very discouraged! Advice needed please!

[tasmo2]

Hey all! I have been here at DPS for a couple months now, and in photography for probably 5 months. I am getting very discouraged because I feel like I never know what I am doing! As soon as I think I have it, I get in a situation where I have no clue what to do! I did a photo shoot last Sat and felt so confident, got home had great photos and felt really good! This Sat I did a shoot and the whole time I kept thinking, what am I doing?? I have no idea what to do here! I scheduled it from 5-6pm because I usually get great results at this time of day, but this day there was not ONE cloud in the sky and the sun was so harsh I had no idea what to do! I don't have an external flash... I think that would have helped, but would that have solved the problem? When I took them into the shade, their faces were to dark but when I took them into the sun they had harsh shadows or squinted if faced towards the sun. At one point I just had to stop for a min and take a min because I was getting really down on myself for not knowing how to fix it. I told them we were going to walk across the lake to get some shots on a bridge on the other side, really I just needed some composer time while we walked to it! LOL! THANKFULLY this was a free shoot, just a favor for a friend, but either way I really wanted to give them fantastic photos! Now my confidence is totally shaken, and I am so discouraged!! So would it have fixed the problem if I had an external flash? Is there a technique that I don't know yet for positioning better? Here is an example of what I am talking about:


I know this is probably all just due to being so rough around the edges, but I am at a place where I have no idea what to do about it! I know a reflector would have helped, but I am not sure how you use one while shooting by your self? Any advice is GREATLY appreciated! Thanks guys! I love looking at all of your photos and aspire to take shots as good as some of you on here on day!

Here is a link to the rest of the ones I got from the shoot if you want to see them to compare.
Flickr: allisonstitt2's Photostream

Thanks in advance for your help!

[zona5101]

Shooting in direct sun is tough...really tough with no flash or reflector. You were correct to get them into shade. I looked at your images from the link where you moved them into shade...your exposure was perfect...for the background. You needed to understand what your meter is metering and compensate ...in this case "overexpose" from what the meter was saying, the background will blow out but the subject will be exposed properly. I did note that you do have several very nice images in the attached link, for example I think the image of the couple by the tree (titled calebnchristy) is very nice...Some others (like the ones with the brick wall background) may just need a little help in post by warming them up and giving them a tad more exposure.

[PowerPix]

I completely understand what you mean about not knowing what in the world to do!

I won't comment on poses or anything because I am not a portrait photographer. As far as lighting, a flash would help you tremendously for shady environments and help cut shadows. An alternative would be to shoot HDR but instead of tonemapping use Exposure Fusion. If you would shoot HDR, the models will have to sit very still throughout however many exposures you shoot. Believe me, it is possible, I do it all the time! Good luck.

Cheers!

[Chip]

For what it's worth, here's what I'd do if I had harsh side lighting (like you had for this shoot), no external flash and no reflector:

First, I'd place the subjects with their backs to the sun. That way, the light (or shade) on their faces would be even. Then, I'd spot meter off their faces so that the faces would be properly exposed. (For my camera, if I'm shooting into the sun like this, I need to use +1/3 or +2/3 EV to get the exposure right - you're results may vary). And I'd also decide want I want for a background: Sky? If so, the sky will be blown out, which can look cool if done on purpose. Trees that have their shady side facing the camera? If so, then the exposures on the faces and tress should be pretty close.

As another option, any chance you could put them in an area that is both in the shade and has some light that's reflected off something already there, like a white building or a white semi truck? If available, that should make for pleasing light without squinting.

To my mind, the biggest thing to avoid is having one-half of a face in full shadow, the other half in full sun, another face in the shadow of "Dad", etc - lighting on faces that's too uneven is hard to pull off. So, just make sure the light is even.

My 2 cents.

[Niresangwa]

Agree with Zona. If you can see that the sun is ruining things and dont have the tools or confidence to fight it, just get out of it. Once you did you had some nice ones, which again as Zona stated can just be warmed up in post to look nice.

Couple look like the saturation slider slipped though..be careful

[Digidave]

I think Chip hit it on the head here. The 2 main points being, even exposure & Spot metering. You need to expose the faces properly & spot metering will achieve that. The clouds you had on the first shoot evened out your lighting & that's what you tried to accomplish with the shade trees. You just need to get them into full shade but then you have the problem of to much dynamic range(expose the faces & get a blown out background). That's where the reflector will come in handy.

[tasmo2]

Originally Posted by zona5101

Shooting in direct sun is tough...really tough with no flash or reflector. You were correct to get them into shade. I looked at your images from the link where you moved them into shade...your exposure was perfect...for the background. You needed to understand what your meter is metering and compensate ...in this case "overexpose" from what the meter was saying, the background will blow out but the subject will be exposed properly. I did note that you do have several very nice images in the attached link, for example I think the image of the couple by the tree (titled calebnchristy) is very nice...Some others (like the ones with the brick wall background) may just need a little help in post by warming them up and giving them a tad more exposure.

Your not kidding hard! LOL! possibly impossible? I thought that i understood metering... but after this i'm not so sure! I had it on spot metering, and was trying to meter off one of their faces. But I don't think I correctly understand it, because i'm not sure it worked. LOL

Originally Posted by PowerPix

I completely understand what you mean about not knowing what in the world to do!

I won't comment on poses or anything because I am not a portrait photographer. As far as lighting, a flash would help you tremendously for shady environments and help cut shadows. An alternative would be to shoot HDR but instead of tonemapping use Exposure Fusion. If you would shoot HDR, the models will have to sit very still throughout however many exposures you shoot. Believe me, it is possible, I do it all the time! Good luck.
Cheers!

Once i saw that I was in trouble I did think maybe i could shoot -.3, 0, +.3 and tried that, but I didn't think to blend them if they are in the same position.. LOL With kids they probably arent... but I am going to check and see! Thanks!

Originally Posted by Chip

For what it's worth, here's what I'd do if I had harsh side lighting (like you had for this shoot), no external flash and no reflector:

First, I'd place the subjects with their backs to the sun. That way, the light (or shade) on their faces would be even. Then, I'd spot meter off their faces so that the faces would be properly exposed. (For my camera, if I'm shooting into the sun like this, I need to use +1/3 or +2/3 EV to get the exposure right - you're results may vary). And I'd also decide want I want for a background: Sky? If so, the sky will be blown out, which can look cool if done on purpose. Trees that have their shady side facing the camera? If so, then the exposures on the faces and tress should be pretty close.

As another option, any chance you could put them in an area that is both in the shade and has some light that's reflected off something already there, like a white building or a white semi truck? If available, that should make for pleasing light without squinting.

To my mind, the biggest thing to avoid is having one-half of a face in full shadow, the other half in full sun, another face in the shadow of "Dad", etc - lighting on faces that's too uneven is hard to pull off. So, just make sure the light is even.

My 2 cents.

Thanks for your advice! I hadn't thought of looking for a natural reflector! Sounds like I just need to do more learning with metering since it sounds like most everyone is bringing that up! LOL! Thank you!

Originally Posted by Niresangwa

Agree with Zona. If you can see that the sun is ruining things and dont have the tools or confidence to fight it, just get out of it. Once you did you had some nice ones, which again as Zona stated can just be warmed up in post to look nice.

Couple look like the saturation slider slipped though..be careful

On the saturation, are you thinking under or over? I played with it a bit so there are some saturated up and some down... (on my monitor which is uncalibrated still) Which were you thinking needed some tweaking in that aspect? Thanks!

Originally Posted by Digidave

I think Chip hit it on the head here. The 2 main points being, even exposure & Spot metering. You need to expose the faces properly & spot metering will achieve that. The clouds you had on the first shoot evened out your lighting & that's what you tried to accomplish with the shade trees. You just need to get them into full shade but then you have the problem of to much dynamic range(expose the faces & get a blown out background). That's where the reflector will come in handy.

Spot metering again... sounds like it needs to be my new best friend until I learn it! LOL! Do you guys have any good links to explain it? I had one, but lost it and apparently didn't learn it well enough when I read it! Thanks for all your help!! Now when you guys use a reflector, do you have a helper or how do you keep it where you need it?


Thanks so much everyone for your advice!! It sounds like I need to do more practice with spot metering, so that is my self given homework now! Any good links would be appreciated!

[autofocus]

Here is another option to consider for harsh, direct or dappled light. Use a large rectangular reflector to diffuse the light through it. You will need to unzip the shiny material first which will leave you with a shear material that you can filter the light through...you will also need someone, or someway to hold it in place. I've attached an example of one of our recent photos shot in full sun, but filtered light through it using the reflector as a scrim.

[tasmo2]

Cool! So that is like a mesh reflector? Can you post a link of what type it is?

[TerryMC]

You picked the best of two evils. To avoid harsh shadows & squinted, you put your subject backs to the sun and accept a blow out background. With luck, you may substitute an alternate one with post processing.

After setting the proper WB, take a closeup (fill the frame if necessary) meter reading of one of your subject's face. Since metering results in 18% gray, you may have to adjust (EV +/-) for your subject skin color. Remember you are taking a reflective reading, not an incident one.

Next, bracket your shots.