Direct, harsh sun techniques

Harsh sun tips?

Thanks so much for sharing!
Erin Slayton

Well, to be 100% honest, I just use a 48" Diffused panel if I absolutley have to shoot under harsh lighting. I have assistants who will hold it for me and 99% of the time does a wonderful job of covering hot spots, glare, etc...I will always look at my background as well and take a quick "in camera reading" but will always use my handheld Sekonic for the actual subject. I will then usually set my FEC to blend both my background and subject if that makes sence. Bad way of putting it I suppose.

The diffused panel is a great idea, but can it work for a ceremony? I cant imagine a bride ok-ing an assistant standing up front like that...

ahhhh.....didn't think of that one. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever had an outdoor wedding where the B&G were in direct sunlight getting married. That's just freaky to be honest because I can't count how many weddings I've shot. hmmmmm..... I guess just shoot it then and get what you can because even with fill flash you're not going to be able to get up close enough (I presume) to do any good.

Firstly I wouldn't take direction from a bride for a beautiful background if it meant her squinting into the sun. I'd jokingly pull a squinty face to show her why we weren't doing it, before rearranging things to produce a beautiful picture (possibly explaining why). This is a people job, and making brides do what WE want to get the results SHE wants is the name of the game.

I don't really know the answer to 'dealing with' in a techy sense, because to me photography is about the 'quality' of light. So we have to be in control of the quality not just the quantity.
If we see a backlit subject and the best we can manage is 'fill flash' then we're making no more an artistic decision than a P&S camera that'll auto fill flash.
We should be looking for where there's light of the desired quality, OR making a picture that looks right with the light that we have, OR subtly using diffusers or adding compensatory (fill) light to create the image.
The third option is my least favourite, as it means using extra gear which slows down the process.
Also I suppose I'm lucky that we don't have outdoor weddings in the UK (as a rule).

I once did a wedding that was next to a building. The bride and the girls were in rutheless harsh sun and the groom and the guys were in a deep shadow.

That was fun. (not)

I appreciate the continued input....

Thanks!

In conditions that were really that contrasting, I'd have to break the 1st rule of PJ wedding photographers and pose and re-shoot the 'ceremony' afterwards. Again, it's about making snap decisions, realising when you're in a no-win situation and calling it quits.
At my last wedding I'd decided to shoot from the right front, my wife would shoot from left front. When I got into the room there was a string quartet right where I needed to be and I could get no shots of the ceremony. If my wife hadn't have been there I'd have moved pretty sharp to the other side. As it was I sat back and watched her work.
The rain also put an end to my 'outdoor couple portraits' but I scouted interesting indoor settings and no'one seeing the album would guess there's anything missing.
In answer to your question, again I'd say there's more to wedding photography than simply looking for the technical solutions. The better solution may well be about how you handle the people to get round the problem.