shooting into the sun

[rickp1]

Went out yesterday to the coast to get some pictures , but unfortunately the sun was in our faces.

The subjects face looked OK as far as exposure goes but the background was VERY washed out.
I used a photovision tool to find exposure and correct WB but stull the images just looked shitty IMO.

So how are you taking your portraits when facing the sun??

[RichardTaylor]

Most of my portraits are candids, and I try not to take them in out in the sunshine on bright sunny days, preferring to get them into the shade.

If I was a serious portrait photographer I would use a diffuser to soften the light or put the subjects under a large umbrella.

California Sunbounce USA: Home

or as per this DPS tips - use a flash to balance the background and subject..

3 Tips for Shooting Portraits in Bright Sunshine

[Niresangwa]

you really only have a couple of choices doing this, assuming the sun is pretty strong.

First you can accept that metering for the model will end up with a severely washed out environment and a 'haze'. the haze can be corrected with a levels adjustment, but you're going to get some pretty dull shots.

Secondly, (assuming you want a decently exposed environmentand subject, you can stop down and pump the shutter speed at your base ISO, but this is going to more than likely underexpose the subject. If all you have is a single flash unit, even then it's going to be difficult to get good exposure on the subject, but it can be done.

Scrims can help, as explained above, but are of limited use if your shot is a wide one. Plus, it's a lot of gear to be moving around.

Ultimately there's plenty of reasons to avoid full sun.

[jdepould]

Are we talking high noon or sunset?

Personally, I'll shoot straight into the sun, and use it for rimlight. Add a little reflector or gelled flash for fill and you're good to go.

Like this:

[rickp1]

light was about 5/6pm light. It was still shitty light to say the least.

R.

[NicolaB]

What Jamie said. As I am new, I would go up to my subject and expose on their skin first with spot metering. Then move into position and hold the exposure for perfect skin.

[Chip]

When the light is harsh and I still want to take photos, I make do with the gear I have at that time.

Getting to know how my gear will react in a certain situation has helped a lot. I can usually now pick something close to the right setting before pressing the shutter.

For example, this first photo was taken in the desert at around noon local time, in the full sun. This gentleman visited unexpectedly. I moved to a place where the background would be clean, adjusted the settings and then did some adjustments in post. (I even messed up and shot this in jpg. )



This 2nd shot was also taken around noon in the sun. I anticipated needing a flash, so had it ready.



I'm glad I didn't miss either of these photos. Good memories.

Are they technically perfect? Of course not. But, they are much better than I could have managed a couple of years ago. I'd rather make the best of a bad situation (based on experience gained from past trial and error) than not take the photo.

My 2 cents.