Monika, Black Veil, and Natural Light Outdoor Portraits.

Outdoor natural light portrait sessions can sometimes be more challenging than indoor ones. And as satisfying as well. Outdoors, we cannot control light and must adapt to what is given to us and use it as best we can.

When I saw Monika in this veil, I immediately started thinking about how to portray her in it.

We were driving about on a sunny and cold afternoon, looking for a photo location.

After a few attempts, we found one quiet beach.

I decided to experiment a bit.

I wanted to take portraits in natural light, with no strobes or flashes, and to make the task "easier," these had to be against the strong sunlight and using the lens that I am not too often using for the closeup headshots, a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G. Only in a couple of shots have I asked our youngest daughter Marika (thank you) to hold a white reflector to bounce a bit of light onto Monika’s face.

Two of these shots were made with a Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G (guess which one).

It was a bit challenging. I quickly found out that the auto-focus system gets a bit confused by the beads on the veil and struggles sometimes against the harsh sun, so I had to adjust it manually before each shot to get a sharp eye.

On occasions like this, against the strong sun, I often guess what I see through the viewfinder or back screen.

However, when we uploaded photos at home to the computer, we were pleased with the results. I got what I had imagined before.

And massive thanks to Monika for her patience, creativity, and charm.