Shooting in direct sunlight: How to harness the power of the sun for outdoor daytime portraits

 

 

Continuing his Laws of Light video series, photographer Jay P. Morgan of The Slanted Lens is covering shooting in direct sun. Shooting in direct sun is challenging for a few different reasons, not the least of which is that the light is typically very harsh, which can easily cause unsightly shadows on your subject. How can you get the best results in direct sun?

Harsh light is not very flattering. There are a few things you can do to alleviate the issue, including finding some shade. What if you can't find shade? You can harness the power of the sun and make it your key light. To help make the harshness less of an issue, you can open up the shadows through the use of a reflector. You can also utilize modifiers to soften the sunlight, including a sun swatter. See these tools in action in Morgan's video below.

(Via The Slanted Lens)