Using the Bright sun as a light source

Tricky outdoor lighting

Tricky outdoor lighting can be quite awkward to deal with, by tricky I mean bright sunlight. We want the richness of the blue sky, maybe even a few fluffy clouds, but the shadows and problems this creates can seem insurmountable. Or if you don't see it as a problem they will be crap pictures. There was a letter in this months mail that asked the question and I think the best approach is to answer it, in the spirit of GP "keep it simple".

QUESTION
I am writing to you for photography advice because you have helped me out before and I am really pleased with the results that I achieved from your instruction. Do you remember the article that you placed in the "reader's questions" part of you website that involved hair lights and rim lighting on a model in a bathtub? Well that was my letter. Anyway, thanks for your answers and instruction. It really helped on my next shoot.

Now, for the new question: I am going on holiday in the Caribbean and want to take full advantage of the location glamour shooting possibilities. (Why not) I have never shot real glamour on the beach before and I am looking for some pointers about exposure metering. I have a new Canon Elan IIe (EOS 50e in Europe)and will be using a Gossen Luna Pro light meter.(it does not have a spot meter on it) I will also be using a gold disc reflector and combination various filters (polorizor, 81b warmup, softfocus, ect.) Now for the question. What is the best way to meter for beach photography? Should I zoom in on the model, take a TTL reading, and recompose the shot? Should I compose, take a TTL reading, and them close down one f-stop. Or should I take a hand held meter reading at the model and then subtract for the filters? I have one of the most technologically advanced semi-professional cameras and this is going to be my first trip with it. I want to exploit it the camera's full potential.

I know that there are several ways to acquire the same results, however, that is why I am writing to you. You have a great knowledge of "keep it simple" photography and I don't want to get caught up all of the technical mumbo jumbo. After all this is a holiday that I will be going on.
Thanks again and any input would be helpful.

Cheers, Tim Dolph
Atlanta, Georgia
USA

I know how I would tackle this, but before writing I thought it best to check out the "How to" references I have. You're right they do make it complicated and far more involved than it needs to be. So here is my guide to dealing with bright sun and a clear sky. The Gp keep it simple rules will only work if you keep in mind my five stop rule. See later!

Firstly let's understand what we are dealing with. Bright sun causes harsh ugly shadows which are exactly what we don't want in glamour photography.

Now let's discuss the light meter side of things. Remember if you use a light meter and filters you will need to compensate for whatever the filter requires. With a light meter you will need to walk up to your subject and take a reading from the skin. This has all been covered in previous articles, remembering our simple five stops rule. Click here Click here then simply close the window to return. Then take the reading, make compensations for whatever filters you have on the front and shoot. Yet most of us like you Tim have a camera with full TTL which saves worrying about the filter compensation as it meters through the filter, so I think it's best if we use the TTL. Do the same again spot meter on the point of choice on the model, compose and shoot. X marks my point of choice with B being the brightest and D the darkest.

OK so look at the model and on a bright sunny day you'll see the shadows, so there is nothing to stop you both moving around until the shadows are not so bad. Once you have found your location begin. Try if you can to use a large aperture, (small number fstop) as it's nice to get the background out of focus because sun always causes a haze. So on bright days on holiday use 100asa no more. at f5.6 you'll probably be shooting at 500 or so. Remember keep your focus pin sharp on the subjects eyes.

The big problem with beaches is the fact that sand reflects so much light it throws the light metering way off unless you spot. This set of pictures below were taken with the camera on program. It's such a shame because the pictures lack everything, especially as they were taken with the sun quite low, which should have improved things immensely.



Click any picture on this page to see the full size image

One of the reference books I read stated that you shouldn't worry about needing reflectors as the sand would act as a very good reflector. I think I'll send him the above picture set!

Now below is a set of pictures where time and trouble has been taken over metering. The photographer and model have moved around so the shadows are not so hard and the photographer has observed what his meter tells him. I mean you don't have to see the larger images to see the difference.



The proof of the pudding as they say!

OK I can already hear some of you saying, "You're not comparing like with like. The sun wasn't nearly so harsh and consequently the shadows are far less." I'll say to you it was, and they were. The photographer carefully chose his spot. This is about knowing what you are trying to achieve, thinking about it, taking your time, and applying what you know.

Now if you want to go to the next stage and produce truly polished work then the reflectors come into play.


Work like this requires thought, very careful metering, understanding what your meter is telling you using reflectors to fill in where the shadows are too dark.		I have included this picture because it is taken into the sun, and the photographer has had to let the detail burn out in the highlights and block out in the shadows. If you have read the two previous articles as linked above you'll understand.

I will not go into using filters etc. as there are lots of other resources for that. Find a spot on the beach that's suitable, prepare and most importantly enjoy it! You are on holiday after all.:-)

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