for years, I ran from the direct sun!
giveaway closed: share your thoughts/ask questions about shooting in full sun or experiment with shooting in full sun, post your photos to your fb page or blog and put your link in the comments to be entered to win a $50 LensProToGo gift card AND a Kelly Moore Bag of your choice! We will announce the winner here on the blog on Wednesday, April 13th.
winner: Heidi Seedorf, commenter #69!
I was always running to open shade, and praying for overcast days. I thought the only way to have a great shoot was to schedule sessions in the morning and during ‘the golden hour,’ those couple of hours just before the sun sets.
I got sick of having such a limited schedule for booking and I wanted to push myself to use the light that’s available all day long…the sun, in all of it’s different locations in the sky. I have learned to embrace the sunshine. In fact, I’m sad when I have a shoot and the sun doesn’t come out to play.
I think the trick is not thinking of it as sunlight, but as another light that I have in my bag of tricks.
I use the sun just as if I were using a strobe.
I love it when it’s really harsh at about 3:00 in the afternoon, but I also like the sun right before sunset, as it’s just on the horizon.
It’s important to me to try not to get harsh raccoon eyes (where the eye sockets mostly look like they are in shadows) that sometimes happen when you are in the direct sun. The way to avoid these is to have your subject “bask”…you know….face to the sky…..oh, what a glorious day:)
It’s also fun to see what magic happens when the sun is setting. Don’t forget to look for neat shadows that happen as the sun shines through random objects throughout the day.
here are a few images when I was using the sun as my light source:
three tips for using midday sun:
*have your subject put their face toward the sun as though they are trying to get a great tan
*look for shadows and place your subject inbetween the shadows so that the light is only falling on your subject
*ask your subject to do dramatic things or find dramatic locations to complement or juxtapose well with the drama of the sun’s light
to do today:
*grab your camera and a friend and go out and shoot between noon-3pm
*push yourself to see the sun as a dramatic light source and shoot with it in ways that are not your usual way to shoot (don’t try to find open shade)
now you try!
Two ways to enter the giveaway for a $50 LensProToGo gift card (so you can have fun experimenting) and a Kelly Moore Bag of your choice:
- Go shoot using the midday sun. Post your photo on your blog or Facebook page, and leave the link to your post in the comments area below so we can see what you’ve done
- Share your thoughts or questions below about shooting in full sun and Kelly will answer your questions
best kelly moore bag for your day in the sun?
The Luna takes messenger bags to new heights. This versatile cross body bag with multiple pockets keeps you organized and makes it so you can walk from one sunny location to the next without wondering where you left your bag.