Swati Banerjee

How to Take the Best Outdoor Pictures without Worrying about Bright Light You may often hear that there is never enough light to shoot great pictures, but this is only partially true. Actually, shooting pictures when the sun is up in the sky, and you are outside with your camera, can prove quite a risky business. Some very big issues can appear, and your pictures will not look as great as you think. For starters, bright light can create some very large shadows, particularly on the face. For this reason, even the best proportioned faces may look distorted. Also, people, when exposed to bright light, squint in order to adjust their eyes, and to prevent the sun rays from hurting the retina; for a photographer, this means shooting pictures of people that look pretty much like they are in terrible pain. The following tips will help you take great pictures even when outside and the sun shines bright on the sky. Switch on the flash on your camera Is more light a good idea? As incredible as it may sound, switching on the flash on your camera can correct the problems created by the bright light coming from the sun. Your flash will be able to eliminate the heavy shadows casted on the face by the sun rays, and will make your models look great, despite the circumstances. However, working with flash can be tricky at times. Do not settle with the automatic function your camera comes along with. Your purpose is to obtain a great natural light, so you may need to fiddle with the flash settings and shoot multiple pictures, until you reach the results you want. There are also other advantages of using the flash on a sunny day: The background will turn a bit darker, making the model pop up more. The flash will create catch lights in the model’s eyes, something that great pictures always have. You can use it when the sun is behind the subject and not illuminate them from the front; this way you can create some very interesting effects. Find a place that is shielded from the sun No one says that you must shoot your pictures with the sun scalding your model’s features. You can actually profit from the bright light offered freely by the sun if you find a place that is shielded enough from the direct action of the sun rays, without having to take the shooting session inside. The idea is not to find a dark place that sun does not reach at all, but to find one that receives enough light, without being intrusive. Still, if you find a place under some trees, make sure that spots of light do not land on your subject’s face or figure, as it may cause some really strange effects in your pictures. If nothing works, you can invent the shade, as well. For instance, you can have someone hold an umbrella over the model, so that their traits are not affected by the sun when taking the pictures. Use reflectors A great idea for using the bright light to your advantage, is to find some reflectors around you. While you can bring one along with you – when taking professional photos that might be the case – you can still find plenty of reflectors in the area you are in. For instance, any white surface can serve as a great reflector of light. The only thing that you will have to do is to move your subject around until you find the right angle for shooting the pictures. This way, the subject’s face will receive the needed extra light in order to look great. Such techniques are great to use for senior photography, as well, as many graduating seniors now want to have their pictures taken outdoors, and it is not always possible to schedule shooting sessions on days that are more cloudy than sunny. Here are some creative ideas on how to add reflectors to the scene in order to harness the power of the sun: Have the model wear a white t-shirt. Place various white objects around, so that they are not viewable in the picture, but can reflect the sun enough for the desired effect. Use aluminum foil to create an ad-hoc reflector for your shooting session. Use the back or the side of a white truck. The paint color used for these vehicles is usually a great reflector for the bright light of the sun.