How to take pictures of your kids in the Snow

So it FINALLY snowed here in Virginia, after a really warm and WIERD December. A week a go it was 75 degrees!

So for those that don't know, I use Adobe Lightroom for ALL of my editing. I can do so much with the newest version that I don't even need to have photoshop (Even though the 9.99 a month bundle comes with it.)

Here are some of the steps I took to make the following images!

1. Try to get your subject away from distracting elements. I actually asked my daughter to throw snow in several places in our small little yard so that it would be easier to edit out the stuff in the back

2. Get your subject moving. I had my daughter and son run and throw snow. Even though it only snowed a measily one inch, it made it appear to snow more!

3. Get your shutter speed going! I NEVER shoot auto! I always no what kind of image I want and therefore I know exactly what settings to have my camera on, so that I get the results I need. I had my shutterspeed very high- 1/640 and my ISO at only 200. But I was using a 1.4 lens!

4. Get a prime lens. Never use the Kit lens! I sold my within two months and with the money, I bought a 50mm 1.8 (The 35 1.8 is a great one too!) Now my go-to lens is a 35mm 1.4 lens. The prime lens will allow for amazing depth and a buttery background.

5. Get down on the ground! Get different angles! I looked OVER my daughter and UNDER her hands to get a different angle. Yes, I often get stuff on my pants. And my clients can tell you that I using get filthly during a shoot! I am just all over the place!

6. Get the natural stuff as well. I took some pictures of the trees and the bush next to my house! This is part of the story telling!

7. EDIT your photos to make them pop! I used only a few simple steps to take my photos from ah- to WOW! I Also cropped the distracting elements out by using my CLONE BRUSH tool as well! Look below for the settings I used

I also played around with the "highlights" toggle to make the snow contrast come out!

I took out the big blue ball and Warmed up the image.

This one I could have done a better job editing. But I only had 5 mins to write this post. But you get the idea. I used the "heal" function on the clone tool in lightroom.

Here, my son was running! I used the clone tool and the crop tool to make him stick out a little more in the front!

Here, my daughter had a scab on her nose!

8. Enjoy the little moments. I made some hot-cocoa afterword!

Can you believe that I took all these photos in 10 mins. When you get fast at knowing what you want, you'll get the results you want QUICK!

Happy Shooting,

Christal