Finding the light

We currently live in a rental.  I haven't done much for decorating.  As a whole it isn't a pretty background for photos.  I got stuck in a rut because I don't want to drag the kids out to try and find the perfect spot to take their photos and honestly they wouldn't do that anyways.  In order for me to take their pictures I have to capture them doing their thing and work with whatever kind of light I can.   Which to be honest I love more than staged photos anyways.  This has also challenged me to use light in a way I hadn't before.  I have become a little obsessed with light and shadows and am constantly watching the way it changes during the day in our house.  I am by no way a professional photographer and would probably be laughed at if I tried to play with the pros but I love it and work with what I have.  My camera is nothing fancy but I make it work!

The other day Cici was sitting at the dining room playing with dinosaurs.  All the blinds were closed but the little light that was coming was hitting the side of her face slightly.  I knew it wasn't enough to capture in the photo but I wanted to capture it similarly to how I was seeing it.  I needed open light so that I could actually see her but I still wanted the light coming in from the side.  Here is a pull back of what the room looked like (and how messy my house is)

You can see the little bit of light on her shirt.  I wanted to keep light coming in from that side and keep the shadows it was creating.  I kept the blinds closed in the large window and the window to the right and used the left window and our sliding doors as my light sources.

I sat across from her and sat the camera on the table (you can see it in the above photo).  And just watched her play!!  They are used to me constantly taking their pictures so she kept on like I wasn't there.  I want to remember all of this because they are literally growing up before my eyes.