A Rainy Saturday

This has been a very dry summer in Texas but this past week has been very wet and today (Saturday) it rained almost all day long. Our three boys were content to stay in their rooms and play video games most of the day and there wasn't much on TV so I decided to experiment with portrait lighting and try out an idea I had for a portrait of my wife. As usual, she was more than happy to be my photography muse for the day.

The portrait idea I had was to use the french doors that lead from our living room out to the back patio as a prop for a portrait. I wanted to create a evening or night feel with my wife in a cocktail dress and use the window panes of the french door to break up the image. Even with the rainy overcast sky there was no way I could shoot from the darker inside of the house, through the french doors to the bright outside without turning my wife into a silhouette. The solution was to hang a 6'x6' peice of black felt cloth from the roof of the patio as a back drop and block the harsh outside light, the patio furniture and the boys go-kart, bikes and toys on the patio. I then placed a lightstand outside to the left of the door with a speedlite and reflective umbrella to illuminate her.

I like the results...

This one was taken in the same place but with the french doors open.

All images copyright Daniel Ray Photography