Further to Harry Short's photography tip in the 1 December edition, I have one that a friend passed on to me and, with his permission, here it is.

Ian Donaldson says:
Here is another tip that I use when shadows are a problem.

I use a reflective sun shield to shine to light up dark areas. It is just a matter of having an assistant shine the light where it is needed. The light is soft and gentle and does not wash out the picture like a flash photo can do. The sun shield is one of those aluminum looking ones that are designed to be placed on the dash of your car to reflect the suns rays away from the interior. They are cheap, effective, light-weight and can be folded into a very small package for easy carrying.

I saw a professional photographer at a wedding using a very expensive reflector. When I went back to my car it suddenly dawned on me that I could use the reflector that I had on the dash. They work well and are so cheap that I have a number of them. I have also used aluminum foil as a reflector and that also makes a nice soft light that does not wash out details. Once you use one you will find a hundred uses for it. I still use a fill in flash if necessary, and the best bit about digital photography is that if you are not happy with the snap, just delete it and do it again until you are happy with the result.

Thanks to Dianne and Ian for today's Quick Tip! If you have a tip you would like to share with researchers, you can send it to: ADNeditor@ancestry.com.

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