The Sun is NOT my friend....

3rdPlanetPhotography

Does anyone have any tips / tricks for shooting in the sunlight?



Canon 20D, Sigma 500 flash, default 18-55 lens.
Exif Data

Oakley

kc7dji wrote:

Does anyone have any tips / tricks for shooting in the sunlight?

I really just learning myself, but I would say two things:

1) Use fill-in flash when you can. It lightens the shadows of a face...or in this case would lighten the shadows cast from the hat.

2) Learn that the sun IS your friend! No light = no photos...lol
Really though, get creative with working with the bright sun. Obviously the best times to use sunlight is during sunrise and sunset when the light is not as intense...

OK, those are my obvious statements. I'm sure the more experienced guys will be able to give you more "depth" to your question....

3rdPlanetPhotography

Yes I was using the flash to try to wash out as much shadow as possible, however, the I have to worry about blow out.....

Oakley wrote:

I really just learning myself, but I would say two things:

1) Use fill-in flash when you can. It lightens the shadows of a face...or in this case would lighten the shadows cast from the hat.

2) Learn that the sun IS your friend! No light = no photos...lol
Really though, get creative with working with the bright sun. Obviously the best times to use sunlight is during sunrise and sunset when the light is not as intense...

OK, those are my obvious statements. I'm sure the more experienced guys will be able to give you more "depth" to your question....

DavidTO

kc7dji wrote:

Yes I was using the flash to try to wash out as much shadow as possible, however, the I have to worry about blow out.....

EXIF data would really help. I don't even know what camera you're shooting with and what your options are. The basic answer for not blowing out the highlights is to underexpose by 1/3-2/3 stops. And check your histogram after exposure to check for blown highlights and adjust if needed...but that assumes that you have exposure compensation and histograms on your camera...

3rdPlanetPhotography

DavidTO.. I think I forget that info every time.

here is the EXIF data.

I'm shooting a Canon 20d. I think I had the default 18-55 lens on this time.

So under expose does the trick? Then what do I do? Do I lighten the photo until the blow outs start to appear?

Thanks for the info.
kc7dji

DavidTO wrote:

EXIF data would really help. I don't even know what camera you're shooting with and what your options are. The basic answer for not blowing out the highlights is to underexpose by 1/3-2/3 stops. And check your histogram after exposure to check for blown highlights and adjust if needed...but that assumes that you have exposure compensation and histograms on your camera...

DavidTO

kc7dji wrote:

DavidTO.. I think I forget that info every time.

here is the EXIF data.

I'm shooting a Canon 20d. I think I had the default 18-55 lens on this time.

So under expose does the trick? Then what do I do? Do I lighten the photo until the blow outs start to appear?

Thanks for the info.
kc7dji

Your meter exposes for an overall neutral gray. That means that if you have dark shadows and bright highlights, the highlights will get blown out. You need to tell the camera to expose a little darker to protect the highlights. Then you can post-process to get a satisfying exposure, but at least you have information in the highlights. But if the highlights are blown, well, you can never recover them.

Also you could consider shooting RAW, which would give you more latitude. But JPEG should work fine if you're careful with the highlights.

If you click the info button on your camera while viewing a picture and toggle to where it's showing you the image and the histogram, any blown highlights will blink in the image. Just re-shoot with a by changing the EC to accommodate.

Shay Stephens

Treat the sun like a studio light, not like a camera flash. Don't shoot with it over your shoulder. Here is an example of how I use the sun in a similar setup as you have posted:


As mentioned, using a fill flash or reflector to help lower the shadow density helps too when desired.

davev

Ok, I'm going to take a crack at this.



Flash:Flash fired, compulsory flash mode
Exposure Program:Normal program

What is "Normal program"?


I very rarely use a flash, but if I remember right, if you're in aperture priority,
isn't the fastest shutter speed 1/250 of a second? So if you were in A.P., and
set the aperture at f6.3, you've kind of locked yourself into over exposing the
pic.

When I do use a flash, I use manual exposure.

Like I say, I rarely use the flash, so all this is guess work to me.

Shay Stephens

If one is using flash outside, and not shooting manually (perish the thought) then one should be shooting shutter priority set to 1/250 of a second. That would help control overexposure as well as an auto setting can.

My recommendation is to ween oneself away from auto settings when your photography starts getting complicated (as when shooting flash outside).

And my previous advice about treating all light sources as studio lights (including the sun) still stands. Dump the old notion of keeping the sun over your shoulder.

davev wrote:

Ok, I'm going to take a crack at this.
Flash:Flash fired, compulsory flash mode
Exposure Program:Normal program