Shooting on a sunny day. Secrets of successful portrait photography in bright sun How to photograph on a sunny day without a reflector

How to take pictures with flash during the day and why use flash during the day?

The question seems meaningless, but when it comes to practice, it turns out that flash, even on the sunniest day, can be an indispensable tool in the hands of a photographer.

In general, it is generally accepted that flash helps when there is little light, i.e. serves as an additional light source in poor lighting - in the evening, at night, in the house, in the shade of trees, in cloudy weather. But when there is a lot of light, it can and should be used too. As they say, there is never too much good light.

So during the day a flash is needed as soften shadows away from the sun or other strong and harsh light sources. Flash is mostly used during the day for photographing portraits. The harsh light of the sun can make very strong shadows on people's faces. Flash can soften these shadows.

Suppressing shadows on people's faces in high-speed sync mode

True, there are some restrictions on working with flash during the day. For photographing portraits, it is recommended to use fast lenses. For example, a lens with an F2.8 aperture and ISO set to 200 will require about 1/2000s-1/4000s on a sunny day. But there is flash sync concept with the camera shutter and often this synchronization rests on a certain limit. Basically, built-in flashes can work with shutter speeds no shorter than 1/200, 1/250s, or 1/320s, of course there are exceptions - this, etc. which can use shutter speeds up to 1/500s, but still, these are too long to photograph in daylight. But even if you have one, you can take photographs at shorter shutter speeds only if your camera allows it.

Attention: Not a single built-in flash on any central control unit can work normally with shutter speeds shorter than 1/500s. The built-in flash of any central control unit does not have a fast sync mode.

Attention: High-speed sync mode is available on many cameras only in P,A,S,M mode.

An example of a portrait during the day. Flash on camera with diffuser card. Flash reduces the volume of the image, but adds contrast and color.

In order to be able to use flash with very short shutter speeds, it was created fast sync mode, which is for different cameras different manufacturers called differently. For Nikon it is FP (fast pulse, fast sync), it allows you to use flashes and synchronize them with shutter speeds up to 1/8000s.

To be able to use this mode- need to:

1. For the camera to support fast sync mode
2. For the flash to support fast sync mode

Not all cameras can use this mode - these mainly include advanced amateur cameras and all full-frame digital SLRs.

Here's the exact one list of Nikon central control units that support the mode FP:

Flash during the day. Shot with flash in FP mode, positioned at the top left of the model to create the desired lighting.

As you can see, the choice among Nikon cameras is small. Younger cameras do not have this mode, which will not allow you to take photographs with a flash and a small one. But this is not a problem, since you can use neutral density filters to reduce . Polarizing filters also reduce shutter speed. Usually the need for flash during the day is very small.

Flash during the day allows you to get a high-key portrait.

Not all flashes support this mode– small external flash units SB-300 cannot work in this mode. Nikon and SB-5000 work without problems with FP mode. These flashes can operate at shutter speeds up to 1/8000. Many third-party flashes also support FP mode, but it is often called something else, for example the flash has an HSS mode, which is exactly the same as FP mode.

When photographing during the day with flash, you need to remember that short and bright lighting requires a lot of energy from the flash. It's funny, but the flash in high-speed sync mode recharges faster than in normal mode, this is due to the unusual flash system in FP mode.

Portrait during the day. The flash sometimes produces extra highlights and can itself produce extra shadows.

If you have an advanced camera with fast sync mode, then most likely there is a built-in flash. This will allow you to use your external flash in remote control mode using the . That is, it will be possible to apply light at the desired angle and thereby create an excellent artistic photograph. I advise you to experiment with photographs with a flash against the sun to understand how effective the flash is in the daytime. For example, in the photo below, the girl is illuminated by backlight (strong side light), if I had not used the flash, I would have gotten a dark face. With the flash it turned out completely differently. However, using a flash on a camera can lead to loss of volume in the photo.

Flash during the day in strong side light of the sun.

Whether it is worth using light diffusers for the flash or reflector cards - you need to look at the circumstances. As practice shows, sometimes it is very effective head-on flash in daylight, which is unacceptable when photographing people, for example, at night. When using a light diffuser, the guide number of the flash is lost, which, even with fast synchronization, is less than usual. With fast synchronization, the flash makes a series of pulses with a huge frequency (about 50 KHz), the human eye does not see this, but at the same time the distance from which the flash can illuminate the subject is reduced. You can read how to increase the range of the flash in the section.

High speed synchronization. The flash highlighted the subject and added contrast.

Conclusions:

The flash during the day is the same useful thing, like the flash at night, the main thing is to set it up correctly and remember that to get good pictures it would be nice to have a fast synchronization mode between the flash and the camera.

Help the project. Thank you for your attention. Arkady Shapoval.

When photographing in front of the sun, we often get pictures with too high contrast, lens flare, and oversaturated colors. But with the right approach, you can get interesting and high-quality photographs. Read on for 10 tips on how to do this.

1. Step into the shadows. The simplest thing is to step into the shadows with your subject (of course, if this is possible, for example, if this is the person whose portrait you want to take).

2. Create your own shadow. If the subject cannot be moved into the shadow, create the shadow yourself, for example, when doing macro photography, if you are photographing a flower or some other small object. Or use improvised means with which you can create shadow, such as an umbrella.

3. Use flash . Many of us know that you need to take pictures with your back to the sun; in this case, the subject will be well lit. But sometimes pictures taken in front of the sun can be simply magnificent and interesting, the main thing in this case is to use a flash, which will help illuminate all the objects that, due to the bright sun, would look dark without using a flash.

4. Use a reflector. Another way to lighten shadows caused by bright sunlight is to use a reflector. In addition to the fact that it will illuminate all the shaded areas in the picture, it will also help to photograph in front of the sun.

5. Change your perspective. You can't always move your subject, but you can move around it yourself. You can take a photo from above or below, this will help change the angle of incidence sun rays both on the subject and on the camera.

6. Use a lens hood. If the camera came with a lens hood, use it; if it wasn’t, you can use whatever is at hand that can create a shadow over the lens, including the hand itself, and use it as a visor for the lens. The main thing is to make sure that the improvised lens hood does not get into the frame and ruin it.

7. Filters. The filter is also useful when taking photos on a bright sunny day. You can use a polarizing filter to help reduce glare and help reduce the amount of light entering the lens so you can use a slow shutter speed or shutter speed. You can also control the colors in a future photo using a polarizing filter.

8. Play with white balance. Most cameras allow you to change the white balance. Even if you can later adjust it in Photoshop on the finished frame (especially if you take pictures in RAW), still experiment with manual settings, you may get pictures that do not require any adjustments in any programs.

Having taken plenty of photographs on your vacation spent on the seashore, you got to the computer, “dropped” your photos and began viewing them on a large monitor... You are surprised by the excessive contrast of your photos, flat faces, very dark shadows and an abundance of overexposure in your photographs? What's the problem? How could this happen - after all, there is never too much light...

Summer, sea, beach and camera

Summer, sea, beach... It seems this is the best time and place to practice photography. A bright sunny day allows you to forget about the shortcomings of any, even the simplest camera. Now you can forget about the limitations of not very and forcedly high values, because there is never too much light, right?

Yes, this is true, but the light varies. On a bright sunny day there is really a lot of light... unsuitable for high-quality photography!

Unfortunately, the amount of light does not always automatically lead to high-quality photographs. Often, when you photograph a portrait on a bright sunny day, problems arise. When the sun is high above the horizon, the light falls almost vertically and the shadows of objects become very short - the volume of the light-shadow pattern is lost.

In addition, the bright sun makes the photos very contrasty. These contrasting shadows mixed with bright spots of light spoil your photos even more. And the model’s facial expression in such bright sunlight often looks like a grimace due to the characteristic squint of the sun...

To avoid overexposure and very contrasting shadows in your photographs taken on the beach, summer photography by the sea should be carried out when the sun has not yet reached its zenith - the highest point above the horizon - i.e. in the morning before 11 pm and/or in the evening after 4 pm.

In the summer in the south at this time the angle between the line of sight to the sun and the horizon is 30-40°. If this angle is larger, then it will not be possible to get a high-quality portrait on the beach without much difficulty!

It is also very good if the sky is covered with a lot of clouds. In this case, the bright sunlight is scattered and becomes not so bright, and the shadows, in turn, are not so contrasting.

This is the simplest solution for summer photography on the seashore, however, you will have to wait... But you can get great portrait shots in bright sunshine if you use some But before you know the features of photography on a hot sunny day, think about your camera:

Take care of your camera when taking photos on the beach!

If you are photographing on the beach, I strongly advise you to protect your camera from salt spray and sand. Both can damage not only the lens lenses, but also the high-precision camera mechanisms. I’m generally silent about the electronic content of the camera: o(

Don't leave your camera in the sun for at least three reasons:
- firstly, if the camera lies motionless in the sun for a long time, the sun's rays can be focused by the lens lenses and damage the shutter or camera matrix.
- secondly, elevated temperature your camera (and the matrix as well) will lead to terrible ones even at low ISO values.
- thirdly, the plastic parts of the camera can simply become damaged due to overheating...

The best way to improve your results is to take the photo at a time when natural light is more attractive (earlier or later in the day). However, going for photography at the right time doesn’t always work out.

If the only convenient time for you and your subject is to shoot at midday in bright sun, then be sure to remember the tips below. They will help you make your afternoon photo shoot as productive as possible.

Take photos in the shade

If possible, try to work in the shade to avoid direct sunlight. Making sure that both the subject and the background are equally lit will help you avoid problems with unbalanced exposure. Deep shadows can cause a blue tint, so adjust your white balance to compensate.

(module Yandex direct (7))

Use a reflector

Position your subject with their back to the sun so that direct rays do not hit their face. This will also create an attractive lighting effect around your model. The reflector must be installed opposite the object so that the light, when reflected, illuminates the face.

Flash

Using a reflector may not always be convenient without assistance, so use your flash to illuminate the subject. The model also stands with her back to the sun, the light from the flash evenly illuminates her face. To get the most successful shot, it is better to set the exposure several stops below zero. Check the result and make sure that the image was not too overexposed or, on the contrary, dark. If necessary, adjust exposure compensation again.

It would seem that the camera easily captures everything that it “sees,” but this is not at all the case. Remove bright light sources and modern technology quite difficult, and before the advent of antireflection films, this task generally seemed impossible.

The light, repeatedly reflected and refracted, scattered almost until it completely disappeared - the desired shots were hopelessly ruined. Modern technologies have simplified this task - light loss due to reflection from the surface of lenses has been reduced, the effects of glare and reflections have been reduced to almost nothing, and some inventive photo artists have turned them into real visual techniques. Of course, there is something in this - such shots look truly original and unusual.

However, getting “clean” images of the solar disk is still not so easy. Not all photographers can achieve beautiful pictures in backlight - to capture the sun without flare, you need to try very hard. But the result is worth it - such photographs turn out magical, images of the sun are mesmerizing and attract the attention of viewers. Is it possible to learn how to take pictures with the sun's disk? Of course, we will help you with this too!

Rules for shooting the sun

It is not very easy to create a beautiful frame with a luminary - as a rule, it is located incredibly far from objects that could form a composition with it. We have to wait until the solar disk approaches the horizon and the objects that we also want to photograph. And you need to take into account that the brightness of the sun does not contribute to its photogenicity. In this regard, the fact that it should decrease somewhat even plays into our hands.

It is almost impossible to photograph the midday luminary. The brightness interval between it and objects on the ground is excessively large - a photographic emulsion simply cannot cope with such a task. Morning and evening sun are a different matter. During these hours, almost anyone can look at the sun even without glasses. Please note that in the evening hours it seems softer - this is due to a suspension of smoke and dust, which naturally dissipates only in the morning. Thus, the morning sun is brighter than the evening sun - in fact, it is simply more visible due to the absence of this improvised filter.

In windy weather, being outside the city, you can take good shots both in the morning and in the evening. To get the most interesting result, you need to take into account the wind rose. It is known that where westerly winds prevail, sunset photographs are the most colorful. In this situation, the solar disk will set in the clouds - shots with clouds colored by sunset rays will turn out incredibly spectacular.

Want to experiment? Focus the camera not on the sun's disk, but on the object in front of it. This way the sun will lose its clarity and brightness, but will become an excellent background.

The closer the aiming plane is to the lens and the wider the aperture is open, the more spectacular the photo will be - you can watch how the image changes directly in the DSLR viewfinder.

Secrets of shooting during the day

If photography is carried out during the daytime, when the sun's disk is still high and bright, you can use some tricks. For example, partially obscure the light with foliage or another object.

For those who like experimenting, we suggest using a wide-angle lens, a red filter and Vaseline. By applying a few strokes of Vaseline to the surface of the filter, you can get a truly magical result. Sunlight, refracting through the cream, will “draw” its own pattern on the photo. Thin intersecting strokes create the effect of diverging rays, thicker traces of Vaseline will disperse the rays, making them wider and more confident.

Having “caught” the light, experiment with the shapes: the rays can be crossed or even put into a star shape.
However, it will not be possible to surprise a sophisticated viewer with such a technique - such photographs come out too memorable. Seeing them for the first time, they will be admired; repetitions will seem boring. And further similar frames will be completely ignored, since they will be considered copies. Any visual technique should not only be new, but also appropriate - do not forget about this simple truth.

Try another discovery - photograph not the sun itself, but its reflection in the water.

Firstly, it's original because the water breaks reflected light for many rays, and secondly, it is a little easier, since the reflection is not as bright as the original. Ripples from the wind will have one effect, a stone thrown into the water will have another. If you disturb the water surface right at the place of reflection, the frame will get an interesting relief and effectiveness. Professionals prefer to work in such conditions with short-focus lenses with a red, orange or polarizing filter - this will make the pictures more graphic and clearer.

If during the shooting process the matte viewfinder still “catches” glare, you will have to use a trick. Collect all the highlights into one along the optical axis, connect them with the sun - and the frame can be considered saved, of course, after cropping during printing.

Highlights

However, there is one thing that is difficult to predict when shooting, especially if you do not yet have much experience. The frame can be exposed not through the lens, but through inner surface space between the film and the lens when exposed to light. This happens because the image that the lens projects onto the film is larger than the frame window. Light passing through the lens is reflected from internal parts and illuminates the film at the time of exposure. Such situations are not visible in the viewfinder, and therefore often come as a surprise even to professionals.

The edges of the image are in the greatest risk zone, so when shooting from the back, it is better to place the sun in the center of the composition. Or cheat by trying to hide part of the solar disk behind objects that can cover it: leaves, buildings, etc.

Bottom line

Do not forget to take frames - this can not only save the picture, but will also significantly improve it with appropriate processing. It’s best to order correction of your shots and you will definitely be pleased with the result!