What the best way to shoot outdoor portraits?

To not have the squinting eyes and deep shadows. I know I can get a fill flash for the shadows but not the squinting eyes. What do you do for outside portraits, particularly on a really sunny day?

kjonnnn wrote in post #12155900
ONE way is, backs to sun. Use flash (reduced), or white or gold reflectors to add light to the face. Meter for the face.

dumb question. don't those reflectors put light right in the eyes...is it like a mirror and would cause squinting or is it not that powerful?

Under some trees,
in open shadows next to a tall building,
steep upward angle with fill flash so the subject is looking down (less squint),
parasol or umbrella,
sunglasses,
hooded jumper/jacket,
hair across the eyes,
baseball cap,
hand shielding eyes (like a sailor 'land ho!' peering off to the distance),
in profile, eyebrow raised, looking sideways into camera,
backlit in silhouette,
facing away from cam,
no face,
arms raised with scarf or shawl (blocking some sun),
funny faces,

just some ideas.

kjonnnn wrote in post #12156134
By reflector, I don't mean anything terribly bright or shiny like a mirror. A white towel OR white foamcore board on the ground will throw some soft light back in some situations. As with source lighting, the larger the reflector, the softer the light.

Where do you position the white towel or could you have them stand on a big white blanket if it where just chest up shots?

cameraperson wrote in post #12156177
Where do you position the white towel or could you have them stand on a big white blanket if it where just chest up shots?

If you have the sun behind them you need the reflector in front of them, redirecting the light back at them (just to one side of the lens axis). Standing on a blanket wouldnt do much. The nice thing about the flash is it fires so briefly that it doesnt cause squinting.

Unless you're specifically looking for the style of photograph that you get from a subject standing in direct sun, move the subject out of the direct sun. Shade of some sort - trees, awnings, umbrellas - all those will do the trick - eliminate hard shadows and eliminate squinting.

OR, use a diffuser like the Lastolite Trigrip - hold it with your left hand to shade the subject, and take the photograph with your right hand. Or have an assistant hold the diffuser, or clip it to a stand, or if you're doing an up-close head shot, you can even have the subject hold it just out of frame to shade themselves - though this last option might be least desirable.

The Lastolite Trigrip will double as a reflector, which is nice - it has shiny gold and silver reflectors that attach to the frame, or you can just use the white as a reflector. They even have a new version which is a reflector on one side and a diffuser on the other side.