Sun: Friend and Foe!

All to often I see happy snaps ruined by harsh, bright sunlight. Sometimes this mightn't matter too much; it may be one of hundreds of photos of that family member or friend. Sometimes though it might be a rare photo of a loved one or of a never repeated special moment; a photo that you want to be able to look back on with fond memories.

Now I know that in a past blog I briefly explored the idea of what makes a memorable image, and that the important thing is the memories that it brings back. To this end though there is a limit; sometimes a photo can be that bad that it simply isn't evern worth saving (or printing if your're still using film).

So how can we make the most of the least ideal conditions? What are ideal conditions and what are least ideal conditions?

Ask any photographer and they'll probably tell you their favourite times to shoot outdoors are the first couple of hours of the day and the last few hours. During these times (coined the "golden hours"), when the sun is low in the, sky the light is normally much softer (due to the increased depth of atmosphere through which the light must pass) and much warmer. And, with the sun low in the sky, it is also easier to work with.

But we're not always presented with opportunities at either end of the day; most outdoor family events are over lunch, we go down to the park with our kids either late morning or early afternoon, so we must adapt to these harsh lighting conditions and make the most of them.

First trick, and probably the most obvious, is seek out the shade!

Eliza (from An Arvo with the Turtons).
There is no use of artificial light or
reflectors in this shot, just expose for
the subject and let the background blow
out.

Shade, although much darker, provides a far more even quality of light. And with even light comes soft shadows and smooth exposures. Now "shadow" might extend to waiting for a cloud to block the sun (as with the photo left) and, depending on the extent of the shadow, bright sunlight from surrounding areas can still spill enough light in to keep your exposure up and provide a bit of interest.

Failing overcast conditions, or at least a cooperative cloud or two, then the shade from structures or trees is the next best thing, but be warned that things can get quite dark. To combat this you might want to use a bit of fill flash to just help boost the ambient light levels.

If you're confident with controlling your exposure then the soft dappled light found under the bigger trees can be very pleasant; just make sure you expose on the slightly darker side to avoid blowing out the lighter areas and ending up with brutal white splurges on your subject.

Shade not an option? Well if you're forced to shoot in full sun the first goal should be to avoid full sun on the face of your subject. This is especially true when the sun is high in the sky and will cast deep shadows around the eyes, under the nose and under the cheeks.

Try to get the sun behind your subject and expose for the face. You might end up with blown out rim lighting, but one hopes that you'll still get a half decent exposure on their face.

An excellent use of a reflector to bounce
light back onto the subject by Wagga
Photographer Belinda Fraser 

This situation can be improved by 'bouncing' light back into your subject. To achieve this photographers use refelctors - essentially a large, rigid sheet of aluminium either silver or gold - to bounce light back into the subject and in doing so balancing out the light from the sun and the light on the subject.

Reflectors are a pretty cheap bit of gear with a 3/4 length 5-in-1 reflector (silver, gold, white, translucent and black - the last being for soaking up light) available for around $100 and a bit cheaper on line. It is definitely a very useful bit of gear if you're shooting people and outdoor subjects.

But if you can't access one, or don't think it's worth the outlay, then look for bright reflective (but muted) surfaces and position your subject in such a way that the sunlight bounces back onto them from the reflective surface.

Finally, for the more advanced there is the option of strong artificial light (dedicated speedlight either on or off camera). This will act either as a primary light source or at least a very close secondary light source to the sun.

To use a speedlight effectively you're going to need something with a bit of oomph, after all it will be competing with the sun! So it pays to get a good brand and invest in good batteries! With the speedlight on the camera your creativity is limited, but if you get yourself an off-camera shoe chord that will really start to free you up with regard to creativity and quality. If you want to go that bit extra (and have the required deep pockets) then the ultimate is a set of radio triggers.

Radio triggers can be used to trigger speedlights, strobes (and even cameras) remotely and with some brands as far away as 400m. With these in your armament very quickly your only limit becomes your own imagination. A set of good radio triggers (and I emphasise good - last thing you want is unreliable triggers) will cost you up around $350-$500 depending on brand and retailer.

My lovely sisters-in-law Kristy (L) and Jo (R).
Sun is fairly low in the sky (3pm) over their left
shoulder. Speedligh is slightly off to the left of camera.
An off-camera shoe chord was used to free up
the speedlight.

A more creative use of off-camer flash.
As you can see the sun is behind and to the
left of Kristy while the flash is high and to her
right. An off-camera shoe chord was used to free up
the speedlight. 

An example of the creativity the freedom of radio triggers provides.
The speedlight is high and to my right and is exposed just under the
sun. The sunlight provides great rim lighting while a bit of post-processing
provides the cooler tone and strong contrast.

So there you go; hopefully you have got something out of this post and will see an improvement in your photography.

For more photos don't forget to check out my gallery and be sure to 'Like' my facebook page to keep up to date with these blogs and my work!