Talk about a chalenging situation

[alsmith]

well it looks like I will be shooting my friends wedding on a beach at 2:00pm. Talk about harsh light. The area we are shooting in is usually cloud free and I am a bit worried that I will not be able to capture the event properly. Any tips on using this harsh light or how to work around it?

[BCdives]

Hey Al,

I do a lot of shooting on a very brightly light beach with bright white sand, chanllenging yes, but not impossible. Pray for a little overcast, or at the very least I would us a CIR-PL Filter and be very mindful of your exposure, color temp, and angles to the light.

Spend a little money and try a neutral density filter, either a screw on, or Coken P-bracket. That really seems to help take the edge off and still looks very natural.

Have fun,

BC

[GPR1]

Use fill flash when practical so the eye sockets, etc. aren't too dark.

Greg

[RichardtheSane]

Get a reflector and someone you can train to hold it right... ;)

[alsmith]

great suggestions guys one questions... when you say hold it right you just mean so that it is reflecting the light onto the subjects right?

[timmyquest]

*VERY NOOB*

Would a polorizer help in this situation?

[alsmith]

am I wrong but does a polorizing filter deal with the sky and reflections in windows and things of that nature? It would certainly make the sky look better in the back ground... or would it also help the picture over all? I own one but have yet to use it... (oh bad me)

[robertwgross]

A circular polarizing filter can work to make the sky look bluer and the clouds look whiter, but it only works if you are roughly 90 degrees away from the sun direction. In other words, if the sun is at your back or into your lens, then it works badly. If the sun is at your shoulder, then you have a chance that it can help.

Normally, it will also cancel out reflections, like off water. This is especially true for me when I try to shoot down into the water, like at a fish. Without the filter, I just get a big bright reflection of the surface. With the filter, there is just a hint of reflection and I get the fish instead.

You've got to try it.

---Bob Gross---

[Jesper]

To make the harsh light less harsh, a polarizer won't be very useful.

What you want to do is lessen the contrast between the areas on which the sun is shining directly and the shadows. You can do this by holding a reflector in such a way that some sunlight is reflected onto the shadow areas.

[alsmith]

ok another question is how do I get the exposure right for the white dress and the black tux in 2:00pm sun light on a beach?