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Five tips for stunning portraits in harsh midday sun

If there’s anything we can expect outside every day, all day, it’s the sunshine. I don’t know about you guys, but I haven’t seen a single cloud in over a month. When you want to take photos on hot summer days, early morning or late afternoon are certainly the best options. But sometimes you just can’t choose, and the harsh midday sun is the only lighting you’re left with.

The sweat stains you get from the scorching midday sun aren’t the only unflattering thing it gives you. It’s also the worst portrait lighting you can imagine. However, there are ways to work with it and still get some awesome portraits. And in this video from Adorama, Gavin Hoey will give you as many as five ways to do it.[Read More…]

Follow these simple tips to take striking landscape photos in harsh light

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The harsh midday sun is not the favorite light for most photographers. While we talked about it many times in terms of portrait photography, we haven’t often mentioned how challenging it can be for landscapes. Well, Nigel Danson reflects on it in his video. He takes you on a walk through a forest with him, sharing a few simple, but powerful tips for getting striking landscape photos even in the midday sun.

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Harsh sunlight? No problem: this AI removes all those unwanted shadows

Shooting portraits in direct sunlight can be pretty challenging, and those harsh shadows on the face are likely not something you’ll want to see on your model’s face. Well, if you’re not up for old-school solutions, artificial intelligence comes to the rescue. A group of scientists has created an algorithm that removes all those unwanted shadows in a matter of seconds.

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Four quick and helpful tips for shooting in natural light

Shooting outdoors with natural light only can be demanding and tricky, especially if you’re shooting on a sunny day. But, although it’s challenging, it’s definitely not impossible to take impressive portraits even in the harsh midday sun. In this video, Miguel Quiles teams up with Dan and Sally Watson to bring you four quick and useful tips for shooting when you’ve got nothing but sunlight available.

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The complete guide on photographing in harsh sunlight

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With a heatwave rolling over America & Europe, photographers are going to be dealing with some pretty direct light. Here are some tips about dealing with harsh shadows and high contrast.

This blog is pretty good timing, as I have just come back from a shoot in the UK. 10 lucky winners in association with Sigma UK and Amateur Photography Magazine, had won the chance to come down to London and photograph two traditional Geisha (Mai Watanabe and Chiyono Watanabe.) I was asked to set up the shoot & help with the lighting as part of the day.

Photographing Geisha’s on a London Rooftop with the direct & bright sun was not ideal. But with some thinking, we worked out a set up that was pretty good. The main objective of the shot was to show the color of the face and keep the flat color tones. I wanted to show the makeup as much as possible. Getting the image as soft as possible while still showing the colors in the silk was another objective. The bright sunlight was very overpowering and creating deep shadows.

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