Don't be afraid of the harsh sunlight!

It's a beautiful day out, sun is fully shining. This is dream for many people on vacation but a nightmare to photographers. The question is why?

Harsh light, such as sun in the mid-day, produces harsh shadows and in portrait photography this becomes a problem. Usually balanced lighting between background and your model becomes really difficult.

Harsh sunlight can be used in advantage though. The following technique doesn't require sunrise or sunset light, it can be used during any time of sunny day. All you need is external flash on either extension cable or remote triggering. In this example I used Sigma EF DG Super with Canon extension cord.

First set aperture to f/11 and shutter to 1/250s. This way the sky won't become over exposed and you get maximum draw from your lens. Set ISO first to 100 and move it up if you need to. Set your flash to manual mode and power to 1/2.

In this example I didn't have a model, so I had to take a mugshot of myself. Naturally with a model it becomes a whole lot easier. Place the model so that the sun is behind her/him on the 45 degree. The sun now becomes the hair light. Next grap the flash and place it on the opposite side of the model facing in 45 degree angle toward the model. Now your model is between the sun and your flash. Your flash will now function as the main light, so now come the tweaking of the settings.

If the light from the flash produces over-exposed skin, move the flash further awy from the model or reduce its power. If the skin becomes under-exposed, add more power to the flash or bring it closer. Trial and error is a good way of getting nice results as the lighting conditions vary.

This technique is as easy as this. Personally I like the idea of not being afraid of the mid-day sunshine any more. Actually it seems that now I prefer a sunny day for outdoor portraits. So don't be afraid of the sun any more, instead use it! The main thing here is to think the sun as the hair light and your flash as the main light. This way your portraits will get a nice 3D-effect as well.

In the below image it seems as if the sky is covered with clouds, but I actually waited for the sun to fully come from behind the cloud to take this picture. Funny thing, first I was used to wait until sun goes away and now I wait for it.

This image:
ISO 100
f/11
1/250s
Flash M mode, 1/2 power