Rays of sun

[AmandaJoy]

This is a pic I took of my son one day. I like the way the sun comes through the covered bridge. I am very new to this and dont have much experience.
Is there a way I can get rid of the sun flare by editing?
Is the picture to bright?
Are the shadows too unapealing?
Canon EOS Rebel ex
Shutter sp 1/200
f/7.1
iso 400

[BigFuzzy]

Hi AmandaJoy and welcome to DPS.

You spotted a nice potential in terms of the light.

As for your first question, yes, you can get rid of it with editing, but it's not a one-click and done thing. You need to know photoshop and cloning tools. So if you're looking for a quick and easy way, I'm pretty sure there isn't one. The best thing to do is not shoot to the point were the light is able to come straight into your lens... did you have a lens hood on? Was there dust on the lens?

is the picture too bright? Parts definitely. The problem you have is you created an image you put him in shadow but much of the rest of the image is in direct sunlight which will create harsh contrast that the sensor cannot cope with. That is why much of him is nicely exposed, but then the bright parts hit directly by the sun are very over exposed (like the wall and that part of his face)

It's always a bad idea to shoot in the middle of the day unless you are in open shade, know about using flashes/reflectors or the light is somehow already diffused. This direct harsh light will likely always cause you problems.

I hope this helps?

[AmandaJoy]

Thank you so much. I do have a lense hood but silly me, I wasn't really prepared when I took this photo and didn't have it on. I will try and remember that next time.
I really appreciate your input!