"Good Light" - shooting in sunshine

So I keep saying good light makes ALL the difference in the world, good light this and good light that but what exactly does good light look like? Hopefully the next couple of posts will help you find better light!

Lets start with what most normal, not photography obsessed people think is good light; sunshine. Now while sunshine is sometimes a key element to good light it is not the end all and lots of times it can actually ruin a great shot. Sunshine can cause harsh shadows, uneven skin tones, glowing ears, over exposure etc.. It can definitely be tricky. But it can be OH SO great! Here are some things to look for on a sunny day and some things to avoid in most cases. Remember, photography is not something you can ever say "always do this" or "never do that", there are always exceptions. That being said I'm going to say never/always meaning most of the time, just so you're good and confused :)

First, never position your subject facing the sun. Not only does it blind your subject and cause some really tense faces but it is a big cause of shadows under the eyes and nose which make people's eyes look heavy and dark and the nose looks much bigger. When the sun is near the horizon you have a much better chance of success with a head on sunlit subject because the sun is shining directly into their face and not shining down from above. Sometimes shadows can have a nice dramatic effect but I find, for my style I like smooth lighting. So how do I find smooth lighting, even lighting with no shadows on a sunny day? Well it depends on the time of year and the position of the sun. In winter I hardly ever face this problem because, well, we don't see the sun for 5 months but during summer months when the sun is high, essentially 90 degrees above the ground at noon then its tricky. It's this time of year that I highly recommend shooting in the morning before the sun gets too high and in the evening as the sun is setting. This allows you to keep the angle of the sun to your subject less than 90 degrees (straight over head is bad!). Why does this angle matter? Because if the sun is right over head, at noon, then its like a flashlight shining straight down on someones face which equals shadows. Even a couple of hours before and after noon will result in shadows because the sun is too high during the summer. Shooting in morning or evening light allows you to put the sun on the back of your subject and utilize something called backlight. In these next two shots I had my sun stand in a sunny spot in my front yard around 3:00. He stayed in the same spot and faced the sun then turned around with his back to the sun;

notice the shadows under his eyes and nose and in the creases of his cheeks... not to mention he can hardly open his eyes! There is so much contrast between the shadows of his face and the highlights. There is little to be done to even out shadows and not have an obviously photo shopped image.

now notice how his whole face is a shadow so there is an even coloration. No super dark areas and no super light spots. Now, when you take a shot like this it's going to look super washed out and gray in camera and SOOC (straight out of camera) but all it takes to spruce it up is increasing the contrast which is a simple curves adjustment or even just an adjustment in a RAW editor.

My favorite thing to find on a sunny day when I can't shoot at sunset or in early morning light is open shade. You can find open shade in LOTS of places, under a structure, in an orchard, behind a tall building or in a foresty area. Open shade is simply shade that doesn't have the splotches all through it.  It's a big 'ol even shadow. Now some areas within this big open shade area provide better light than others. Remember when i told you all to be creepers and walk around looking at your palm in different light? Well it's the same concept as that little experiment. The closer you are to direct sunlight, within the open shade, the better the light source will reflect onto your subject. So in an orchard I would position my subject toward the very end of a row allowing the sunlit area to illuminate my subject whose standing in nearby shade. Mind you, she would not be standing IN the sun but at the edge of the shadowed area, facing the sunlit area. Sunlight can and does reflect off nearly everything so just because you're working in the shade doesn't mean you can just ignore the sun but rather you should use it to benefit the shot. If I'm shooting downtown in the open shade of a building I'll try to position my subject facing a wall that is in direct sunlight. This will bounce a diffused version of the sunlight into their face and brighten their eyes without blinding them or blowing their face beyond repair. Splotchy shade can be used well but often results in a very high contrast background with underexposed spots and overexposed spots throughout. Here is my front yard this evening. There was some open shade and some splotchy shade. I used my son again, who was such a great willing subject!

Splotchy shade

Open Shade

Son in splotchy shade (notice the blown background and just the distraction caused by having so many high contrast areas). Another thing I could have had him do was to just turn around and face the sunlit splotch. This would have illuminated his face and taken out the high contrast because the area in front of him is more unified shade. Notice how he is right on the edge of that sunshine spot. Turning him to face it would have really illuminated his eyes without blinding him. That's GOOD light!

Open Shade, AH that's better ;) Notice how the background isn't distracting and it's within the same lighting as the main subject.

 Since most of my shoots happen in the evening, lighting is usually on my side. It's important to consider lighting as a high priority because it can obviously make or break a shot! Hope that helps and I'll be working on a "shooting in cloudy weather" post as well as a "how to use a reflector" post soon. Any other lighting questions that I can answer would be greatly welcomed!