September 7, 2009 – Aaron and Kirsten

1/25

f5.6

ISO 100

35mm

RAW

Since today was the last day for us to all be together for the family reunion, several of us went out to eat dinner at James Joyce, an irish pub in Decatur. It was a night for fun and relaxation — which means we left the kids at home!

Rachel's youngest brother, Aaron, married a couple of years ago, but it happened at a period where we could only afford to fly out Rachel for the wedding. So I hadn't met his wife, Kirsten, until this weekend.

We were sitting in the outdoor area at a large table with an even larger umbrella over it. I put the flash on my camera and set the flash compensation setting to use one full-stop less light than what the camera thought it needed (if you have a DSLR, this setting usually has a button that pairs a lightning bolt with a "+/-" sign).

I did this so I would get a little light from the flash to make sure their faces were brightly lit. I feared the large umbrella would make their faces darker while the background areas would still be pretty bright. I also knew the flash would lighten up their eyes nicely.

I should have used ISO 200 to get a faster shutter speed, but thankfully I was using my 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS lens. The IS stabilized the shot so even the slow shutter speed of 1/25 didn't create any camera shake.

The only thing I don't really like about this snapshot is the guy behind Aaron's shoulder is a little be too much in focus. I don't mind him being there, I just wish he was more blurred out like the people over Kirsten's shoulder. The people help set the situation and environment. It's just that I think the guy is a little too much of a distraction.