Shoot the bright sun on the street. How to take photos against the sun and get great shots. Ladder on concrete bowstrings

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

I have said more than once that good lighting is the key to successful photography. And it seems - so these are ideal conditions: bright light - excellent pictures. But not so simple.


Unfortunately, the rule “more light is better than photography” does not always work. And in the case of portrait shooting on a bright sunny day, we generally encounter a number of serious problems.

For example, shooting at sunny noon, when the sun is at its zenith and the light falls directly on top of the model, often leads to the fact that the model has deep shadows on the face. In 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 ruin even the most beautiful girl. Yes, and posing under the scorching sun is a difficult task. Try to go outside on a hot summer afternoon without sunglasses and still not squint and look relaxed and natural. So now what we do not photograph at all at noon? Of course, it is better to choose a more favorable time of the day for the photo shoot, but sometimes we have no choice. Just remember the little tricks that will greatly facilitate your life and improve the quality of photos.

1. Take a picture in the shade

If you don’t shoot in the desert, then even at the hottest noon you can always find an open shadow - from large buildings, trees, canopies, etc. In the shade, the light is very soft, and you will get photos with uniform lighting on the model's face. Shooting in the shade allows you to avoid the hassle of working with harsh sunlight. The key point here is not to find the darkest place, but rather a uniformly darkened area (a large uniform shadow), where the light, although in a small amount, lies exactly on the face. Taking pictures under trees with rare foliage is not a good idea, because because of the foliage on your face there will be a kaleidoscope of brightly lit and darkened spots.

Try using a wide-brimmed hat or umbrella to create a uniformly 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 a shadow, be sure to adjust the white balance.

2. Use a reflector


  Any surface that has the property of reflecting light toward the subject can be a reflector. If you are planning a photo shoot and are preparing to shoot in advance, be sure to bring a reflector with you. I usually use silver and white for reflection, if you want to add heat to your pictures, you can use the gold reflector with caution. Particularly suitable for red-haired or dark-skinned models. If you did not have a reflector at hand, you can use improvised materials. Any white or light surface can serve as a reflector. A light wall, a white T-shirt, aluminum foil or a reflector for the windshield in a car - all this can be used for shooting. Position the reflector opposite the direction of light incidence so that the reflected light falls on the model’s face slightly below and from the side. This will fill and soften deep shadows. If it’s on a sandy beach, it’s still 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 face of the model.

3. Use a diffuser (diffuser)

The diffuser softens direct light output and thereby reduces the possibility of overexposure. It also increases the surface area of \u200b\u200bthe light source, and as a result, the shadows from the subject are much softer. 3-rasseivatel-hand-made1


  The simplest and nevertheless rather effective flash diffuser can be made manually using white thick paper and an elastic band to fix the paper on the flash. In principle, any white translucent material can be used to create the 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 diffusers for flashes.

4. Use flash

It may sound illogical, but it is the flash that allows us to deal with hard shadows on the face of the model. The flash works as a fill light source, and removes excessively dark areas. If your camera allows you to change the flash intensity, then experiment with the settings for adjusting the flash power and find a value that will remove the shadows, but at the same time it will not unnecessarily intensely and artificially brighten the face. To get the most successful shot, set the exposure to several steps to minus. Check the result and make sure that the image was not too bright or vice versa dark. The flash slightly darkens the background, which in this case only plays into our hands. A 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 it. The light falling from behind will beautifully highlight the hair, highlight the contour of the shoulders, giving the photo a certain charm.

Most of our brightest memories are from summer vacations at sea, trips with friends to nature, walks in the warm rays of the sun. I want all the photos taken to be excellent, and it is sometimes frustrating to find that the pictures are not clear enough and the faces are lit.

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

Take pictures in the shade

The simplest thing you can do is put the model in the shadow, where there is no direct sunlight on the subject: near a tall building, under a tree. The main thing is that the shadow should be uniform, otherwise ugly dark spots will appear on the faces of the people being photographed, which is very difficult to get rid of even with Photoshop. If there is no shadow in the vicinity, it can be organized using the black side of the reflector or a special umbrella.

Take photos in backlight

In other words, turn the model away from the sun so that the rays fall on its back. Thus, the hair and body contours are highlighted, and the face remains in the shade. Depending on how high the sun is located, highlighted places will only emphasize the object.

In any case, this version of 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 picks up oncoming light. It may be necessary to close under such lighting.

Use flash

Oddly enough, shooting with a flash in bright sunlight can improve the quality of photos, and sometimes you just can not do without additional lighting. 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 the lightening of 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 make the background darker, which will add extra contrast to the photo.

Use a reflector

In addition to the flash, the use of a reflector will help smooth the shadow on the face of the model. It should be located below, so that the rays of reflected light highlight the chin, the area under the nose and under the eyes. Fortunately, now there are a huge number of compact reflectors that are convenient to carry.

The best way to improve the result is to take a photo at a time when natural light is more attractive (sooner or later, on the same day). However, going to photography at a good time does not always work.

If the only convenient time for you and your model will be shooting at noon in bright sunshine, 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

Whenever possible, try to work in the shade to avoid direct sunlight. Make sure that both objects - both the model and the background are lit the same way, this will help you avoid problems with unbalanced exposure. Deep shadows can cause a blue tint, so adjust the white balance to compensate for this.

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Use reflector

Position the subject with your back to the sun so that direct rays do not hit your face. It will also create an attractive lighting effect around your model. The reflector must be installed opposite the object, so that the light reflecting illuminates the face.

Flash

Using a reflector may not always be convenient without help, so use your flash to illuminate 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 several steps to minus. Check the result and make sure that the image was not too bright or vice versa dark. If necessary, adjust exposure compensation again.

It is probably not a secret for any of the photographers that bright sunny noon is far from the best period for photographing on the street. But, nevertheless, very often it is not the photographer who dictates the time for any event from which you want to keep 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

To ensure that your pictures do not turn out low-quality, it will be useful to get acquainted with the basic rules of photographing in bright sunshine. I would like to think that from our article you can get the necessary information for this.

The first thing to remember: taking pictures of nature and architecture at sunny noon makes little sense. The photo will be 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 intervene in the laws of nature. So, if you need to take a picture, for example, of a 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 above the horizon, its rays very effectively and beautifully illuminate architectural objects. Well, if it’s not possible, then you’ll have to sit at the computer for a long time and process the pictures in various programs.

Most often, as it seems to us, at sunny noon there is a need to shoot portraits. Let’s talk about this.

So what specific problems can arise when shooting at sunny noon? We list them in order.

  1. Very clear, deep, contrasting and ugly shadows.
  2. On the face of the person being portrayed, such shadows appear on the eyes, under the nose, under the chin, under the ears. These places become like deep holes.
  3. If the sun's rays fall on the lens - glare on the image is quite possible.
  4. If you shoot in automatic mode, the sky in the picture turns out to be too bright, and all other objects that fell into the frame are too dark.

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

First of all, try to completely forget about the automatic mode. It will be much more rational to spend a little more time on setting up the camera, while getting normal pictures than clogging a flash drive with poor-quality frames. That's 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 exhibit not only almost all camera models, but even mobile phones.

Shoot with a hood at sunny noon. It will protect you from sun glare, which can form from the bright rays of the sun. Well, if you don’t have a hood, then you just need to try to shoot from a point so 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 of a digital camera. In order to reduce the influence of such rays, many experts advise using special protective ultraviolet filters.

But how to get rid of very sharp and deep shadows?

It will seem strange to many photographers, especially beginners, that we advise using a flash in bright sunshine. At first glance, it’s really absurd - there is an excess of light, so what is the need to illuminate a person with a flash? Everything here is quite simple. The flash can very well highlight the deep black shadows on the model's face, making 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 person being portrayed will disappear altogether and then it will become ugly and flat, as professionals say, will turn into a pancake. In the picture we get only a round white spot with points of the eyes and nostrils.

And the flash adds sparkle to the eyes of your model. This is liked by many, 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 this? Very simple. Ask the portrayer to close his eyes for a few seconds, and open them just before the shutter is released. You can tell a person something like this: “Now you close your eyes, I will count to three, and you open them immediately.”

With flash it is good to shoot in backlight. Simply put, the model needs to turn its back to the sun and photograph it with a flash. In the picture, in this case, you will get a normally lit face and hair beautifully illuminated from behind. It is especially good to shoot women with magnificent hair.

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 lit evenly. Light in the shade at sunny noon is usually soft and even. Sometimes a shadow from the crowns of trees may turn out to be very interesting - the light penetrating through the leaves falls on a person with beautiful spots and highlights. But do not forget. That in some cases, these glare and spots can ruin everything.

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

Here, in fact, 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 the regimen time - evening and morning lighting. We found that in most cases it is most beneficial for shooting. However, what should the photographer do during the rest of the hours? He will not be bored: good light can be found not only in the morning or in the evening, but also in the afternoon.

In this article, we will look at various lighting conditions that you may encounter in the daytime. Which of them are most beneficial for shooting? Let's find out!

Immediately define the concepts. A photographer’s day comes about 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.

Clear daylight

We call clear weather one in which the solar disk is not covered by clouds.

Because the sun is high above the horizon, light falls on objects from above. Such lighting 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 may stain on people’s faces. Such lighting poorly emphasizes the volume and texture of objects. Therefore, daylight in clear weather is perhaps worst photography lighting, especially for portraits.

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

Plus daylight in clear weather - its intensity. In such a bright light, it is unlikely that you will be able to get a “shake” in the pictures, and you won’t need to overestimate the ISO - in the afternoon photos 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 tips.

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

  • Take pictures in the shade. If you want to photograph a portrait at sunny noon, but ugly shadows or flares constantly appear on the model’s face, take her away from the sun. Try shooting in the shade of trees, houses. By the way, you won’t have to squint in the shadow of the model, which will greatly facilitate shooting.

  • Let shadows and highlights work for you!   Come up with an interesting story using the available hard shadows and highlights. Take pictures of shadows from passers-by, watch how they intersect with shadows from other objects. Look for their interesting combinations! The same thing with glare: sometimes they can lie beautifully on a particular object.

  • Use reflectors and diffusers for portraiture.   If you nevertheless managed to conduct portraiture during the day in sunny weather (for example, at a wedding), use simple devices to improve the nature of lighting. The diffuser will help soften the shadows and glare on the face of the model, just place it between the model and the sun. But more often reflectors are used, they are needed to highlight shadows on the face of the model. Remember how in childhood you let sunbeams in the face of friends. The principle of operation of the reflector is the same. With the help of these devices, the photographer will get the minimum lighting control capabilities 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 general plan you take, the larger the reflector or diffuser you are likely to need. Neither one will help at all for shooting landscapes, since all the shooting objects in the landscape are too large and far to somehow correct the light incident on them.

Overcast

In cloudy weather, sunlight is scattered due to a continuous layer of clouds in the sky. Oddly enough, cloudy weather is much more profitable than clear for shooting in the daytime. Thanks to the scattered light, contrasting shadows and bright highlights are not formed on the objects of shooting: the light is soft and pleasing to the eye.

Although the light is not very expressive, it is comfortable. Such lighting is especially suitable for portraits. For greater expressiveness of portrait shots taken in cloudy weather, you can use aperture optics. This will greatly blur the background in the pictures, thereby slightly hiding the lighting flaws in cloudy weather (excessive uniformity, low contrast).

For landscape photography, lighting in cloudy weather may seem dull. However, in cloudy weather it is quite possible to find scenes for landscape photography: they can be based, for example, on search and outlines. Create landscapes in the style of Michael Kenna, work with long exposures!

This shot allowed me to make a waterproof Nikon D810 camera: the shooting point was so low that he had to swim a little in a puddle. Thanks to reliable protection against moisture, the device remained intact, and the frame was completely successful.

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

partially cloudy

Sometimes separate clouds float across the sky, either closing the sun or letting it peer out. Wait for moments of suitable 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 diffused light when the sun is covered by clouds. But it all depends on you: experiment and get original shots!

Cloudy weather works well for landscape photography. Nevertheless, the lighting is still not as interesting as during the regime.

Thunderstorm

One of the most interesting lighting conditions is light during an approaching or departing thunderstorm, heavy rainfall, when part of the sky is covered by black clouds, and the other is open to sunlight. Thus, an interesting lateral direction of light is obtained. Such lighting can be used in both portrait and landscape photography. It is perhaps as interesting as regime time. But, unfortunately, such a light does not happen on schedule, but only by the will of the elements.

 

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