Orion Photo Group Success Story Podcast
Orion Photo Group Success Story Podcast
Mastering Midday Photography: Turning Harsh Sunlight into Artistic Opportunity
Ever been stumped by the glaring midday sun when trying to take that perfect photo? You're not alone, and that's exactly why I'm bringing you the secrets to conquering those bright skies in our latest podcast. I, Jason Group, pull back the curtain on the sophisticated world of flash photography, equipping you with the tools and techniques to transform harsh sunlight into a canvas for your creativity. Whether you're photographing a single subject or a small ensemble, this episode is your golden ticket to capturing beautifully lit images that defy the odds of midday lighting mayhem.
Strap in as we unpack the essentials for flash photography success, from must-have gear to mastering manual exposure and harnessing high-speed sync. The conversation heats up with a deep dive into TTL metering and flash exposure compensation, giving you the power to fine-tune your shots to perfection. Say goodbye to raccoon eyes and blown-out highlights, because after this episode, the only thing more dazzling than the sun will be your photography skills. Join me on this enlightening journey, and let's turn that relentless sun into your photographic ally.
Hey there, welcome to OPG's Tips and Tricks. Here I'm going to share some quick tips and some tricks that I think you'll find very useful. Let's get right to it. Welcome to another episode of Tips and Tricks with the Orion Photo Group. I'm your host, jason Group.
Speaker 1:Today we're going to dive back into the awesome, fascinating world of flash photography and how to overpower the sun. It's a common challenge for photographers in shooting in bright sunlight, but with the right techniques can give you stunning results. In this episode we're going to explore everything you need to know about using flash to master overpowering the sun. Now, why do we need to do something like this? Many, many, many times we find ourselves in midday light going out with a brightened groom or a couple or bridal party or a large group or whatever this tip is going to. I'm going to safely say you should really only use this technique with smaller groups or just a couple or a single person when you want to create something a little more unique, a little outside the box, when you've got terrible lighting conditions. When I say terrible lighting conditions meaning bright, overcast, noon sunlight or just your, it's just you have no shade, no way to find open shade, no way to find anything that's going to give you a little bit of modeling or anything. It's just bright, open. You're in the middle of a field. It's noon. That's a scenario we're talking about here. Bright sunlight can present challenges for all photographers from the harsh shadows to blown out highlights to raccoon eyes. If it's bright sunlight and noon, the sun's right overhead. But you can use this to your advantage, because it's not something that we have the opportunity to, we want to work with on a day-to-day basis.
Speaker 1:We'll discuss the gear that you need and techniques for balancing ambient light and flash and tips to achieve that perfect exposure in any situation. First, you need to understand the situation and the challenge. Shooting in bright sunlight comes with its own set of challenges. The harsh contrast can lead to unflattering shadows and blown out highlights, while the intense light can make it difficult to achieve proper exposure. Understanding the principles of flash photography can help you effectively balance ambient light and flash to create beautifully lit images. So first thing you need is what kind of equipment do we need About to overpower the sun with flash? You'll need the right equipment, and this includes a powerful flash, generally a modifier such as a softbox or an umbrella, and the ability to use high speed sync for faster shutter speeds, and investing in quality equipment is to get the right results is what you're going to need. So this is not a beginner technique. This is an advanced technique, for sure, and here are some techniques to overpower the sun. So there's a bunch of techniques you can use.
Speaker 1:Manual flash exposure gives you full control over the amount of light, while TTL metering automatically adjusts the flash output based on the scenario and experimenting with flash exposure compensation, fec allows you to fine tune the exposure to your liking. So what does that mean? Meaning your camera is going to be in manual mode more likely than not. You're generally going to need to shoot. In most cases, you want to shoot as wide open as you can, and by using TTL, it will give you the opportunity to use high speed sync. So what's going to happen is you're going to choose the exposure you want to take the picture at, and then the flash is going to do the work for the output that you're going to do it at, and generally, with high speed sync, that will allow you to shoot above 1 200th of a second 1 250th of a second If you're just in manual flash mode, not manual camera mode manual flash mode you generally can't go above a 200th or a 250th of a second, depending on your camera usage or the camera that you're using. So you can go higher to 500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, shutter speed, allowing you to choose a more wide open F-stop 2, 8, 2, 0, f4, in that scenario. In that case, stopping down more than that's going to give you a very different look if you're shooting at F11 or F16. That's a whole other look that you can go for. It's going to look very different than anything else that you normally shoot, because most of us are shooting at F4, f5, f6, or much more wide open than that. So your background is going to be a lot more out of focus versus if you shoot at F16, everything's in focus. So those are the things that you need to choose from.
Speaker 1:When you're in TTL mode TTL mode and you're using some flash exposure compensation, you can adjust the flash up and the flash down depending on what you want for your liking. Now, in these cases too, the modifiers that you use are going to make a big difference. In focusing that light. You can go from everything from just straight bare bulb which is very, very popular right now just straight on flash straight into the subject. It's a very harsh look. You can get away with it and you can use a lot less light, obviously, because it's not going through a modifier. You can get away with this generally with younger people. I don't think you want to do this with older people. It's a harsh look, the shadows are very harsh and what it's going to allow you to do is get that bright blue sky and a proper exposure on them and get all the highlights in the dress, in the whites, in the darks, all in one exposure. Otherwise, you're going to blow out the whites, you're going to get crushed blacks and things like that. This is where this scenario really worked. So, shooting scenarios Flash photography can be used in a very variety of shooting scenarios, from portrait to action shots.
Speaker 1:Let's say you want to do some action shots with a couple it's a good way to stop them and shooting portraits in bright sunlight. Positioning the flash properly is crucial to avoid unflattering shadows and generally you want to have it straight onto them or just above them. You can also backlight with them to get a nice effect, while Technique Sisters dragging the shutter can give you blurring motion and you know Generally what you want to do when you want to overpower the sun is and this is how I handle the situation is, especially with any kind of outdoor use and you want to mix flash into it. Establish your exposure first. So when I say that, meaning turn your flash off, figure out what that exposure is going to be.
Speaker 1:So outside, let's say you're in a field, someplace, you're going to be looking at an exposure where you're looking to expose everything around you, maybe not necessarily for the subject, the subject you want to under expose. So I'm looking for a half stop to almost a full stop under to give that dramatic effect. That's where you're going to be looking at how blue is the sky? Am I looking a little under exposed for everything around me? And then the subject you should try and put the sun just slightly behind them. If it's a noon day sun, just try in any way, shape or form to put them in a spot where the sun is slightly behind them. If it's directly above them, it's directly above them. It is what it is, but you want to under expose them. So, whatever that exposure is, where you're half stop off on the couple, you're probably three quarters to a full stop off over the entire exposure and then you want to start bringing the flash in.
Speaker 1:At that point you want to lock in your exposure. Let's say it's something like you're at ISO 250 or 320, your exposure is going to be somewhere around 25 hundredths of a second at F2, 8, maybe a little bit even more than that. And then you want to turn on your flash and start practicing and start adding the flash. You can try things by getting closer and further away, then start taking away, using flash exposure compensation or FEC to under expose. That quite often, just by backing off the flash a little bit and then bringing the FEC down minus a third, minus two thirds, depending on what your flash decides it wants to do. That day is usually the way. What you're going to get as a result is you're going to get a properly exposed image because you've figured out an exposure where the whites aren't blowing out and now you're adding the flash so that your blacks don't get crushed and now you have a properly exposed image. I hope that makes sense. But playing around with it to your desire results is the way to do it.
Speaker 1:But overpowering the sun is a really great technique when you're given a really bad lighting situation for couples and you just want to create something unique. It's very, very. It can look very dreamy, it can look very surreal and it definitely looks very different than what you would get. Sometimes you'll get a little bit of like a shine on their faces makes their skin look almost a little bit more plastic than normal. That's why it really works well for younger people. And then after that, with the Orion photograph, we do all the editing for you. But if you're thinking about this as a portfolio image for yourself, adjusting your exposure and contrast to get what you're looking for, sharpening the image up a little bit, is going to give you some really desired results from what you're looking for.
Speaker 1:Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you can encounter common issues when overpowering the sun over exposure, under exposure, unflattering shadows, and by understanding the root causes of these, by playing them around. Playing around with them is going to get you the results that you're looking for. This is not something that you generally are going to want to do on the fly with a couple. The first time you're already doing. You want to go out with a friend someplace and just play around with the different exposures. Play around.
Speaker 1:Every flash manufacturer works a little differently with your trigger, whether it's Profoto or Geekoto or something else like that, you're always going to have slight quirks in understanding how they work. Generally, with overpowering the sun too, in a situation like that, you generally need to be a little bit closer with the flash more than you think, as opposed to being far away. That's generally the biggest mistake that I see with all of this stuff. Then try with a big modifier. Beauty dish works really well in this situation as well. I really like using a beauty dish. Sometimes. I'll put a little diffusion on the beauty dish. That also helps too. It's just another creative application with using your flash and experimenting with techniques. Giving them something to create, like a stunning landscape with a couple, is a really great way to do it. And taking a bag full of lemons, lighting situation, wise midday sun and creating just something outstanding that they would never ever think to do themselves. That's what sets you apart as the professional. As we wrap up, remember, mastering flash photography takes time and practice. By understanding the principles and techniques that we've discussed, you can create these great images.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to this episode of Tips and Tricks with the Orion Photo Group. I'm Jason Group. Until next time, keep shooting and exploring and playing and practicing. We'll see you on the next episode. Take care everyone. Hey, do you have a tip or trick you want to share with us? Please email me jgroupatorionphotogroupcom. I would love to hear your tips or tricks, and we'll even send you a nice little award for doing so. Until then, thank you.
