Summer gives you plenty of light for party photos, sometimes too much. Bright midday sun creates squinting faces, dark shadows under hat brims and skies so bright that the people in front of them turn into silhouettes. A few simple techniques, which work on any phone or camera, help you capture the faces and moments you want to remember.
Find Open Shade
The single most useful trick for photographing children in summer is open shade: a spot shaded from direct sun but still open to the sky. The shady side of a house, the area under a porch roof, the edge of a big tree’s shadow or the space under a canopy all qualify. The light there is soft and even, faces look natural and no one squints.
Avoid patchy shade, such as under a tree with gaps in its leaves, which scatters bright spots and dark spots across faces. If you are setting up a photo backdrop or cake table, place it where it will sit in open shade for the hours the party runs.
Put the Sun Behind Them
When shade is not an option, turn your subject so the sun is behind them. Their faces will be in their own shadow, so no one squints, and the sunlight creates a warm glow around hair and shoulders. Because the background is now brighter than the faces, tap on your subject’s face on a phone screen to set the exposure, or use exposure compensation on a camera to brighten the image. A white tablecloth, a light wall or a piece of white poster board held just out of frame bounces some light back onto faces.
Use the Gentle Hours
Light is softest in the early morning and in the hour or so before sunset, a stretch photographers often call golden hour. Summer parties held in the morning or early evening have good light built in. If your party runs through midday, plan the posed photos, such as a family picture or the birthday child with the cake, for early in the event or near the end, when the sun is lower.
Watch Hat Shadows and Hot Phones
Sun hats are essential for children, but their brims cast shadows across eyes. In bright light, a flash or a phone’s fill light can brighten faces under a hat, or you can step into open shade for a quick picture. Do not ask a child to take off their hat in full sun just for a photo.
Phones and cameras can overheat when they sit in direct sun, and some will stop working until they cool down. Keep yours in a pocket or a shaded bag between shots, and do not leave it lying on a sunny table.
Choose Backgrounds That Help
In strong sun, the background can make or break a photo. Bright skies, white siding and shiny water tend to wash out, while hedges, trees and shaded walls give faces a clean, even backdrop. Before a group photo, look past your subjects and take a few steps if something bright or busy sits behind them. Shoot from a slightly higher angle to fill the frame with grass instead of sky, and keep the sun from shining straight into the lens, which leaves a hazy glare. With shade, backlight and a little attention to the background, summer light becomes a gift rather than a problem.
A Shot List for a Summer Party
A loose list keeps you from reaching the end of the party with a hundred pictures of cake and none of the guests. Consider capturing:
- The setup before guests arrive. Decorations, the cake table and the play area while everything is fresh.
- Arrivals. Each family coming through the gate, which also gives you a photo of nearly every guest.
- Play in action. Children climbing, sliding, chasing bubbles. Get low, at their eye level, for the most natural pictures.
- Grandparents with the guest of honor. These are the photos families treasure most, and they are easy to forget.
- The cake moment. Candles lit, the song and the blow.
- Details. Small hands on a craft, a sun hat on the grass, a half-eaten cupcake.
- The host family together. Hand the phone to a friend for at least one picture with you in it.
Getting Better Photos of Moving Children
Toddlers and preschoolers rarely stand still, and bright light helps you keep up with them.
- Use burst mode. Most phones take a rapid series of shots when you hold the shutter. Among them, one will catch the face and the moment.
- Get down low. Kneel or crouch so the camera is at the child’s height. The background becomes the play area instead of the top of their head.
- Pre-focus on a spot. At the bottom of a slide or the finish line of a race, tap to focus where the child will be and wait for them to arrive.
- Leave room in the frame. Moving children are easier to catch with a little extra space around them. You can crop later.
- Talk to them, do not pose them. Asking a question or calling their name gets a real expression faster than “say cheese.”
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Shooting toward the sun with no adjustment. Without setting exposure on the face, backlit children become dark shapes.
- Standing everyone in a line in full sun. Group photos in direct sun mean squinting and blinking. Move the group into open shade, even if it means walking a few steps.
- Using digital zoom. Zooming in on most phones reduces quality. Walk closer instead.
- Forgetting the lens. Sunscreen and sticky fingers smudge phone lenses. Wipe the lens with a soft cloth before important shots.
- Photographing other people’s children without thinking. Many families have preferences about photos being shared. Ask before posting pictures that include other children.
Questions Hosts Ask
Should we hire a photographer?
For a milestone like a first birthday, some families do, and they free the host to enjoy the day. For most parties, assigning one guest to take photos for the first hour works well.
How do we share photos with guests?
A shared album that guests can view privately is often easier than group messages, and it respects families who would rather not have pictures posted publicly.
What phone settings help most?
Tap to focus on faces, slide exposure down slightly in bright scenes and turn on gridlines to keep horizons level.
