CHAPTER 2

Full-Sun Photography

Early morning and late afternoon light is safe, and gives your photos soft, richer tones that are flattering to subjects. In not wanting to miss capturing all of the fun activities that my family engages in under full sun, I’ve learned to appreciate taking shots in this kind of light, embracing the challenges that it presents, which are dealing with over-exposed highlights and heavy contrasts.

Poolside fun makes great full-sun photography subject matter, and the fast shutter speed that’s normal for these lighting conditions serves to capture each water droplet of a splash. I used Lensbaby Optics with my Lensbaby Composer Pro Lens System for both of the swimming shots that follow. The Edge 80 Optic example was shot in very bright, midday light, while the Sweet 35 Optic photo was shot in a shadier spot of the pool.

Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic Lens - This lens allowed me to select the portion of the photo I wished to have in focus (the sweet spot), while blurring the areas outside of the sweet spot. 50mm focal length, ISO 100, f/1.3 for 1/800 sec.

Lensbaby Edge 80 Optic Lens - The lens I used to capture this image allowed me to get a slice of the photo in focus, while blurring the area outside of the slice. 80mm focal length, ISO 100, f/1.3 for 1/3200 sec.

TIPS FOR FULL-SUN PHOTOGRAPHY

• You can play it safe and opt for taking pictures in the shade. Having someone hold a diffuser disc over the subject’s head is another option. If you go into the shade, be sure to choose the shade or cloudy white balance setting to warm your photos up some.
• Use a reflector to bounce natural light onto your subject to soften any harsh shadows (water is a great natural reflector). Another choice is to brighten shadows with external fill flash – which also adds nice catchlights to the eyes. For more information on using external flash, refer to the last chapter: Bag of Tricks.
• Attach a lens hood to avoid lens flare, or be artsy and embrace the lens flare.
• Avoid noon-time sun at all costs, as it comes from directly above and creates unflattering shadows around subjects’ eyes.
• Use Photoshop CS/Elements or the online Pixlr editor to decrease brightness and contrast.

• Apps like PhotoWizard, Leonardo, Photoshop Touch, Photoshop Express, and Photogene 2 have this capability.
• Capture some deep blue sky in your photos—it really makes them pop! Using a polarizing filter when the sun is perpendicular to you (to your left or right) will produce richer blue skies

• The iPhone does a fantastic job of capturing crystal clear blue skies in full sun.
• Notice how full sun plays upon subjects, creating all types of fun shadows and shapes that can add drama to your photos. Experiment with different light sources like dramatic side lighting or backlighting (dramatic backlighting can create an interesting silhouette effect). If you’d rather brighten the subject’s face, use spot metering or use exposure compensation to increase exposure by one to two stops. Fill flash is also a wonderful option for brightening faces.
• I generally stay away from having the light source come from behind me, the photographer, because there are no interesting shadows, full blown light on the subject, and lots of blinking and squinting eyes from the subject(s).
• Make sure your ISO is set as low as it will go. Full sun = low ISO setting. How low can you go? I generally set my ISO speed to 100. Some DSLRs can actually go lower—check your camera instruction manual for details.
• Capture bright colors. They look really juicy in full sun!

Minimalist Capture - I got down on my belly for this. A slice of sun was shining directly on the mushroom, and the background came out dark in the photo. With some tweaking in Photoshop I converted the image to black and white, further darkened the black tones, and applied more black to the background with the Brush Tool, creating a mysterious negative space that both supports my subject and creates a dramatic effect. I bumped up the ISO to get the shot handheld, and embraced the resulting grain, which is reminiscent of film grain. 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 lens at 55mm, ISO 800, f/5.6 for 1/64 sec. with image stabilization.

FUN-IN-THE-SUN SESSION IDEAS

Seek out dappled sunlight patterns and meld your subject with the pattern(s), creating an interesting composition and effect. This is a creative type of photo where ‘wrong feels oh so right.’

Some fun summer subject matter to photograph includes water-play (for adults and kids), sprinklers, pools, lakes, water balloon fights and hoses. Just make sure to protect your lens. I recommend using a telephoto zoom lens so you can zoom in from a safe distance and protect your camera from moisture. Or, purchase a rain sleeve made especially for a DSLR camera. They make waterproof cases for iPhones.

Other ideas:

• goggle shots
• eating ice cream and popsicles. (Photograph a sticky hand holding a dripping popsicle.)
• blowing bubbles
• building sandcastles at the beach