5 Photo Tips for shooting photos in the sun

Tip 1 (Look for reflected light): One of the problems with harsh sunlight is that the side facing light gets a sharp glare, while a face or profile in shadow is far more reduced. You can either set up reflectors, or look for a place such as a parking lot or in front of buildings, where there is far more reflected light. This ensures that the images don't have unseemly shadows in some parts.

Tip 2 (Use ND Filters): Using filters can really create some interesting photos with different light affects. These filters help in giving a much bluer look to the photos, with a greater contrast in the photos. You can use a graduated ND filter such as this one - Cokin CH250 P-Series ND Grad Kit

Tip 3 (Use the light to good effect in creating silhouette): The strong light may not help in creating soft portraits, but it sure does help in creating some interesting effects such as silhouettes, when you allow the light to be behind the person. The light creates a great outline of the person, and with some creativity around exposure, you can use multiple people to get some stick like effects.

Tip 4 (Shoot in black and white): With the temptation to get good color contrast, and achieve a high color tonality being difficult in harsh light, the strong light actually aids in achieving a good effect in black and white photos. These black and white photographs are great to emphasize structures, shapes, especially when you are shooting something less curvy, and more stark and sharp.

Tip 5 (Shooting indoors or in areas that typically get less light): There are some advantages to having all that light. There are many places such as small alleys, between tall buildings, and indoors, where the amount of light required for good photos is available only when the sun is overhead, and the light is hard.

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5 photo tips for taking photos in the sun

Tip 1 (Underexpose your photos): If you get too much light in your photo, then you lose detail. It is always slightly better to have a slightly under-exposed photo rather than a over-exposed photo; since you can recover from a slightly under-exposed photo; if you lose detail in a photo, then you cannot recover those details.

Tip 2 (Use polarizing filters): Using polarizing filters can help reduce the amount of light in the photo, and also removing the harsh glare caused by the sun. Tiffen 58MM Circular Polarizer Glass Filter and HOYA 72mm Circularizing Polarizing Filter are two such filters you can use.

Tip 3 (Get your models to look up): In order to avoid the shadow under the eyes caused by the light of the sun, you can be on a higher point than the model. This way this forced the model / person to look up and avoids the shadow. Make sure that you the person is facing away from the sun, else they will have to squint, and this will spoil the photo.

Tip 4 (Don't uner-expose, do light metering): A tip above had mentioned that it is better to under-expose rather than over-expose. This remains correct, but you do need to be a bit careful that you don't under-expose too much. This can cause noise in the photo, so do light metering before you go in for under-exposure.

Tip 5 (Use HDR): Shoot at different levels of exposure, and then combine in a HDR to get an image that has enough detail. Make sure that people in your photos are following the rules about not looking towards the sun, and are not squinting.

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5 photo tips for taking photos at noon

Tip 1 (Look for the shade): Even on a bright sunny day, you will always find places that are in the shade. Being in the shade allows you to be much more comfortable while taking the photo, and there is normally ample light available in the shade.

Tip 2 (Get closer): If you can get closer to the object that you are taking a photo of (obviously, this does not apply if you taking landscape photos), you reduce the probability of getting those unwanted shadows into the photo. As the object of your photo grows larger in your photo, you start to eliminate the sky from the photo.

Tip 3 (Use passing clouds): If you are trying to take a photo at high noon or in broad daylight, keep an eye out for the passage of clouds overhead. For objects such as flowers, nature, and even for elements such as buildings, the passing of clouds reduces the effect of sharp light.

Tip 4 (Use fill flash for portraits): Sounds very strange, with so much bright light, to use the flash of the camera (Fill flash - Fill flash is a photographic technique used to brighten deep shadow areas, typically outdoors on sunny days. To use fill flash, the aperture and shutter speed are adjusted to correctly expose the background, and the flash is fired to lighten the foreground). However, harsh daylight can cause faces and other details to become less clear, and a fill flash enhances those details.

Tip 5 (Avoid pointing the camera to the sun): This is a very important rule. If the sun comes into the photo, then the bright light overshadows everything else, so you will need to plan the light levels properly if you want to have the sun in the photo. The sun in the photo also means that there is a chance of getting a sun flare that can look ugly.

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5 photo tips for taking photos at noon

Tip 1 (Learn about the characteristics of shooting at noon): Shooting at noon is normally avoided since the light is harsh and getting the tonal details is difficult, getting facial photos is difficult because of the shadows of the eyes and nose. However, if you learn more about the characteristics of light at noon, you will be better equipped to shoot at such times.

Tip 2 (Get down to avoid the shadows): In some cases, you should literally take the low perspective. Takes photos by going much lower to the ground, and gettting more of the blue sky in the photos. Doing this ensures that the colors of the photo seem richer.

Tip 3 (Keep the sun behind you): Contrary to opinion, the sun is actually overhead at noon only if you are at the equator. Hence, when shooting, try and keep the sun behind you, since that enables a better coloring of the sky.

Tip 4 (Embrace the harsh light and shadows): Sometimes the harsh light and shadows can enhance the look of a photo. If you are taking a photo of a rugged terrain, then the harsh light and consequent shadows can actually make the photo look better, and convey the impression that you are trying to project.

Tip 5 (Watch for colors): Lighter colors tend to get washed out in the harsh light of noon, but deeper colors such as red and blue tend to look more saturated in this light. You should embrace these colors more, since they will give your photos a richer look, if you need to shoot at noon or when there is harsh light.

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