it was starting to get dark. My large window is to camera right, with the curtains pulled open just a little bit so as not to blast him with light. ISO 25,600. How I love my Canon 5D MkIII and noise reduction. :)

Laura Morita Photography | Editing Mentor

So, the way this works is that you go ahead and click on THIS LINK RIGHT HERE. That will bring you to MD newborn, baby, and family photographer Tonya Teran. I love her!  You can follow the links in each blog post to see everyone’s take on chiaroscuro lighting. Once you’re back to my page, you’ve done the whole circle!

And if you like what you see, I’m way better at updating my FACEBOOK page.

And if you want the latest news about what I’m up to as far as workshops or mentoring goes, sign up for my NEWSLETTER. I’m trying to find time to schedule another SHINE editing workshop. Time…. I need more time!

Thanks for looking!…

Light and Shadows | Silhouettes | Laura Morita Photography

I am so blessed to know some incredibly talented photographers that push me to become a better photographer. I have some serious love for them! This year, we are doing a blog circle called “Light and Shadows.” Every month, we explore a different type of lighting scenario. This month is silhouettes! I had a lot of fun with these and love that it got me thinking about light in a different way. I seriously love working on a different type of lighting every month! So fun!

So, here you go:

Not sure this one is technically a silhouette, but hey, I still love it.

Laura Morita Photography | Editing Mentor

Laura Morita Photography | Editing Mentor

Laura Morita Photography | Editing Mentor

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Laura Morita Photography | Editing MentorLaura Morita Photography | Editing Mentor

Laura Morita Photography | Editing MentorLaura Morita Photography | Editing MentorLaura Morita Photography | Editing MentorLaura Morita Photography | Editing Mentor

Laura Morita Photography | Editing MentorLaura Morita Photography | Editing MentorLaura Morita Photography | Editing MentorLaura Morita Photography | Editing MentorLaura Morita Photography | Editing Mentor

Ahhh…. Just looking at these makes me smile. They had so much fun jumping on the bed. My son was in a grumpy mood until I suggested he jump on my bed. What an amazing way to turn a mood around!

Next up is the beautiful and talented Salt Lake City photographer, Marie Sant of Bloom and Grow Photography.  I’ve already seen her images, and seriously, go check them out! Gorgeous!

I just started a Google + page, if you want to follow me over there! Just click right here!

And my Facebook account is right here!

Light and Shadows | Artificial Light | Laura Morita Photography

This year, I am SO excited about a blog circle I am doing with some amazingly talented photographers. Each month, we will be exploring a different kind of light. Last month, it was window light. You can see those images right here!  And this month, we are exploring un-natural light, or artificial light… pretty much, any kind of light that doesn’t come from the sun! I was really excited about this month and also excited about another little thing that has been brewing in my head, so I figured I would combine both of those ideas into one, which brings me to my first image!

I’ve been wanting to miniaturize my kids for a while and finally got around to completing one of my ideas! I’m super happy with how it turned out! I shot the soap, bubbles, and my son with strobes and then manipulated the images in Photoshop to create my little baby boy sliding down a bar of soap!

Laura Morita Photography | Editing Mentor

I have other ideas but wasn’t sure that I wanted to do them with artificial light, so this is the only miniaturized kid for now!

And here are some other images shot with artificial light:

My daughter lit from the bedside lamp at night:

Laura Morita Photography | Editing MentorMy daughter’s hands lit by a candle and my phone (Brightest Flashlight ap) held by my son, camera right:

Laura Morita Photography | Editing Mentor

And then a bunch of pictures shot in the rain and lit by my car’s headlights! This was short, but fun!

Laura Morita Photography | Editing MentorI’m pretty sure my daughter is attacking my son with the umbrella here.Laura Morita Photography | Editing MentorLaura Morita Photography | Editing MentorLaura Morita Photography | Editing MentorLaura Morita Photography | Editing MentorThese were a challenge but SO fun! I seriously am just loving the idea behind this project and hope you do too! I hope to learn how to use light in new ways and was especially excited to play more with artificial light!

So, how this works is you get to go check out another amazing photographer who has also used artificial light this month! Go check out the wonderfully talented Bethesda, MD newborn, baby, and family photographer, Tonya Teran of Tonya Teran Photography! I love her work and if she’s sharing pictures of her kiddos, watch out. They’re ADORABLE.

If you like what you see, you can follow me on Facebook!