How to Photograph in Direct Light

Sometimes we have to pick our battles. As photographers some locations and shoots end up with direct, harsh light. Knowing how to work around such conditions is easy, so I will show you the different ways to capture a subject and work around the sun.

When you start out at your location, observe your surroundings. If the sun is above you or mostly above you, you and your subject will be under direct light. My subject for this blog: My unwilling, annoying, prince charming of a fiance. All the images I took are completely unedited with the exception of the watermark.

I started out with my subject facing the sun. In the image to the right, his eyes became more squinty and harsh shadows crossed his face in unpleasant ways. I had to adjust the aperture a lot to overcompensate and it still came out extremely bright.

So I moved my subject to the side where the sun was to the right of us. The image to the left was just a little better with aperture, but cast very unpleasant shadows.


The last  photo I took, the image to the right, I moved my subject to where I was facing the sun. Although it was hard to see for me, my subject was angled properly. The sun wrapped around his shoulders just enough but did not disfigure his face and make the colors funky.


IF you have the option of capturing your subjects in the shade, I highly recommend it. Even then, be aware of the sun's location. In the image to the left, my subject is shaded, but the sun is so bright it comes through the leaves in spots and still casts a shadow.

As a rule when shooting in direct sunlight, always face your subject with the sun behind them, like in the image to the right.