Backyard Practice, Need Inputs

Hi guys, I am looking for answers about ocf at bright sunlight. I have speculations of the solution to my problem but I need confirmations from you. I hope you can help me on this one because I really want to improve on this. I will post some photos on ow I did it and pardon me for the out of focus shots and uninteresting photos. Just the lighting I am concerned of in this thread.

Here is the situation: Took my son out (and he was very impatient of the hot weather outside) at about 2pm Manila time. The sun was about 120 degrees from our heads.

Took this shot at 2.8, 250th at 640 ISO. just to show you harsh the sun is.

Don't use the ND filter and ISO 1000 at the same time. They are doing opposite things.

Beyond that, the "right" answer spends on the look you want.

I'd put the sun behind him, get the exposure set so that the highlights on this shoulders do not blow out. Put umbrella off axis 30 degrees, high and see what I got. In other words, your last shot is pretty close to what I'd do.

Last image looks way better...Got some sun highlights on hair and front flash filled in ..

Also having sunlight either above or behind is better than front on because sun front on will make people squint........Thats the best way of doing shots in strong direct sunlight

..Also no need for ND ...Just lower ISO

Last shot looks fine

Thank you guys, let me guess... So i'll use nds if the bg is still very bright with the aperture I want and already at lowest iso, right? Since the subject would be back lighted by the sun, stronger strobes should come in?

put the strobe in a large softbox and keep it on or near camera axis, this will minimize the cross shadow (two shadows) problem.

otherwise, as you discovered, you can keep the sun behind the subject and light with the strobe on, or off, axis. Rather than right behind the subject you might try putting the sun to one side.

Jiggo0109 wrote in post #17679723
Thank you guys, let me guess... So i'll use nds if the bg is still very bright with the aperture I want and already at lowest iso, right?

yes.

Jiggo0109 wrote in post #17679723
Since the subject would be back lighted by the sun, stronger strobes should come in?

i understand that sometimes you have no choice but to shoot in full sun in the middle of the day, but as you get closer to sunset or sunrise the problem of sun position and brightness becomes increasingly easier to deal with.

Thanks again... Now it's getting clearer in my mind... Correct me if I'm wrong... In a situation where the sn is behind and the exposure setting of the bg is 2.8, iso 100, nd needed for example. Strobe is needed to light the subject. With this scenario, the power of the strobe will depend on the distance of the subject from the light (strobe). If I need to place my strobe 10ft away from the subject, powerful strobe is needed and if I only need to take a close up head shot, a 300 watt strobe would do because I can place it at nearest point as possible to the subject. Am I getting it right? Powerful strobes for long distance and low strobes for close ups, or better to have them both.

EDIT: If also I wanted a darker background, more power from the light is needed, right?

I use a single CL-360 (otherwise known as Godox AD360) in a 43 inch octa with only the inner diffuser while lighting subject from 8-10 feet away and have little problem over powering the sun. I generally use HSS to darken the sky and background with a faster shutter speed.

edit: i shoot an hour or so before sunset.

if you want darker background you use hypersync or high speed sync

Jiggo0109 wrote in post #17679748
Thanks again... Now it's getting clearer in my mind... Correct me if I'm wrong... In a situation where the sn is behind and the exposure setting of the bg is 2.8, iso 100, nd needed for example. Strobe is needed to light the subject. With this scenario, the power of the strobe will depend on the distance of the subject from the light (strobe). If I need to place my strobe 10ft away from the subject, powerful strobe is needed and if I only need to take a close up head shot, a 300 watt strobe would do because I can place it at nearest point as possible to the subject. Am I getting it right? Powerful strobes for long distance and low strobes for close ups, or better to have them both.

EDIT: If also I wanted a darker background, more power from the light is needed, right?

If you set a light closer to subject, it is relatively larger in apparent size (compared to farther away), and therefore 'softer' than farther away

If you set a light closer to the subject, falloff due to distance is more rapid than if light is farther away

• Light at 2' falls off by -1EV with only 0.8' more distance
  
• Light at 8' hardly falls off (just over -0.25EV) at all with only 0.8' more distance
  

PhilF wrote in post #17679763
if you want darker background you use hypersync or high speed sync

Obviously there are two schools of thought here

Use a faster shutter speed and HSS/hypersync
or
Use a ND filter and stay at sync speed

Just as obvious is that one could use some combination of the two, but most would agree that doing so just complicates things.

Both options result in less light reaching the sensor, preference in choosing one or the other is largely related to one's current equipment. Neither is the wrong or right unless the situation (equipment imitations, subject movement, etc) call for one over the other.

In addition about using ND filters, if color is crucial to you, it's not advisable to use it

clipper_from_oz wrote in post #17679710
Last image looks way better...Got some sun highlights on hair and front flash filled in ..

Also having sunlight either above or behind is better than front on because sun front on will make people squint........Thats the best way of doing shots in strong direct sunlight

..Also no need for ND ...Just lower ISO

Last shot looks fine

I forgot to mention that there is one other way to avoid these problems.....and that is be like some landscape photographers out there including myself that make it a rule never to shoot outdoors between 10.00 am and 2.00pm when there is harsh direct sunlight light unless is absolutely critical ..Just remember when wedding groups are hoping for a nice sunny day on the day of the wedding the wedding photographer is hoping for exactly the opposite

The other thing to be cognisant of is over use of fill flash outdoors which if used with a heavy hand results in shots look terrible unnatural....basically give it a false look ...Just go and have a look at some of the glamour shots posted up that are done outside a studio at places like beaches etc etc and many of them dont look natural because of this heavy handed use of a strobe. Ofcourse many ad agencies shoot outdoor ads successfully with a natural look however most of them have very very sophisticated lighting with a lot of after PP work included to get the shot looking right. .......My personal opinion is strobe doesnt add much value on anything outdoors except some nice subtle fill flash to smooth things out when shadows get bad.........exactly like you used in your last pic. That looks 100% natural and if outdoor people shots are what you mainly do then stay with that effect you acheived in the last image and you cant go wrong

Clipper

Thank you guys... Really helped me a lot... So here is my recap...

1. Shoot during golden hours.
2. Use hss to preserve colors.
3. No need for stronger strobes to make a decent lighting against the sun, but powerful strobes are beneficial, if dialed down to match a
full powered 300 watt strobe, when recycling time is in concern.
4. Use the sun as fill or rim light of the subject.

If there is something I missed, please feel free to add a note.

Thanks.

Jiggo0109 wrote in post #17680742
Thank you guys... Really helped me a lot... So here is my recap...

1. Shoot during golden hours.
2. Use hss to preserve colors.
3. No need for stronger strobes to make a decent lighting against the sun, but powerful strobes are beneficial, if dialed down to match a
full powered 300 watt strobe, when recycling time is in concern.
4. Use the sun as fill or rim light of the subject.

If there is something I missed, please feel free to add a note.

Thanks.

1. Nonsense, learn to shoot in full sun, just like the last image.
2. Hss does not preserve colors
3. More power gives you more modifier and flash to subject options, but for now I'd learn to use an unmodifed speedlight as fill in full sun to get a natural look. Learning this will make shooting in other lighting situations a piece of cake.
4. Sun never for fill, only for rim (I'm talking full sun).