How to deal with Harsh Sunlight ...

[Alan Dye]

A Co-Worker asked me to take pics of his son's baseball team. This is my first attempt and as you can see, the sun is giving me fits. Any suggestions on how to deal with a harsh sun??

[rabidcow]

Summer sports are great! Enough light to capture the image and freeze action at high shutter speeds and low ISO. But summer sports also suck because fill flash is not practical.

The exposure looks great on those images, I think that they are spot on for summer sports shots. I know how frustrating those shadows are, but it is the nature of the beast.

Great captures!

[gmen]

Try shooting into the sun rather than with it over your shoulder... it's a handy technique for dealing with harsh sunlit conditions.

Just posted a few examples here: http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=161934

Hope that's helpful. There's some more info over in my Q&A thread if you're really bored! :lol:

---- Gavin

[Alan Dye]

Thanks Guys, appreciate the kind words. In this situation, what ISO would you recommend? These were at 400, but I'm thinking 200 might be better.

Comments??

[SurfKahakai]

There's no reason you shouldn't be at ISO 100.

[Daryn]

Any reason for the ISO400?

[Alan Dye]

Any reason for the ISO400?

It was supposed to be an overcast/cloudy day when I set everything up. By the time I got there, the sun was out and I honestly forgot about it until I started the post processing after the shoot. (I guess you can't fix stupid....) :rolleyes:

[sandrast]

"Try shooting into the sun rather than with it over your shoulder... it's a handy technique for dealing with harsh sunlit conditions."

If you shoot INTO the sun, how do you keep the faces from being very dark?

[gmen]

"Try shooting into the sun rather than with it over your shoulder... it's a handy technique for dealing with harsh sunlit conditions."

If you shoot INTO the sun, how do you keep the faces from being very dark?Correct exposure is the key, exposing for the subject matter...

http://www.tgsphoto.co.uk/forum_images/wah009.jpg

...therefore no dark faces... and no harsh, contrasty shadows either. There's plenty of reading matter here about this technique... well worth a search.

---- Gavin

[jej826]

Same problem for me with the sun.Most times it's not practical to shoot into the sun.Just the way most of the fields our kids play on are set up.:(

[spaced]

I'm sorry but the guy in the greens face is hilarious!

[basroil]

those baseball pics don't have harsh lighting... baseball field my school's team plays on happens to face southwest, leading to ugly shadows in angles you really don't want. best thing, shoot in manual (especially on sunny day, which is probably the day that's causing the harsh lighting in the first place), and just leave the settings intact unless you notice the light changed (by clouds or time of day). before you take a picture, look at the ground where there is sunlight and grass, test out to make sure the exposure is good, then shoot away for the next memory card full of pictures