I was taking some pics of my nephew this weekend and ran into a situation I didn't know how to deal with. It was late afternoon, so lighting was between harsh and perfect. But when trying to shoot "into" the sun I needed such a fast shutter speed that using fill flash would not work. This was with my 85 1.8, wide open. Yes, I know I could have used a smaller aperture, but then I would lose the bokeh.

Some shots using the sun:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68088083@N00/2571450771/" title="Aaron - Long Beach - June 2008 by MoeRonn, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/2571450771_7ae4ece001_b.jpg" width="683" height="1024" alt="Aaron - Long Beach - June 2008" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68088083@N00/2571442455/" title="Aaron - Long Beach June 2008 by MoeRonn, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3182/2571442455_6ed89ca5e2_b.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="Aaron - Long Beach June 2008" /></a>

And, yes - his parents need to brush his hair.

 

ND filter? ...i keep my 2x ND filter on 99% of the time...especially when i shot my son's baseball games and it was very sunny out...

 

One of these days I'm going to need to invest in some fliters. In this case, I probably needed more than 3 stops.

 

i dont see how a nd filter would help in this case.

and why wouldn't the fill flash work? just turn on high speed sync, and maybe dial down the FEC so the flash wont be noticeable.
(this is of course with a speedlite, the built in flash i wouldnt bother)

 

Maybe I need to read the manuals a bit more, but I thought the 430 EX could only sync up to 1/250. My shutter speeds were > 1/1000.

 

the lightening bolt with the H next to it, is high speed sync, it allows you to shoot with faster shutter speeds than the flash sync.

 

Hmmm... Like I said, I need to read the manuals a bit more

 

Here is a picture i took of some chick, you can tell i used flash in the shot despite the 1/640th shutter speed.


Camera Make: Canon
Camera Model: Canon EOS 40D
Image Date: 2008:05:30 12:52:53
Flash Used: Yes (Manual)
Focal Length: 45.0mm
CCD Width: 3.05mm
Exposure Time: 0.0016 s (1/640)
Aperture: f/4.0
ISO equiv: 200
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: aperture priority (semi-auto)

 

wish i had noticed the hair in front of her face before she took off for class

 

Honestly, I noticed the "catch light" (and your reflection) in her sun glasses more than the hair.

Still, nice capture. ANd you should have gotten her number instad of retaking the pic

 

Yeah....you did a great job drawing all the attention right to her nose...

 

you have 3 options for dealing with hard light.


1) GIANT silk/diffusion like 6x6 or larger to cover the subject and even them out.

2) A bounce card/bead board/reflector to catch fill in the shadows

3) A VERY strong light source (like 5k or higher) so create fill.

 

I run into this problem a lot. I keep my screen on Show Highlights and also use the histogram to find out if I've blown anything out. During hard light conditions like on a airport tarmac or beach I can't seem to prevent it, even after dialing down two or three stops.

What is the basic setting for this type of condition? Fast shutter? Wide open aperture? I keep the speed as low as I can (200). What else can I do?

 

I would say the best way to do it is to wait for a cloud to soften up the light. It'll act as that big diffuser. Only problem with that is you have short windows to shoot (if there are clouds at all).


I don't think the sun was too harsh on the second picture. 85 f1.8 is fabulous. I don't think you'll have a drop in Bokeh with the dof you're shooting. It's pretty darn sharp wide open too!

There was actually someone on the POTN forum that correct sunlight in Photoshop. I don't know his technique but it's solid work.

Yours might a bit more difficult as the sun isn't isolated.

 

^^ I actually liked the way the shots I took (above) came out. It was when shooting into the sun - i.e. sun at my nephew's back - where I was having trouble. It was a bright, cloudless day and I really wanted to keep the aperture wide open, though I could have easily stopped it down a bit.

 

Shooting into the sun is always hard, especially for non still life. I try to stay away from that unless it's a sunrise / sunset or I'm going for a specific look. I guess the only direct sunlight issue other than harshness is the squinting it'll cause.. which in your case was not an issue.

 

crank up the FEC and/or open the aperture. thats how i deal with it then fine tune in post.

 

When doing to garden workshop, even thought we were shooting in the magic hours, the lighting was amped. Using diffusers and reflectors was the only way to beat it. The guy doing the workshop had about five of them for us to use.


These were handhand ones, that opened into three to four foot circles. And reflectors that opened smaller. These are the next on my listed to be carried with my bag.

 

Did you have assistants helping you hold the diffusers?

 

It was me, one hand holding and hand shooting mostly. When using tripod I'd set up the shot, then hold the diffuser to where I wanted it and reached back it hit the shutter with a 10 second delay.

I did assist others and on a few shots was assisted. It was my first time using them and they were great.

 

Well, this wasn't really a "photo shoot." They were just in town and we met for lunch before I took them to the airport. I usually take my camera with me when the nephew is around, but didn't know we would end up at the beach. Plus, it's difficult enough keeping him in the frame without dealing with other accessories.

I do appreciate the input and it will come in handy in the future. It just wouldn't have really worked in this situation.

 

I know what you mean, I was shooting little league last night, nothing I could do. As small as they fold up, I'll be getting one to keep in my backpack so when I can control it. The fold almost flat but spring open to be a two or three foot circle.

 

do u guys use a filter shooting sunsets? this is basically shooting directing at the sun..