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How to Get Great Outdoor Photos Using the Sun
Written: January 29th, 2010
This article is filed in the Taking Better Photographs category
The conventional wisdom in outdoor photography dictates that a subject should be well lit by the sun so that all the details of the subject can easily be seen in the photo. The easiest way to do this is by placing the sun at your (the photographer’s) back, so that the sun lights up your subject from a high front angle. There’s nothing necessarily wrong about this method. But we want to push the limits of of photographic skills, right? Right! So, here’s a tip to help you get more interesting outdoor photos, especially outdoor portraits.
The Hair Light provides nice highlights on the hair and shoulders of the subject
In the studio I, like most photographers, use a “hair light” for portraits. A hair light is a light that’s placed above and slightly behind a subject’s head. Done correctly, it creates a nice soft glow on the head and shoulders of a person. For female portraits, the effect is especially flattering, as it highlights the hair. But not only does a hair light create a flattering hair effect, it also helps separate the subject from the background. In this example, the hair light also highlights the shoulders too for a nice effect.
But of course, we can’t move the sun like we can a strobe when we’re in the studio. But, we can move our subject. If we break conventional wisdom, and turn our subject so their back is to the sun, and we are shooting into the sun we’ll get the “hair light” effect we are looking for. However, our cameras do not like to shoot into the sun. Unless you manually dial the exposure to the level of the back-lit subject (i.e. their face) the camera will likely auto-adjust to compensate for the bright background. Your subject’s face and front side will be too dark, possibly even silhouetted. And if you do manually adjust the metering for the subject’s face, the background will be overexposed. So how do we achieve a nice balance?
Using the sun as a hair light in a shadowed area under a tree provides a similar effect as a studio hair light.
The answer is by using “fill” light. By using a flash (or a reflector) we can put some light into the dark areas of our subject. The sun acts as the back/hair light, and our flash or reflector acts as the primary fill light. In the example above, we were under the shade of a tree, yet we had a stream of sunlight coming in down through the trees. Without some front-side fill light the face and features of my subject would’ve been too dark.
There are times when the subject is meant to be too dark. For example, this scene of the beach has a dramatic effect as the camera was pointed toward the sun.
When the sun is in the scene, be carefull of lens flare.
If the sun is in your scene, beware of lens flare. You can end up with streaks across the image which decrease contrast. Or you can end up with lens flare artifacts – bubbles of light on your photos that are caused by reflections within the camera. One way of avoiding this is to shield the sun behind something (like a tree or someone’s head).
As with all my photography tips, the best way to achieve good results is by trial and error. Just playing around with your camera and learning all the settings will help you get used to shooting photos in a variety of lighting conditions. So get out there, and have fun!
What Should I Look For In A New Camera?
Written: December 10th, 2009
This article is filed in the Photography Cameras and Equipment category
Looking for a new camera? Do you want good pictures without having to have a college degree in photography and light theory? You are not alone. I often have people ask me to make recommendations for what type of camera to purchase. I’ll attempt to keep my answer brief and not too technical.
Your first decision should be how much do you want to be able to control the picture? Do you simply want to point at a scene and shoot a basic picture? Or do you want some control, so you can experiment and play with exposure settings, or zoom in and get close-ups? The more control you have with your camera’s exposure settings (shutter speed, ISO, and aperture) and lens settings the better your photos will look. The price of DSLRs (Digital, Single Lens Reflex – The ones where you can interchange the lenses…) have dropped and become much more in the reach of the average digital photographer’s budget. Many great DSLRs can be purchased for $400 to $700.
If you simply want a camera that’s portable and always at your disposal, you probably want a simple point-and-shoot. Because they are so automated, they are easy to use and get relatively good results. However, even if you are aren’t a pro you should consider a DSLR. DSLRs are typically more expensive than Point-and-Shoot style cameras, but for good reason. DSLRs have many more optional settings and flexibility with exchangeable lenses and exposure settings. Generally speaking, DSLRs are worth the money… If you want the extra horsepower or control over your photos, and would like to take your picture quality to a higher level. And, if you are interested in shooting sports, you’ll definitely want a DSLR. You’ll be very disappointed trying to shoot your kids’ sporting events with a pocket point-and-shoot.
Are Megapixels Everything?
Most people think that the higher the megapixel rating, the better the camera. This is one of the most commonly mis-perceived notions with digital photography. The fact is that megapixels are NOT everything. Despite point and shoot cameras now coming with up to 10 megapixels their quality level is not necessarily as good as a DSLR with only 6 or 8 megapixels. But, it’s difficult to advertise the nuances of megapixel ratings, so marketers point stick to the easy numbers. Just remember that megapixels are not everything.
There are many reason for this fact. The main reason is the size of the image sensor. The image sensor used in point and shoot digital cameras is generally much smaller than the image sensor used in a DSLR (the difference is often as much as 25 times). This means that the smaller pixels on a point and shoot camera collect fewer photons (they are less sensitive to light). Because of this, point and shoot cameras need to work at higher ISO levels which means that they produce ‘noisier’ (or more grainy) shots. A lot more could be said on sensor size – but trust me, smaller sensors significantly reduce the quality of an image. I’d much rather have a camera with less megapixels and a larger image sensor than the other way around.
So, since a DSLR will take better pictures, does that mean I hate point-and-shoot cameras? On the contrary. I think point-and-shoot cameras have a definite place. I actually own both a point-and-shoot, and DSLR cameras. It’s nice to have the point-and-shoot camera in the glove box so that when I don’t feel like dragging along the big camera bag, I still have an option. But, for higher quality photos, I always bring along my DSLR camera.
So what DSLR do I recommend?
I am a Nikon fan myself but Canon currently has a little better high-end DSLR in their line-up. This is not to say that Canon is better than Nikon. Down in the regular, “Average Joe” user range, it’s about a wash. And, there are many other great DSLR cameras made by manufacturers such as Sony, Minolta, and Kodak. Here are a few specific models that are rated very well. These cameras are all in the $400-$600 range:
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi
Nikon D3000
Pentax K2000 Digital SLR
Sony Alpha A230 Digital SLR
Olympus E-System E-520 SLR Digital Camera
When shopping for a camera, look beyond the megapixel rating, and try the camera out at the store before you purchase it. Don’t be afraid to ask the salesperson questions, and have fun!