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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5 Photo tips for morning / sunrise photos

Tip 1 (Shoot beaches in the morning): Getting good shots of beaches, especially the play of water over the sand, is fun. However, in the harsh light, the whole scene tends to get a bit flattened. Shooting at the beach in the morning enhances the effect of the play of water and sand, and you can capture the texture of the sand particles much better. Plus, there is less chance of their being garbage being thrown by people, and less crowds.

Tip 2 (Dew laden plants): In the morning, plants look fresher, and the presence of dew on the leaves, and on the tips of the petals of flowers can give a great look. If you use a macro lens, the dew at certain angles combined with the slanting rays of the sun can shine.

Tip 3 (Inspiring photos): Photos of people exercising are always inspiring. Capturing the photos of people working out, jogging, or other such exercise when the sun is just coming up gives you a good collection of such photos. In addition, if you collect stock photos, the light can help hide the face while enhancing the outline of the human body.

Tip 4 (Shooting from a low height): Given that shadows in the morning are longer, and the contrast between the shadow and light is not as stark or sharp as it is in the daytime, you can get some great photos where there is a low height sun on the horizon, and long shadows on the ground.

Tip 5 (Take photos from inside): Consider yourself inside a room where the sun is just starting to enter throug the window. Go close to the window and look at what you see. If you do this on a regular basis, you will start to see some great scenes to photo. If you are near a garden or park, you will be able to see some potentially great bird photos, or you can see people going about a routine that you would not be able to see during the daytime, or you can get photos of the play of the sun over neighboring buildings or similar structures. Even a simple photo of the comparative darkness of the area around the window compared to emerging light outside can come out great.

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5 Photo tips (centered around the morning and daybreak)

Tip 1 (Use weather reports): There is nothing more frustrating than getting up early in the morning for some good sunrise photos, and then getting thwarted by clouds or bad weather. Even while developing patience is a good thing, you should read up about local weather, to make sure that you know what the weather is going to be like.

Tip 2 (Getting a good sunrise photo): Related to the above point, clouds are not bad altogether. If you don't have totally overcast conditions, with some cloud cover, then you can get some great photos. The clouds, tinged with color from the rising sun, as well as the sun playing hide-and-seek among clouds can give some great photos.

Tip 3 (Look for morning shadows): The shadows tend to be much longer at sunrise and sunset, and there are some pretty amazing looking photos you can get if you try and get the play of light and shadows in your photos.

Tip 4 (Look for a body of water): If you are near a lake, river, or other water body such as sea / ocean, the photos you get of the rising sun (or setting sun) over the water looks superb. Even if you can see a huge number of photos of the similar subject, they are still great photos to take to improve your collection.

Tip 5 (Taking light readings): If you are sufficiently professional enough to take light readings when you shoot, don't do so directly for a location with the rays of the rising sun. Take light readings of nearby areas (such as water that is starting to get lit by the sun, or of the sky, or buildings where the sun is not directly lighting up the outside wall). And then, take a number of photos to check which reading gives you the best photo.