How to use Sun in photography

• The biggest problem with harsh sunlight happens when the background is at an extremely different exposure than your subject. Creating your shade. If you cannot move the subject into a shaded area, then you could just create it. Like using cardboard and an umbrella.

• Changing your position would allow you to change the angle at which the light hits your subject. It could also allow you to get a better photograph by presenting your subject from another perspective.

• Photographs taken at sunset or sunrise are great. Not only will you get to avoid the sunlight coming from directly overhead, but you can also get unique colors as well.

• If that is not enough to sufficiently light up your subjects, you might need a reflector to do the same thing.

• One is the neutral density filter, which reduces the amount of light getting into your camera, and the other is the polarizing filter, which does the same thing. A polarizing filter can also reduce reflections and help you have more control over the colors in your photograph.

• Shoot in your Basic In-Camera Settings

• Harsh sunlight is undesirable because it creates hard shadows on the skin that highlight little facial details. So shooting at such “wide open” apertures it’s increasingly difficult to maintain a sharp focus on your subjects. So slow down and take the time to focus properly when shooting with these settings.

• High noon is the only time of day that there will be absolutely no angle to the sun so put their backs at an angle to the sun so that their faces are completely shaded.

• With spot metering, your light meter will expose the small area in the center of the frame instead of trying to expose it for the entire photo.

• Avoid those terrible under-eye shadows by never having your couple look at the camera in high noon sunlight that you can’t shade somehow.

• Get artistic and use the sun to your advantage. Grab a little flare, wash out your lens, or use the lines of harsh shadows in your composition.

• There will be a lot more sun coming through interior windows during this time, so go inside and take advantage of it.