Lighting suggestions for portraits

[the_stiffmeister]

Hi,

At the weekend I'm planning on taking some shots of some of my nephews. I'll be working with the onboard flash and natural light. Does anyone have any advice on how to make the most of it? Is it worth buying a reflector for this kind of scenario?

Also, with regards to sunlight, is it best to avoid the time of day when it would be more or less coming straight in the window? I would presume it's best to have not too much sunlight as it would cause harsh lighting.

Thanks in advance,
Stuart

[BarryM]

Right firstly what cam and lens ?? How old are kids and how many are there,

secondly scrap onboard flash, if its a must then u need to diffuse it with somethin opaque, even masking tape looped around it so that it doesnt stick to the glass of flash but it needs diffused.

I cant see bright sunshine being a problem due to weather so if nice and cloudy then u have gods diffuser over the sun. Im not sure you need to worry about harsh sunlight at this time of year at all. Yes you could use large white cloth/card/anything bright to reflect the light from window onto the other side of his face, I would try to work without the flash, u will get a gentle soft lighting then.

[lostmysnorkel]

Window light would be nice, if teh sun is shining straight thru and harsh...a net curtain can work wonders!

Also, avoid standing the kids too close to the window, the light will be much softer a couple of steps away.

[the_stiffmeister]

EOS 400D with 18-55mm. Kids range from 1 year old to 12 year old and there are 3 of them.