Take pictures of the bright sun outside. How to take pictures against the sun and get great pictures. Staircase on bowstrings made of concrete

Hurrah, friends! Summer is literally in a couple of days, which means that the season of beautiful sunny photos that will brighten up our long winter evenings is open. Today we will talk about how you can take a beautiful portrait on a bright sunny day.

I have said many times that good lighting This is the key to a successful photo. And it seems - so here are the ideal conditions: bright light - great pictures. But not everything is so simple.

Unfortunately, the rule “more light - better pictures» works. And in the case of portrait shooting on a bright sunny day, we generally face a number of serious problems.

For example, shooting on a sunny afternoon, when the sun is at its zenith and the light is falling directly on top of the model, often results in deep shadows on the model's face. With the upper hard light on the face, a very contrasting black and white pattern is obtained - strong shadows under the eyes, nose, chin. Such lighting can spoil even the most beautiful girl. Yes, and posing under the scorching sun is not an easy task. Try going outside on a hot summer afternoon without sunglasses, without squinting, and looking relaxed and natural. So why don't we take pictures at noon at all now? Of course, it is better to choose a more favorable time of the day for a photo session, but sometimes we have no choice. Just remember about small tricks that will make your life much easier and improve the quality of your photos.

1. Shoot in the shade

Unless you're shooting in the desert, even on the hottest afternoon, you can always find open shade - from large buildings, trees, awnings, etc. In the shadows, the light is very soft, and you will get photos with even lighting on the model's face. Shooting in the shade will allow you to avoid the hassle of working with harsh sunlight. Key moment here to find not the darkest place, but rather a uniformly darkened area (a large uniform shadow), where the light, although in a small amount, but evenly falls on the face. Taking pictures under trees with sparse foliage is not a good idea, because the foliage will make your face look like a kaleidoscope of brightly lit and dark spots.

Try using a wide-brimmed hat or umbrella to create an evenly shaded area. Or ask the assistant to hold the reflector so that the shadow covers the face of the model. When moving from bright light to shade, don't forget to adjust the white balance.

2. Use a reflector

Any surface that has the property of reflecting light towards the subject can act as a reflector. If you are planning a photo session and prepare in advance for shooting, be sure to bring a reflector with you. I usually use silver and white reflectors, if you want to add warmth to your shots you can use a gold reflector with care. Especially well suited for red-haired or dark-skinned models. If you don’t have a reflector at hand, you can use improvised materials. Any white or light surface can serve as a reflector. Light wall, white T-shirt, aluminium foil or a reflector for a windshield in a car - all this can be used for shooting. Position the reflector opposite to the direction of light incidence - so that the reflected light falls on the model's face slightly from below and from the side. This will fill in and soften deep shadows. If it's on a sandy beach, it's even easier. Ask the model to lie down on the sand, and the amount of light reflected from the light sand will be enough to illuminate the model's face.

3. Use a diffuser (diffuser)

The diffuser softens the direct luminous flux and thereby reduces the possibility of overexposure. It also increases the surface area of the light source, resulting in much softer shadows from the subject. 3-rasseivatel-hand-made1

The simplest and yet quite effective flash diffuser can be made by hand, using thick white paper and an elastic band to secure the paper to the flash. In principle, any white translucent material can be used to create a diffuser. The main thing is to show a little imagination, but for people who do not want to reinvent the wheel, there are ready-made serial universal flash diffusers.

4. Use flash

It may sound illogical, but it is the flash that allows us to deal with hard shadows on the model's face. The flash works as a fill light and removes unnecessarily darkened areas. If your camera allows you to change the intensity of the flash, then experiment with the flash compensation settings and find a value that will remove shadows, but at the same time will not overly intensively and artificially highlight the face. To get the best possible shot, set the exposure a few stops down. Check the result and make sure that the image was not too bright or, on the contrary, dark. The flash slightly darkens the background, which in this case only plays into our hands. A slight light contrast between the face and the background will give the photo more depth. Using the flash will also allow you to shoot the model even with the sun behind her. The light falling from behind will beautifully highlight the hair, highlight the contour of the shoulders, giving the photo a certain charm.

Most of the brightest memories we have are from summer holidays at the sea, trips with friends to nature, walks under the warm rays of the sun. I want all the photos I take to turn out great, and sometimes it's annoying to find that the pictures are not clear enough, and the faces are overexposed.

Correct exposure of light when photographing is 50% of success, but what if you have to take pictures on the street on a hot sunny day? Consider options for shooting portraits in bright sunlight in more detail.

Take pictures in the shade

The easiest thing to do is to put the model in the shade, where the subject is not exposed to direct sunlight: near a tall building, under a tree. The main thing is that the shadow should be uniform, otherwise ugly faces will appear on the faces of those photographed. dark spots, which is very difficult to get rid of even with the use of Photoshop. If there is no shadow in the vicinity, it can be arranged using the black side of the reflector or a special umbrella.

Take photos in backlit conditions

In other words, turn the model away from the sun so that the rays fall on her back. Thus, the hair and body contours are highlighted, while the face remains in shadow. Depending on how high the sun is, the highlights will only accentuate the subject.

In any case, this option of setting the model will allow you to get a clear face in the photo without a sharp transition from bright light to shadow.

You should also pay attention to how your camera lens perceives the oncoming light. It may be necessary to close in such lighting.

use flash

Oddly enough, shooting with flash in bright sunlight can improve the quality of photos, and sometimes additional lighting is simply indispensable. The main problem when shooting on a bright sunny day is the dark heavy shadows formed under the nose and eyes of the model. The only thing that can make these shadows less noticeable is brightening the face with a flash. Experiment with the settings, depending on the decrease or increase in flash compensation, the shadows will look more natural.

A fill-flash will darken the background, adding more contrast to the photo.

Use a reflector

In addition to the flash, the use of a reflector will help smooth out the shadows on the face of the model. It should be placed below so that the rays of reflected light illuminate the chin, areas under the nose and under the eyes. Fortunately, now there is a huge variety of compact reflectors that are convenient to carry around.

The best way to improve the result is to take the photo at a time when natural light is more attractive (earlier or later on the same day). However, it is not always possible to go for a photo shoot at the right time.

If the only convenient time If you and your model will be shooting at noon in bright sunshine, then be sure to remember the tips below. They will help you make the midday photo shoot as productive as possible.

Take pictures in the shade

If possible, try to work in the shade to avoid direct sunlight. Make sure both the subject and the background are equally lit, this will help you avoid problems with unbalanced exposure. Deep shadows can cause a blue tint to appear, so adjust the white balance to compensate for this.

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Use a reflector

Position your subject with their back to the sun so that no direct rays hit your face. This will also create an attractive lighting effect around your model. The reflector must be installed opposite the object, so that the light, reflected, illuminates the face.

Flash

Using a reflector can be tricky without help, so use your flash to light up the subject. The model also stands with its back to the sun, the light from the flash evenly illuminates the face. To get the most successful shot, it is better to set the exposure a few steps to minus. Check the result and make sure that the image was not too bright or, on the contrary, dark. If necessary, adjust the exposure compensation again.

It is probably not a secret for any of the photographers that a bright sunny afternoon is far from the best period for taking pictures on the street. But, nevertheless, very often it is not the photographer who dictates the time of any event from which you need to make a photo report. For example, the opening of a monument, a rally, festivities in the square, a wedding, after all. The conditions are bad, but you need to shoot. How to be?

In order to ensure that your pictures do not turn out to be of poor quality, it will be useful to familiarize yourself with the basic rules for photographing in bright sunlight. I would like to think that from our article you can get the information you need for this.

The first thing to remember: there is practically no point in photographing nature and architecture on a sunny afternoon. The photo will turn out flat and completely ugly. This happens because at noon there are no shadows on the street - the sun is at its zenith. And this situation cannot be corrected in any way, we cannot interfere with the laws of nature. So, if you need to photograph, for example, any building, you will have to wait until the evening. Or wake up early and come to the shooting in the morning. When the sun is low on the horizon, its rays are very effective and beautifully illuminate architectural objects. Well, if such an opportunity does not present itself, then you will have to sit at the computer for a long, long time and process images in various programs.

Most often, it seems to us, on a sunny afternoon, it becomes necessary to shoot portraits. Let's talk about this.

So what specific problems can arise when shooting on a sunny afternoon? Let's list them in order.

Very clear, deep, contrasting and ugly shadows.
On the face of the person being portrayed, such shadows appear in front of the eyes, under the nose, under the chin, under the ears. These places become like deep holes.
If the sun's rays fall on the lens, it is quite possible that glare will appear on the image.
If you are filming in automatic mode, then the sky in the picture is too bright, and all other objects that are in the frame are too dark.

How to deal with these problems? Let's talk about each of them separately.

First of all, try to completely forget about the automatic mode. It would be much more rational to spend a little more time on setting up the camera, while getting normal pictures, than to fill the flash drive with low-quality frames. That is why we recommend setting exposure compensation. Its value can be changed from -0.3 to -2, depending on the shooting conditions. Exposure compensation today allows you to set not only almost all models of cameras, but even mobile phones.

On a sunny afternoon, shoot with a hood. It will protect you from sun glare, which can be formed from the bright rays of the sun. Well, if you don’t have a lens hood, then you just need to try to shoot from such a point that the sun’s rays do not fall directly into the lens of your camera. And remember: direct sunlight is very, very harmful to the matrix digital camera. In order to reduce the effect of such rays, many experts advise using special protective ultraviolet filters.

Well, how to get rid of very sharp and deep shadows?

Many photographers, and especially beginners, will find it strange that we advise you to use a flash in bright sunlight. At first glance, it really is absurd - there is already an excess of light, what is the need to highlight a person with a flash? Everything here is quite simple. The flash can very well highlight the deep black shadows on the face of the model, make these shadows softer. But do not forget that the flash output must be adjusted so that its light is not too bright. If the impulse is too bright, then the shadows on the face of the portrayed person will disappear altogether and then it will become ugly and flat, as professionals say, it will turn into a pancake. In the picture we get only a round white spot with dots of eyes and nostrils.

Flash also adds sparkle to your model's eyes. Many people like it, mostly young women. Plus, quite often people squint in the bright sun, and because of this, their eyes in the picture are sometimes not very beautiful. How to avoid it? Very simple. Ask the subject to close their eyes for a few seconds, and open them just before the shutter is released. You can say something like this to a person: “Now you close your eyes, I will count to three, and you immediately open them.”

With flash, it is good to shoot in backlight. Simply put, the model needs to be turned with its back to the sun and photographed with a flash. In the picture, in this case, you will get a normally lit face and beautifully backlit hair. It is especially good to shoot women with lush hair like this.

And when shooting a portrait on a bright sunny afternoon, you can simply move into the shade. Just keep in mind: the main thing is that the face of the person being photographed is evenly lit. Light in the shade on a sunny afternoon is usually soft and even. Sometimes the shadow from the crowns of trees can be very interesting - the light penetrating through the foliage falls on a person with beautiful spots and highlights. But don't forget. That in some cases, these glare and spots can ruin everything.

We will give you one more very simple advice. Use reflectors. With the help of this simple device, it is very good to direct the light to the place you need, for example, to poorly lit areas. This way you can noticeably soften the shadows. Well, if you don’t have a branded reflector, it’s quite possible to use any white or other non-dark object instead of it, the surface of which can reflect light. For example, a white or light-colored T-shirt, a sheet of paper, or just a newspaper in general. Sometimes a light wall can also work as a reflector.

That, in fact, is the whole simple science of photographing on the street on a bright sunny afternoon!

Publication date: 10.08.2015

In the previous part of the lesson, we studied regime time - evening and morning lighting. We have found that in most cases it is the most beneficial for shooting. But what is a photographer to do during the rest of the hours? He will not be bored: good light can be found not only in the morning or evening, but also during the day.

In this article, we'll take a look at the different lighting conditions you may encounter during daylight hours. Which one is the best for shooting? Let's find out!

Let's define the terms right away. The photographer's day comes approximately two to three hours after dawn - at this moment the Sun is already quite high above the horizon. The day ends, respectively, 2-3 hours before sunset.

Daylight in clear weather

We call clear weather such that the sun's disk is not obscured by clouds.

Since the Sun is high above the horizon, light falls on objects from above. Such illumination is familiar to the human eye. Therefore, our perception often does not notice the dark, contrasting shadows cast by objects on a clear day. The same applies to bright highlights playing on objects. But in the photo, these shadows and highlights will be quite noticeable. Rough shadows in spots can lie on people's faces. Such lighting poorly emphasizes the volume and texture of objects. Therefore, daylight in clear weather - perhaps worst lighting for photography especially for portraits.

Hard, "flat" light, dark contrasting shadows - all this you will have to deal with when photographing during the day in sunny weather. The disadvantage of sunny weather when shooting a portrait is that your model will squint from the sun. This fact will have to be constantly reckoned with, choosing angles that are comfortable for her. The downside of bright sunlight, concerning technology - with it, the image on the camera display becomes indistinguishable, faded. Owners of cameras without viewfinders (compacts, some mirrorless cameras), where you can view the image only on the display, will suffer especially from this: they will have to shoot almost blindly. In an advantageous position will be the owners of cameras with viewfinders, in which a bright and clear image is visible in any weather.

The advantage of daylight in clear weather is its intensity. With such a bright light, it is unlikely that you will be able to get “shake” in the pictures, and you don’t need to increase the ISO - photos in the daytime are of good technical quality (sharp, without digital noise) even for beginners. Whereas for effective shooting in the evening or in the morning, sometimes you need to understand the shooting parameters.

How to take pictures on a sunny day? Let's give some advice.

Take pictures of objects far away from you. Hard shadows and bright highlights will be less noticeable on them. In this case, it is unlikely that you will be able to get the same volume in the picture as in the case of shooting in regime time.

Shoot in the shade. If you want to photograph a portrait on a sunny afternoon, but the model’s face constantly appears either ugly shadows or glare, move her away from the sun. Try to shoot in the shade of trees, houses. By the way, in the shadow of the model you don’t have to squint, which will greatly facilitate the shooting.

Let shadows and highlights work for you! Come up with an interesting plot using the available hard shadows and highlights. Photograph shadows from passers-by, watch how they intersect with shadows from other objects. Look for interesting combinations! The same is with highlights: sometimes they can beautifully lie on a particular object.

Use reflectors and diffusers for portraiture. If you still manage to shoot portraits during the day in sunny weather (for example, at a wedding), use simple fixtures to improve the nature of the lighting. The diffuser will help soften the shadows and highlights on the face of the model, it is enough to place it between the model and the sun. But more often reflectors are used, they are needed to highlight the shadows on the face of the model. Think back to when you were a kid and used to throw sunbeams in the faces of your friends. The principle of operation of the reflector is the same. With the help of these devices, the photographer will get the minimum of lighting control that you can already work with. Of course, both reflectors and diffusers are used only when shooting objects at short distances - people, objects. The more overall plan you take, the larger reflector or diffuser you are likely to need. For shooting landscapes, neither one nor the other will help at all, since all the subjects in the landscape are too large and far away to somehow correct the light falling on them.

Overcast weather

In cloudy weather, sunlight is scattered by a continuous layer of clouds in the sky. Oddly enough, cloudy weather is much more beneficial for shooting in the daytime. Due to the diffused light, contrasting shadows and bright glare do not form on the subjects: the light is soft and pleasing to the eye.

Let the light and not very expressive, but it is comfortable. This kind of lighting is especially good for portraits. For greater expressiveness of portrait shots taken in cloudy weather, you can use high-aperture optics. This will greatly blur the background in the pictures, thereby slightly hiding the imperfections of lighting in cloudy weather (excessive uniformity, low contrast).

For landscape photography, lighting in cloudy weather can be boring. However, even in cloudy weather it is quite possible to find scenes for landscape shooting: they can be based, for example, on search and outlines. Think of landscapes in the spirit of Michael Kenna, work with long exposures!

This frame allowed me to make waterproof Nikon camera D810: The vantage point was so low that he had to swim in a puddle for a while. Thanks to reliable protection against moisture, the device remained intact, and the shot was quite a success.

Nikon D810 / Nikon AF-S 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G ED Nikkor

Partly cloudy

Sometimes separate clouds float across the sky, sometimes covering the sun, sometimes allowing it to peek out. Wait for the right moment of light! When they come, do not hesitate: the light in such weather can change quickly.

Of course, the obvious option is to wait for moments of scattered light when the sun is covered by clouds. But here it all depends on you: experiment and get original shots!

Partly cloudy weather is good for landscape photography. However, the lighting is still not as interesting as it is during normal hours.

Thunderstorm, downpour

One of the most interesting states of illumination is the light during an approaching or departing thunderstorm, heavy showers, when part of the sky is covered with black clouds, and the other is open to sunlight. This results in an interesting lateral light direction. Such lighting can be used in both portrait and landscape photography. It is perhaps as interesting as the regime time. But it happens, unfortunately, such light is not on schedule, but only at the behest of the elements.

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