Mid Day shooting

[nosaj2]

Hey guys I have always heard that bright blue skies are never ideal condition for fishing nor photography. Today I was playing around on my lunch break and shot these flowers at our office. I was rushing so they aren't the best. I shot one in straight sun light. One with a diffuser (scrim). These two are straight out of the camera. Notice the hard shadow lines in the bare sun photo. The shot with the scrim has softer shadow lines and makes for a better photo. I forgot to compensate for exposure on the scrim shot. I should have moved my ISO up 2/3 stop. The last photo is the scrim shot with a few lightroom adjustments.

Straight sun light - Hard shadows


Here is the exact same shot, camera settings. using a scrim just above the subject and out of frame.


And here is the final image with a few light room tweaks.

[timberland]

Jason, I am far from knowledgeable on photography, what I do is rookie status at best. What I have learned was from trial and error, and I error a lot...lol. That said, what works for me is a Circular polarizer.....just like sunglasses. With a circular polarizer you can adjust the blue / green and remove hot spot / shadows at the capture. Just me, I don't adjust anything in post. Mainly because I've never learned how. I try to capture it all in the camera. Great job on the captures though. What are you shooting camera / lens ??

[nosaj2]

I'm just like you learning as I go. My next purchase is going to be a Circular Polarizer. I'm just saving for a good one. Here is the EXIG data. Nikon D90, 28-300@105mm, F16, ISO 200, 1/160sec.

[Challenger84]

Good lesson in hard vs. soft shadows. If I have to photograph people in the bright light of the sun I always place them under the shade of a tree and that works great. Harsh sun is the pits for the reasons you've just shown. I love to shoot in early morning and late evening but I have to chase the exposure. Photoshop saves my butt a lot.

[jb882]

Good lesson in hard vs. soft shadows. If I have to photograph people in the bright light of the sun I always place them under the shade of a tree and that works great. Harsh sun is the pits for the reasons you've just shown. I love to shoot in early morning and late evening but I have to chase the exposure. Photoshop saves my butt a lot.

I try to do the same, i do shoot a lot of sports so i dont have much control over the sun. my favorite time to shoot is the hour before sunset, its the golden hour for photo's when the light is just right.

If given no other choice one thing you can do it use your flash. If you have a good speedlight you can use that as a fill light to soften those harsh shadow's. I know its sounds counter intuitive to use a flash in bright sun but it does work.

Check these links or some info on flashes. its a lot to digest but valuable reading.
Strobist: Lighting 101
http://neilvn.com/tangents/2010/07/1...un-with-flash/
How to Shoot in Direct Sunlight
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/fill-flash.htm