Portrait shooting skills in the midday sun

Since the invention of the camera, photographers have been struggling with the strong noon sun. Extreme contrast, strong light, heavy shadows, gloomy pictures and other annoying situations are most commonly encountered when shooting at noon. In fact, there are many articles about shooting at noon, but this problem still bothers many people. Here are some portrait shooting techniques I introduced in the midday sun, hoping to help everyone!

1. Portrait shooting skills in the midday sun: shadows

The easiest way to deal with sunlight is to avoid it. We can't let the sun change its speed, but we can hide under buildings, trees and other artificial or natural objects. However, not all shadows are the same, such as mottled shadows, heavy shadows, surrounding shadows, side shadows and overhead shadows.

Remember that shadows are not without light, otherwise nothing can be photographed. On the contrary, shadow is the softening of light, and the softened light will shine on the subject through other media. It is very important to decide from which direction the light shines on the subject. Usually, light comes from more than one direction. Generally speaking, the nearest reflector or the weakest softened light is the most important light source.

This becomes especially important after adding background elements. For example, the main body is located at the edge of the shadow, followed by the building in the shadow. The subject is much brighter than the background. This is because the reflected sunlight is closer to the main body of the shadow edge. Moving the subject backward and close to the background will make the relative light ratio of the two closer and reduce the contrast of the scene. Knowing the direction of light is very important for taking photos with different effects.

2. Portrait shooting skills in the midday sun: fixed-focus lens and polarizer.

Fixed focus lens and polarizer are good tools to reduce the strong light at noon. The fixed-focus lens is sharper than the zoom lens, and has better control over contrast and glare. Did you find any green glare in the photos taken in the sun? Fixed focus lenses are better at dealing with glare and internal reflection. In addition, you can also use a hood, which can also have a good effect.

With a fixed-focus lens with a polarizer, you will get a clearer picture, with more saturated colors and higher contrast. Polarizers can filter polarized light in light and reduce glare and ghost. It can't eliminate the shadows on people's faces in the midday sun, but it will definitely make your scenery and travel photos clearer and more transparent.

3. Portrait shooting skills in the midday sun: the angle of light

In this photo, look for the right angle for the backlit model and let the light illuminate the outline of her shoulders and hair. However, it is necessary to avoid the light from forming bright spots on the face, and at the same time make the light on the model softer.

The main problems of shooting at noon are the shadow under the model's eyes, narrowed eyes and highlights on the skin. If there is no shadow around, you can choose to shoot against the light. I only know that if we want to ensure the normal exposure of the model, it will usually lead to overexposure of the sky; If the sky is exposed accurately, the model will become very dark. The light ratio directly facing the sun will be great. I usually turn the model 30-45 degrees. Be careful of any light spots on your face. I also like to use a reflector.

4. Portrait shooting skills in the midday sun: reflector or soft light board?

Using reflector or soft light plate is an effective method to reduce the illumination ratio between model and environment. They can be used in the sun or in places where sunlight and shadows are mixed.

There are many different models, shapes and colors of reflectors. Their most important use is to provide more light for shadow areas. The reflected light of the white reflector is consistent with the light source. Silver reflector reflects more light, usually without color cast, which often produces a flash-like effect. The light reflected by the gold reflector is warmer, while the black reflector actually absorbs the light.

Soft board has different stages, generally 1/4, 2/3, 1, 2. They are placed between the model and the sun to soften the light. A exposure value close to or equal to the background can be obtained by blocking the sunlight on the front of the model with a soft light board. This is a particularly popular technique when shooting magazine covers. It usually uses a 70-200mm lens. Let the model form a 90-degree angle with the sun, and put the soft light board between the sun and the model, the effect is the same, but the direction of light is different, which is side light.

If you don't have enough money to buy high-quality reflectors and soft light boards, you can make them yourself using materials purchased from stores. They may not be as good as high-quality products, but they are still helpful. You can buy some plastic foam boards at the local store and glue them together to make a simple white reflector. I often do this, especially when the budget is insufficient or I can't take a big reflector when traveling. Soft light plates can be made of any translucent material, but make sure they are white, otherwise you will project other colors on the model. In the past, when the budget was insufficient, I would take sheets as soft boards for my friends.

5. Portrait shooting skills in the midday sun: flash

Built-in flash, small flash or a whole set of Profoto devices sometimes you have to use them. There are one million ways to use flash, and I'm not going to discuss this topic in depth. This is the task of another article. Remember, your main goal is to eliminate the current shadow, reduce the illumination ratio of the scene, and get a good exposure of the model and background.

No matter what you do to find shadows, use a reflector, a soft light plate, a polarizer or a flash. Your goal is to reduce the light ratio of the scene and eliminate shadows. I hope these skills can help you overcome the bright light at noon.