Portraits in Sunlight
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 @ 23:41
Photography has often been defined as simply the recording of light rays. Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? But if you think about it, good photography is about using available lighting very carefully.
Sunlight is one of those light sources that a photographer just has to work with. He can't increase the amount of sunlight, or decrease it ... at least not naturally, but he can manipulate what sunlight he has in such a way as to take a stunning portrait photo. He can decide what time of day would be best for taking his photo, depending upon the effect he would like to achieve. At high noon on a relatively clear day, the sun will be extremely strong and will generate a hard light coming from directly overhead. You can create some great shadow effects in your portraits by shooting them in this kind of sunlight.
If shadows are not the effect you are looking for, but you are limited to shooting your subject in this type of sunlight, try moving him into the shade where the portrait will be lit by light from the sky rather than directly from the overhead sun. Skylight comes from a much larger light source and is therefore diffuse. Diffuse light will not cast the strong shadows that direct sunlight will. Skylight will be much bluer than direct overhead sunlight, so you may need to use a warming filter over your lens in order to soften the effect and get a more natural skin tone for your subject.
There are lots of ways an amateur photographer can manipulate light to create some great photos. The trick is not to be afraid to experiment to see what works for you based on your equipment and subject matter.
