Practicing Dramatic Portraits

It has been brutally cold here in Chicago of late and I have to be honest and say I have not even picked up my camera in weeks. I love to take photos, as long as I am outside. It's easier for me if truth be told. I can calculate my settings in mere moments and have no issues with outdoor images.

Indoors is another issue for me. My house, although it has loads of windows, is very dark. It is not ideal for photos. I get loads of shadows on faces or blurry shots. It's super frustrating to me. So I simply opt to not take photos indoors, in my house. I pretty much avoid it, in manual mode.

This week, it warmed up a bit and I grabbed the girls and we went outdoors and I snapped off some shots with their violins in the snow. The girls had fun, the shots were not challenging to me. I wanted dramatic shots and as I was editing I was thinking to myself, these are great, I love them.

But, I didn't even feel challenged. Aren't I supposed to be working on details that are difficult for me in order to become better? I decided to attempt some images indoors, in my dining room, where the lighting really stinks. I grabbed my daughter and her violin again. I wanted to capture her against a wall with her shadow playing the violin. I can say that I was frustrated with the lighting and didn't get what I had envisioned, but I did get one shot that I felt was acceptable. I don't think this is great, but I'm working on low light situations. Practice, practice.

Since I was not that satisfied with the results of my daughter and her shadow, I tried again in low light in my dining room with some selfies. I'm much happier with these, but again, do not think they are great.

 Anyone want to tutor me on low light images? I lack patience.