Help with shadows

tsaicharles

Hi everyone,

I just started taking photos again after a hiatus of sorts and want to do it more seriously this time around. I took several photos at a conference that was held at UC Berkeley and noticed the shadows on the faces.

From browsing, it seems I need to either use the built-in flash or buy an external flash? I don't know too much about using flash ... in the cases of the photos below how would I make them better?

Thanks!

Seneca

What were your settings on? Let's start there. THese look over-exposed.

Halite

As you've discovered with these photos, full sun, directly overhead, can be very unflattering light!

Three ways to deal with it:

1. Find some shade;

2. Use something to bounce light into the face from another angle besides overhead. This could be a commercially purchased reflector, but could also be as simple as a piece of foamcore or even a white wall;

3. Use a flash. Don't know what camera you have, but built in flash is likely not going to overcome full afternoon sunlight unless you are quite close to your subject. Forget about it doing anything useful in a situation like your last photo where the subjects are varying distances from the camera. External flash will give you more power. With the right aperture and speed settings, an external flash could work well to compensate for some of the strong shadows. Even better is an external flash off the camera so that the light is not blasting straight into your subject's face (which can be another unflattering bit of lighting).

There's a lot to learn, but it's not rocket science either. Just pay as much attention to what is happening with the light as to your subject and you will begin to see solutions.

jeffreaux2

Looks as if you chose to shoot is some unfavorable light. Anytime between 10am and 3pm will be tough.

Fill flash would help, but not at any great distances, in strong daylight. The pop-up is only good at really close distances in daylight.

Is there a chance you have the contrast jacked up in camera settings for landscape type photos?