Pumpkins, Bittersweet and Light

Hello...here I am.  I can't believe it's been over a week since I've posted!  Time sure flies when your not having fun...lol.  I've been busy, but have also felt a little uninspired lately.  I did manage to do a little Autumn decorating around the house this week....mostly I just scattered a few pumpkins here and there and then added some bittersweet to the mix for a little Fall flair.

Just as an aside...see those cute napkins up there?  I got those at Pottery Barn the other day on clearance.  Doesn't the color of the stripe match that pumpkin perfectly?  I love it when things like that happen.

Anyway, I took my new napkins, a pumpkin, and some bittersweet and gourds and put together a little vignette in the only room it seems like I ever show you...the dining room.  Then I took a few shots in the evening and a few shots the next afternoon for a little unscientific lighting experiment, just to get a better feel for how light affects the mood and look of a photo.  

I generally try to take my photos in the morning or towards evening since the light is softer, giving a nice glow to the pictures and the least amount of shadows.  These first three photos were taken later in the day than I would normally choose.  This room is on the West side of my house and towards the end of the day it will get strong bands of light, which I find to be too distracting and harsh, making some areas of a photo look too bright and others too dark.

Of the three, I prefer the first photo...even though it is a little dark.  It has more of a cozy, warm feel and sun is acting kind of like a spotlight on the items I want you to notice the most, the bittersweet and the pumpkin.  The second photo has too many shadows around the base of the pumpkin for my liking and third photo feels fine, although I don't really care for the light that is falling across the top of the sideboard.

These last two photos were taken in the afternoon when it was rather cloudy, which is something I pretty much avoid at all costs, since I have a hard time getting pictures to turn out to my liking in that type of weather.  For example, in the photo below, while I like the composition, the lighting feels too cold to me, especially in the area near the top of the photo.  I can hardly stand to look at that part.

Now, this next photo, I really, really like...even though it was taken at the same time of day.  What?!  Hmmm.  Why I wondered?  What's different?  I had to really look at them both to figure out the answer.

See in the shot below how the top and bottom parts of the photo are more out of focus in comparison to the photo above, softening the edges?  It seems to diminish the harsh, cool look of the light.  Also, because it contains fewer items, just the pumpkin, bowl and bittersweet, it has more of a minimalist look which seems to work well with this type of light and your eye more easily gravitates toward the center of the photograph, don't you think?

Okay then, let me see, are there any big, overall conclusions that I can glean from my experiment?  No, not really, except for maybe I need to learn how to use my camera settings better :)  I do, perhaps, have some general thoughts.  It appears that a band of light could be a spotlight or create a more intimate mood, as long as it's not too harsh and too bright.  And if should I run into a situation where I have cool, yet bright, light, it might be nice to have the edges out of focus to soften the look of the light.

My camera is also set to auto white balance and I haven't really tried to make adjustments to that setting too much.  There have been occasions where I've changed it to allow for overcast skies, but then I felt like my photos had a bit too much of a yellow tone.  I'm thinking I need to play around with that setting some more and figure things out better.

Well, lovely people that's that.  Do you have any thoughts, ideas or helpful hints about photography and lighting you're dying to talk about?  I'd love for you to share :)

xo Tricia

I'm sharing my post at:

Feathered Nest Friday
Show and Tell Friday