Sun or Shade?

I had wanted to take a photo for Polar Bear Day, and had the dolls dressed in their winter wear, and standing in the display case waiting for a nice snowfall. But it was clear that we weren't going to get any fresh snow, and with the temperatures set to skyrocket, I had no choice but to take the photos on a sunny day.

Now, I prefer not to take doll photos in the sun, but it was early March and the sun was still low in the sky - which is preferable to high overhead like in summer. Plus I figured I could always ask Jan to hold the white umbrella to shade the dolls. So I went out to the backyard and tossed some snow around to help make it look a little fresher where I wanted to take the photos, and then I took the dolls outside and set them up. Then asked Jan to shade them with the umbrella...

I took several photos of the dolls in the shade...

But I also took some with them in the sun...

They were both nice, but I actually preferred the ones taken in the sun. They seemed more interesting and there was more definition, especially with the polar bears. So it was a good thing I did both. And it was also a good thing I took the photos when I did because the next day most of the snow in the upper garden had melted already.