How did your Easter family photo come out yesterday?

Fujifilm X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 200, ƒ/8, 1/180, flash is set for -1 EV

If you look closely you will notice another family on the opposite side taking photos.  They get the direct sunlight. By standing on this side of the cross we were not staring into the sun and our faces were in the shade. All I did was to add fill-flash with the pop-up camera flash on camera. While not my preferred placement of a flash did work OK for this family photo after church.

The photo was taken at 12:34 pm. One of the worst times to take a portrait of people outside.

Fujifilm X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 5000, ƒ/5, 1/500

Now last Thursday our family went to the Alive After Five event that we have from April till next fall every Thursday in downtown Roswell. After we ate at Mac McGees went strolled around and found these two Union Soldiers. I took this photo without a flash. The main difference is the time of day I took the photo. This is taken at 7:17 pm and the sun sets at 8:10 pm.  Due to the sun being below the buildings there was no direct sunlight—just tent light effect. This is where the whole sky is lighting the subject with equal light from all directions. Even under the hat the guys face is OK without a flash.

With off-camera flash 

Without flash

Remember that when taking pictures outside, especially during the midday sunlight, be sure and use a flash. Don't think of flash inside as much as outside.

Father's Day in Photos

This is my Great Grandfather Henry Leary on the far right with his family. My Grandfather James Stanley Leary is in the middle. I am named after him.

Today is Father's Day and you are seeing many people honor their father's this year in ways that haven't been able to do many years ago. You are seeing people change their profile photos on Facebook to their father's.

My wife Dorie Griggs is honoring her father on her Facebook page by making his photo her profile photo for father's day.

This is my grandmother and grandfather (James Stanley Leary) as I remember them growing up.

Now what I am seeing as I go through our family photos is that I really like the photos where the photography was technically good, but also captured them in a way I remember them.

This is my grandfather on my mother's side R. Knolan Benfield. I love this photo because it shows him as I remember, enjoying some down time in the family room watching golf most likely. By the way I called him Daddy B. The B was for Benfield.

While we didn't always have professional quality photos of our family, we cherish many of the photos because they help our family remember.

My grandmother, Emma Benfield and grandfather, R. Knolan Benfield with my mother and their daughter Bonita.

On holidays like father's day we wish our children could have known some of their relatives they never got to know. Funny thing I have noticed through the years is our families have certain characteristics that tend to be handed down. I think in a way as we live our life out for our children they are seeing parts of their relatives from the past.

My mother took this photo of my sisters with my dad and I. This is Emma, Hannah, David (my dad) and me when we were camping.

My father cherishes photos of the family and I can never remember a family gathering without him have a camera or a movie camera in his hand.

My dad doing what he loved to do, take photos to help us remember these moments.

My dad recording video of our Christmas day one year.

One of the best ways you can celebrate your father's is to take photos to help remember them. Take photos that help capture them at their best, like a professional portrait. Also, take photos of them in everyday life.

The one thing I think most upsets families after a natural disaster destroys their home is the loss of things like their photos of the family.  After Katrina some camera clubs helped families recover their family photos by scanning the ones they found and helping restore them.

For my parent's 50th wedding anniversary we went through and scanned photos from the years and made a slide show. We also made a copy of all the images and gave them to all the kids.

Take time today and find some of the old photos of your families fathers and reminisce. Then be sure and take some photos to help preserve the memories of today for generations to come.