How to Beat the Midday Sun!
A Guest Post by Tam Steele Daly
We’ve all heard the saying, even in photography, that the only people out in the midday sun are – Mad dogs, Englishmen and Wedding photographers!
Well after years of following that train of thought I decided to play around with the idea of not being beaten, by the sun that is!
The other weekend Molly – my 3 year old daughter and I, went down to the Toronto boating club and Redhead beach (NSW Australia), between 11am and 3pm to see what we could achieve with a bare speedlight, a neutral density filter and the sun.
As the sun is a harsh light source, we decided to fight fire with fire, and use a bare speedlight, absolutely no modifier! On paper it all looked straight forward – and . . . it was easier and so much fun.
Below are the specs of our gear and a rough plan of how we achieved this.
Tech Specs:
- DSLR Camera (non-specific).
- 24-105 lens
- ND4 neutral density filter (2 STOPS). A Polariser will stop down light too.
- Speedlight
- Speedlight mount (tripod, light-stand, VALS)
- Remote control for speedlight (radio, CLS, cheap remotes, curly cords, magic eye…)
Technical Description:
The Scene, during our shoot, read an Exposure of – f/11 @ 1/125 – ISO 100
As I was using flash, the first thing I did was to set my camera’s Shutter Speed to – Max Sync Speed 1/200.
This meant my exposure settings now had to be set to – f/9 @1/200 – ISO 100
Explain: By moving the Shutter speed from 1/125 to 1/200 I decreased exposure by 2/3rds of a STOP.
To make up for this I had to change APERTURE from f/11 to f/9. Hence – f/9 @ 1/200
I could now match the sun’s power at f/9 @ 1/200 !
Now, I know that at f/9 my speedlight would be working flat out, giving me a slow recycle time, which was no good for me; my model today was a 3 year old girl! I wanted a faster recycle time, to catch those cheeky little looks and also to be ready for whatever may happen! For this I decided to dial the sun down even further by attaching an ND4 Neutral Density filter to my lens. This would decrease my exposure by 2 more STOPS and mean I could match the sun’s power at f/4.5 @ 1/200, and in turn increase my recycle time.
Explain: Aperture f/9 minus 2 STOPS of light equals f/4.5
So, for a few hours of clear sky daylight, my exposure settings were – f/4.5 @ 1/200 – ISO 100. This gave me a preferred narrow depth of field and a faster recycle time on my speedlight, which was set to about 1/4 –1/2 power (depending on the distance from light source to Molly).
All I had to do now was line up my Speedlight to face the sun and persuade my model to stand in the middle – simple !
A little trial and error told me that I needed a low contrast background. So, I realigned my speedlight to face the sun where I could place Molly in front of a low contrast background (See diagram)
At this point the exposure was sorted, the background was sorted, all I needed now was to fire off a few exposure test shots. It was here that I threw teddy on the mark and asked Molly to go pick him up and hold him over her head! When she did this I fired off a few shots, adjusting the speedlight distance as I went along. Finally I found that at 2m I had enough power to reach her, enough footprint to cover her, and far enough away from her that she couldn’t knock it over !
All I had to do now was ask her to remain on the spot whilst I moved around her taking her photograph. I found that my shooting arc was about 60 degrees either side of the speedlight (see diagram).
Post Process
In post process I adjusted levels, this is a necessity. I then added a light Topaz mask and a vignette – both of which are highly subjective.
Tam Steele Daly runs a small photo school in Newcastle NSW Australia. The name of the school is Studio 22 (Steele Photography’s Studio 22). Check out her websites at:
www.photographycourses.net.au – for the school.
www.newcastlephotographer.com.au – for general photography
http://hunter-360.blogspot.com/ – A Hunter Region blog
http://shotbyus.wordpress.com/ – A student feedback blog/journal
63 Responses to “How to Beat the Midday Sun!” - Add Yours
August 31st, 2011 at 12:30 am
Very nice article.
I only wish there wasn’t a vignette on every photo. It looks overdone and shouldn’t be used on every one of them. Would love to see what they look like without it!
August 31st, 2011 at 12:31 am
this is awasome, i love to shot at any time and your tips will help me a lot. Thanks
August 31st, 2011 at 12:32 am
Your ND filter affects your flash the same as the sun. All using the ND filter does in this case is narrow your depth of field. The ND filter does not affect the ratio of flash power to sun. It can’t due to the fact that all light, whether from the sun or from your flash, has to pass through the ND filter.
August 31st, 2011 at 12:37 am
Those are super cute photos. Here’s a car photo during early afternoon. Walked around the car until reflections were minimal and then made this photo.
http://500px.com/photo/1489430
August 31st, 2011 at 12:43 am
Love your article, its very clear and easily understood.
Thanks.
August 31st, 2011 at 12:46 am
Hi
Grear article – with this shot I beat the midday sun by using a variable ND filter from Singh-Ray and seeking a subject as much in the shade as possible. The shade in itself was not the answer due to blown out reflections. Shot at the 2011 Rod and Custom Show, this makes the Corvette emblem look like it is floating in a river!
http://kerstenbeckphotoart.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/the-corvette-river/
August 31st, 2011 at 12:52 am
I do not use a flash much during this type of shoot, but it is something I am learning and slowly slowly I am coming around to the idea of using my flash, even in low light I find myself slow to use the flash. I am learning all the time.
http://dsdphotography.co.za/gloria-emmarentia-johannesburg/
Here is a set of photos taken about 10:30 – 11:30 am, with the bright winter sun. The nice soft and hazy morning light has been burnt off and now the light is bright and strong.
I used no filters, with low ISO and high shutter and low Aperture ( 1/4 +/- ).
August 31st, 2011 at 1:13 am
why you using a filter when you have a speedlight. Set the speedlight to high speed sync and you can go over 200th of a second. You also have to move speedlight closer to subject.
August 31st, 2011 at 1:14 am
I love the look! it almost looks like you were on a set made to look outdoors instead of actually outdoors. I really like it. It’s something different.
August 31st, 2011 at 1:15 am
The best thing to do IMO is to shoot in the shade during mid-day. A nice shade under a tree always does the trick for me.
August 31st, 2011 at 1:17 am
Nice article, but i did spot a major error on the use of nd filters. You state that f9 would be bad for the shoot because of the slow recycle times and when you put on a 2 stop Nd filter you compensate by going to f4. You forget that the light that comes from the speedlite also has to pass through the nd filter! Hence the power needed from the speedlite is exactly the same as before. F9 is the same as f4+nd. The nd filter only helps you in getting your background blurry because of the wider aperture. If you want slower recycle times, speed up your shutter and crop the black bar or take a second speedlite and you can put them on half the power.
August 31st, 2011 at 1:22 am
Why have these otherwise beautiful pictures been raped with such a huge vignette?
August 31st, 2011 at 1:41 am
Great article, however there is one strange point for me: using ND filter will reduce the exposure not only from the sunlight but from the speedlight just as much. Both light sources are reflecting off the subject – you simply cannot change their ratio by using an ND filter. What did you really mean there?
August 31st, 2011 at 1:41 am
There is something I don’t follow. You went from f/11 @ 1/125 – ISO 100 to f/9 @1/200 – ISO 100 which make sense as you had shorter time you can open adequately. And this is about light hitting your sensor.
Then you added ND4 Neutral so you are letting 2 stops less light coming through lens => you have to open to f/4.5 @ 1/200 – ISO 100. So you will get exactly same amount of light hitting your sensor.
Why this should have any effect on recycle time of the flash? The amount of light which needs to be pushed through lens to sensor is still the same. You are just loosing it at different places (ND filter or aperture). The amount of light which needs to be generated by flash is the same. Or I am missing something.
August 31st, 2011 at 1:50 am
I’m a little confused by something here. You say that you put on a neutral density filter in order to dial down the sun (decrease the amount of light you receive from the sun), so that you can use less power on the flash and achieve a faster recycling time. But, why wouldn’t the filter dial down the flash the same amount? The ratio of light between the sun and the flash hasn’t changed by putting a filter on your lens.
I would think that moving the flash closer to your subject – say, half the distance – would be what would actually give you what you want, right?
I think that the only effect of the neutral density filter would be to decrease your depth of field, as can be seen in the top photo. Which, by the way, is quite excellent!
Thanks for posting this – I had always assumed that portable flashes aren’t powerful enough to overwhelm a midday sun.
August 31st, 2011 at 1:57 am
Great post, but I have to second Bobek’s concern. Doesn’t putting the ND on there affect the speedlight just like it affects the sun?
August 31st, 2011 at 2:22 am
Those vignettes are so distracting…
August 31st, 2011 at 2:51 am
+1 for the comment about vignettes. Can’t see that any of the photos are improved by it. I know it’s subjective but it just looks like you used a crappy lens.
August 31st, 2011 at 2:59 am
Very good article on a though subject, and nice pictures to boot! But I echo bobek’s comment, the justification of adding an ND to get faster recycle times on the speedlight just don’t add up; are we missing something?
August 31st, 2011 at 3:06 am
Okay..interesting article, but I hate the vignette on the photos (except the very last one) it’s too obvious for my taste.
August 31st, 2011 at 3:14 am
What I could understand his choice to go to f4.5, is to have a shorter dof (depth of field), that way the subject is isolated from the background….. if I am right?
August 31st, 2011 at 3:24 am
Like Bobek when i read this article i don’t understand why the ND filter affect the recycle time of the flash.
For me in your case the ND filter il useful to have a beautiful boken in the background.
In the paste i use like you ND filter to reduce speed to the x syn speed. Now y have radio iTTL slave flash. now i y can shoot at f2.8 in the midday sun whit-out ND filter and without X-sync speed limitation.
August 31st, 2011 at 3:24 am
Great photos in rough conditions!
Thanks a lot for the excellent tips. They’re extremely useful.
I’ve got to agree with the critiques about vignetting, though. It took me months before I realized that if you can tell vignettes have been added, then it’s too much. I still vignette many of my photos to help draw attention to the subject (if needed), but it took a lot of effort to learn to stop moving that slider before you can actually see the vignette. People not familiar with photo editing probably like vignetting, but anyone at all familiar with lightroom spots it as a cheap trick right off the bat. You get the best of both worlds if you add vignettes, but not enough to where you get distinctly dark edges. Someone above said it looks like you use cheap gear– I don’t see that– it just looks like you’ve used instamatic or one of those iphone apps (despite the high quality of the photo). I love the “real” vignetting from crappy/old gear!
Thanks for the article, and please take my criticism with a grain of salt– you seem to be a truly fantastic photographer!
August 31st, 2011 at 3:25 am
Vignette absolutely overdone.
August 31st, 2011 at 3:35 am
I left my RSS reader to come to this post specifically to comment on the very issue that Bobek and Claudio mentioned. A ND filter reduces the light that a flash gives as well, so adding a ND doesn’t decrease recycle times.
August 31st, 2011 at 3:41 am
I thought exactly the same thing at first read, but then i thought about it, and here is my rationale on why (i think, and i might be wrong) you can reduce the flash output and in turn increase recycle time with the ND4.
If you think of f/11@1/125 @ISO 100 = some EV (exposure value/how much light is going into the camera), that same EV is maintained when the camera settings go to f/9 @1/200 @ISO 100. The very same EV is maintain when the camera is changed to F/4.5 @1/200 @ISO 100 + ND4 filter. All three settings have the same amount of light hitting the sensor. The difference is that with the ND4 filter, your aperture is much bigger than f/11 or f/9.
How much flash you need to output (i.e. power) is largely determined by your aperture setting…largely shutter speed independent. Therefore, when the aperture is at F4.5, you don’t your flash to output as much when compared to f/9 to EQUAL or overpower the scene. Lower flash output power = faster recycle time.
August 31st, 2011 at 4:09 am
Not at all imo
If photographer likes it, thats enough it all depends if you want comments to improve on the picture or if you are happy with what you have done.
August 31st, 2011 at 4:47 am
I loved the last shot! The depth is incredible… like an earlier comment said almost looks like it was shot indoors.
August 31st, 2011 at 5:02 am
Add my vote to the anti-vignette comments above. To me, a vignette is only used when a photograph is not strong enough on its own.
One thing no one pointed out was that the girl is wearing sunglasses, which of course cover her eyes. It is very easy to shoot when the photographer does not have to worry about getting life in the subject’s eyes and makes me wonder why then go through all the ND filter and speedlight stuff? If getting the eyes looking good is not an issue, then shooting in direct sunlight is made much, much easier.
My solution for when clients schedule things during midday, is the same as it always is, use my 2-strobe setup (both off camera), have the subjects face the sun, and produce a shot with vivid color and contrast, like the lead shot here:
http://jasoncollinphotography.com/blog/2011/7/19/holiday-inn-harbourside-indian-rocks-beach-florida-wedding.html
I avoided the eye dilemma by making the subjects a bit small in the shot and trying to find the best background I could at their hotel location so the entire frame has something interesting to look at and is not totally dependent on the people in the shot for interest.
August 31st, 2011 at 5:14 am
I would disagree about the “anti-vignette” comments. My students and I were checking out the first shot before class started and nobody caught on the style elements, but the shot started some conversation about their brothers and sisters.
One of my favorite Native American rock art shots of all time was taken in the blazing summer sun at a location in Utah called Sego Canyon (if you’d like to see the image head here: http://gregaitkenheadphotography.com/rock-art-ruins/, and click on the top left photo). I shot this on a tripod and used HDR. Is it overblown? Yes. But there are enough elements that work for my that I think of it as one of my favorites.
August 31st, 2011 at 6:01 am
+1 to bobek comment… the reycle time does not deacrese…
August 31st, 2011 at 6:29 am
I don’t know if its just caused by the post processing, but the first 2 photos look very underexposed and flat. And in the 3rd, the WB is different for the girl and the background and the flash is not very balanced.
August 31st, 2011 at 9:35 am
These are fantastic; I never thought of using a speedlight for midday sun photography. I do have the filter and really need to get more use out of it!
Thanks for these fantastic tips.
August 31st, 2011 at 11:18 am
Sorry, the included photos looked are over-cooked and the mid-day sun is still obvious in each. I didn’t bother to read the article, the photos told me all I needed to know…..
Angle, shade, etc., that’s the reality. Photographing glare results in photographs of glare (nothing against the young model).
Even this photo, just a quick amateur travel portrait taken at mid-day in Athens, is better than what is posted with this article.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lendog64/5836459768/
August 31st, 2011 at 11:21 am
Vignetting is a staple mark of an amateur who does not know how to use composition to bring attention to a subject. Furthermore, for commercial purposes – vignetting disallows any cropping of a photo. Sadly, I am disappointed that vignetting is so strongly used with this set. It makes them look flat, too dark, and it’s not what I would expect from a professional photographer.
Another thing that bothers me about these photos is that the sun is not directly overhead, and instead looks more like it is later morning or early afternoon and not mid-day ( when the sun is at it’s zenith ).
” Beating ” the mid-day sun is really quite simple. Shoot an exposure dark enough to drown out the brightness, and use your flash to overpower the sun so that your subject is brighter than the background. If you really want to get ” bright ” you can always use two behind and umbrella.
August 31st, 2011 at 12:33 pm
This author runs a photo school, yet uses an ND filter to help overpower the sun with flash and improve recycle time? Um, the ND would reduce the flash exposure by just as many stops as it reduces the sun. The vignetting is too strong, and the fact that it was done on nearly every photo in this set screams “amateur”. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being an amateur, but there is something wrong with trying to pass yourself off as a professional when you’re clearly not. This is what’s wrong with the photo industry now. People who haven’t yet mastered the craft are going into business and trying to be rockstars, doing seminars, etc.. It’s the blind leading the blind.
August 31st, 2011 at 1:27 pm
when doing this type of set up it is important to watch for double shadows. you don’t want the flash and the sun to cast a shadow. I don’t have much experience with this. try turning subject towards sun? Bounce off reflector?
can anybody help
August 31st, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Great article!! Thanks for the tips, I never thought about trying this before! Very cute picture, too
August 31st, 2011 at 6:27 pm
To avoid ND filter and speed up your shutter to 1/800 @ f4.5 you can use high speed syncro (HSS on canon flash).
August 31st, 2011 at 11:14 pm
Kate:
The problem you run into with reflectors is that the sun can be too bright and subjects tend to squint when bright light is in their face. You can use a diffuser and use that as a reflector, but it is not nearly as effective as a silver or gold reflector. Flash is the only way to go, and in order to get the kind of soft light from the flashes that does not in turn create more undesirable shadows ( double shadows ), you need to diffuse the light or bounce it from a large white wall ( which will already be diffusing light ).
Keep in mind, the little girl in the photo is wearing sun glasses, which hides any squinting she may be doing, so it’s worth noting that if you want sunglasses in a specific shot, the reflector may work, but only if you can keep it even.
September 1st, 2011 at 12:12 am
Thanks for the great article. Your diagram that shows where to place everything was very helpful for me.
September 1st, 2011 at 3:04 am
After thinking about this some more, I take my earlier comment back. In my reasoning, I applied the effects of the filter to only the environment and not the flash…which is not the case.
Anyways…I think the pictures are great. Photography is subjective, and it’s ‘beauty’ is in its beholder.
September 1st, 2011 at 3:30 am
The only way to reduce flash output in this situation is to either move the flash closer or zoom it in. Zoom would be fine since you only need to illuminate the subject and you are vignetting, anyway.
September 1st, 2011 at 5:28 am
Hey great article about the overused post processing effects !! Ooops sorry the real article is here : http://www.digital-photography-school.com/overused-post-processing-effects
Sorry for the sarcasm, but, sadly, vignette is the only thing I see in those photographs…
September 2nd, 2011 at 1:41 am
I agree and disagree with the vignetting comments. First, photography is a personal art form. If you are shooting for a client then that client’s taste has to be taken into consideration – however that client wouldn’t have (or shouldn’t have) hired you unless your style synced with theirs. So it is still a personal art form. If you like heavy vignettes then by all means use them.
I think the vignette in the first picture works great while the rest could have used a bit less – IN MY PERSONAL OPINION…..but then I didn’t take the photos nor did I commission them to be done so my personal opinion means squat.
Every photographer has a style and for every person that likes that style someone else will hate it. Does that make their style wrong? Amateurish? NO. It makes their style THEIR style and if you like it great….if not then move along.
September 2nd, 2011 at 1:56 am
If I didn’t have a ND filter, what about using HSS/FP (High Speed Sync or Focal Plane) to allow for higher shutter speeds?
September 2nd, 2011 at 2:10 am
I am sorry to say that these images seem to have a “dark color cast” as well as the vignette that is TOO STRONG. The colors seem “muddy” to me. That is probably the result of trying to control the highlights and the harsh sunlight, so this article fails its main objective. Much better to move into a deep shady spot and try again. OR TRY USING THE BEST TIMES OF DAY TO SHOOT!!!
September 2nd, 2011 at 2:22 am
+1 to all the ND comments. I re-read that paragraph 4 times trying to make sense of it, thinking I had missed some special technique.
A few other comments have recommended high-speed sync. High-speed sync will ensure proper flash illumination at higher shutter speeds (proper meaning that the entire frame is covered and that you don’t have curtain shadow), but the power output is reduced. High speed sync cannot reach the maximum power output of your speedlight.
September 2nd, 2011 at 3:06 am
Wow. Please read other comments before you repeat the same thoughts over and over. How annoying to find the comments including about ten (maybe more, I stopped reading) referring to the vignettes and how much they hate them (“raped by vignettes”???? seriously?), and the other ones pointing out the SAME mistake in the article about the ND filter. How about being constructive, rather than derisive.
I generally find the issue with midday shoots is the shadows created by objects you may be next to, our the angle of the sun on the subjects face, causing deep shadows. This was my big mistake when I had first purchased my DSLR, and I wanted to take pictures immediately, only to find that most of them were destroyed by the 3PM sun and its effect on the shadow of my friends nose. The issue of shadows could be helped by flash, and the ND filter could help with toning down the extra light the flash is providing. It was a good experiment, and as the photos are missing the hallmarks of midday photography, I’d say it was a success.
September 2nd, 2011 at 3:15 am
Not everyone has the time to read 47 comments before writing.
Any time you get something that doesn’t look nice or make an obvious mistake (the whole premise of the whole article is totally wrong!), you will rightfully get many, many comments pointing that out.
When it’s the former (a subjective judgment of how nice a picture looks), multiple opinions expressed is an essential part of the feedback process because the judgment is subjective!
When it’s so serious a factual error that DPS needs to print a retraction, the comments should indeed continue until they do.
September 2nd, 2011 at 4:33 am
Something else to be careful of, obvious in the third shot down, is the double shadow which comes from two light sources. This is a result of the fill flash being strong enough to cast its own shadow behind the subject, overpowering the sun’s light. Want to stay away from that.
September 2nd, 2011 at 5:38 am
I love shooting in midday sun, I shoot at this time of day probably more than I do early morning or other times simply due to my schedule. I’ve learned how to adjust my shooting techniques to make up for the harsh sun. Thanks for the article, it was a great read.
September 2nd, 2011 at 5:39 am
Hy there. Nice pcs, ok except the vignet, we’ve read that. I actually don’t like any kind of postproduction but it is most wished here in Ethiopia. Your Photos remind me of pictures I took years ago, with the velvia 50 at the beach, midday with a flash on the canon A1, 50 mm 1.4 and then cross developed. I loved thes pictures. Can’t show them here since the photos are rotting in my former wifes basement;-( but, can anyone tell me how I get the effect of crossed slides with a dslr (d 700)?? Thanx a lot and thank you all for the informative and partly constructive comments.
Jens
September 2nd, 2011 at 6:19 am
-1 regarding lambasting for overuse of vignette – the article (about using flash) does advise that its use if subjective.
My concern would be that over powering the sun has been done more in software than in camera – as seen by the halo around the girl in the last picture. It may just be a one off though, its a bit hard to tell on a mobile screen.
-1 also for knocking somebody for having a go, amateur or pro. I’m an amateur. Pro’s were amateurs. And we all have that stereotype whingy acquaintance on Facebook that is an amateur masquerading as a pro
End rant
September 2nd, 2011 at 6:30 am
Oh yeah, I thought the pictures were generally well composed.
Also some people have suggested using iTTL or eTTL triggers to get a much faster shutter speed. This is correct, but the cost is substantially higher. The cheaper alternative is a long TTL cabling which has obvious physical limitations compared to being wireless.
September 2nd, 2011 at 9:50 am
Jeez, lucky all these different people didn’t read the comments before making the same freaking observation about the ND filter error. I’m glad they all took the time to express their superior mathematical and logical abilities, in case someone didn’t get it the first three times.
Thanks for the article. Even allowing that there are aesthetic changes I would make if they were my shots (which they aren’t, so put the vignette that you like on them) the technical suggestion is helpful in its simplicity and directness. Thanks for taking the time.
September 2nd, 2011 at 11:16 am
If one does not wish to use flash, tripods and filters, there is an easy way to restore better color and contrast in bright sunlight. Take your DSLR off the Auto White balance and put it on Cloudy or Shade settings. Try it; you will be amazed at the difference. I got this tip several years ago from Ken Rockwell, the iconoclastic American photographer.
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:14 am
Thanks for an excellent educational article which I’m sure will give many photographers the confidence to use off camera flash outdoors in harsh lighting conditions. Nikon speedlight users should check if their camera has a ‘commander’ mode to control & fire their flash wirelessly. I use it regularly on my Fuji S5 & once set up is activated by popping up the built in flash and ‘remote’ on my speedlites.
September 3rd, 2011 at 5:25 pm
Very good.
It’s a nice and understanding article without complications.
Congratulations.
September 4th, 2011 at 11:00 pm
Your article is very simple & gives very nice tips. Thanks a lot for sharing these useful tips.
September 5th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Nice photos, but I agree with Kaylene about the vignetting. I’m really keen to get my hands on some serious ND filters.
Cheers!
September 11th, 2011 at 11:41 am
I actually like the vignettes. I believe it is a matter of taste. I would also like to see them without, because it would give the photos a different feel. I am totally confused by your info. I am new to photography and just learning the flash. It was way to difficult for me to understand. Is the lens you talk about the same as a polarizing lens?
September 18th, 2011 at 8:39 am
Nice article, I like using this technique for portraits shooting under a tree or overhanging branch, so the sun backlights the leaves and lights everything up
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