Tips to Create Better Shots

With the summer months in full swing we are able to enjoy the warmth of the bright sun. Children can play and enjoy water fights and trips to the beach. Everybody can have fun in the sun, however this is not always the case for the photographer. Shooting with the harsh light of the sun can prove quite difficult, particularly if you have no choice but to shoot outdoors. This may be the case for the wedding photographer or on-location portrait photographer. The harsh sunlight, particularly in full height from noon onwards, can create harsh, undesirable shadows. Having people face on to the sun can make them squint and screw up their faces. The harsh light can also create hotspots which essentially loses highlights and details of the subject. This does not look so good in wedding photography or portraiture. 

It is best to avoid shooting when the sun is bright and high causing harsh light, however sometimes it is required, particularly if you are professional photographer. If it is necessary to shoot in harsh sunlight then there are some tips which can be followed.

Manual Camera Settings and Spot Light Meter 

Only use your camera on manual mode to have full control over your settings. Using on automatic, the camera tries to guess the reading and in extreme conditions can create overexposed images. Use a light meter on spot mode and expose at the subjects face. Doing this may still allow the background to be overexposed, however this can be rectified by focusing and cropping more on the subject. 

Another option is the “sunny 16” rule. This requires the aperture to be set to f16, with an ISO of 100, and shutter speed of around 1/100 or 1/125. The shutter speed should be set closest to the reciprocal of the ISO. If you require faster speeds, up the ISO to 200 and adjust your shutter accordingly. 

Use Shade if Available 

Using shade during harsh sun light is always a good plan. This can be readily available shade such as shade from buildings, walls or trees, or even created shade from umbrellas or taller people. When using trees, be aware of any light falling through the breaks in the branches and leaves as these could essentially create hotspots on your subject. 

When shooting in the shade, remember and ensure enough light is reflecting onto the subject, otherwise they will look flat. This can be achieved with the use of reflectors or even positioning the subject so the light still bounces on their face. 

Position the Subjects Correctly

It is important to think about the positioning of your subject when dealing with harsh sunlight. If a subject is positioned facing the sun then this will force the subject to screw up their face. This creates unwanted lines and undesirable shadows. You need to position yourself and your subject to ensure the sunlight is not directly on the subjects face. 

One way of doing this is walking around your subject and take different shots, whilst asking the subject to position their head. Also take photographs from different angles for different effects of the lighting. For example, shooting at a high angle will be a different effect to shooting at a low angle. Another method is to reposition your subject. Positioning your subject so the sun sidelights the face and can be a nice effect, however this depends greatly on the angle of the sun, i.e. high or low. Sometimes it can create blown out areas on the side of the face that the light hits which is quite unappealing. Shooting with the sun behind the subject can work and create lovely dreamy shots, however if the sun is too high it can still be too harsh. Positioning your subject within a shaded area is good, and the subject can still be facing the sun so you catch all the details of the face. If you feel areas of details are lost then use a reflector to bounce some light in. 

Reflect and Bounce that Light

Reflectors come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. You can use natural reflectors, such as the white of a building, open sky or walls, or you can use white or silver card, or even professional photographic reflectors. Reflectors are particularly useful when the subject cannot be facing the light or is positioned in the shadows. The reflectors can be positioned so the light bounces off on to the subject putting any lost detail back in. Without the reflectors, highlights can be lost, and eyes and the face can appear flat. When bouncing light back in to these areas, the subject appears less flat and the light catches the details of the face.  

We hope you find these tips useful for when you are shooting photographs on the next sunny day. If you found this article interesting, then you may enjoy some of our photography courses here at ACS Distance Education. 

We have different types of photography courses from Digital Photography, Wedding Photography to Landscape Photography, and to suit different levels of experience and ability - from our Introduction to Photography course to the Associate Diploma In Commercial Photography.