Dealing With Glaring Sun, no Clouds

[William Baroo]

Yesterday, I took a 24-70mm out and tried to take shots in my yard, which is a small farm. It was in the late afternoon, so the sun was shining pretty much sideways. There were no clouds at all, the the sun seemed to bleach all the color out of the trees. I shot a lot of garbage in order to learn about my camera and lens anyway.

What's the first angle of attack for days like this? Adjusting photos in post? Polarizing filter? Lens hood?

 

[CherylL]

Afternoon harsh sunlight is hard. Those times of days I look for a subject in full shade. I prefer early evening for the best light for portraits. If I want a scenic type photo in the middle of the day then I have the sun at my back.

 

[William Baroo]

Thanks. So I was out too early.

 

[Scott Whaley]

I agree. Early evening is the golden hour for photography. Keep the sun to your back. I tend to shoot with a really high shutter speed and keep the ISO really low.

 

[William Baroo]

So right when the bugs come out to bite. Oh, well.

 

[wfooshee]

Full sunlight is more difficult to expose for than you'd think, especially if the sky is hazy. Details in the tree could be lost in their own shadows if the sky is properly exposed, or the sky would be washed out if exposed for the shadows within and under the trees. That may be what you're describing as the color being "bleached out."

 

[snowbear]

Thanks. So I was out too early.

Or too late.

 

[William Baroo]

When I say things were bleached out, I mean the sun was extremely bright so that when I looked around without the camera, the light was very harsh. It made the leaves on the trees look silvery, and not in a good way.

 

[Ysarex]

Yesterday, I took a 24-70mm out and tried to take shots in my yard, which is a small farm. It was in the late afternoon, so the sun was shining pretty much sideways. There were no clouds at all, the the sun seemed to bleach all the color out of the trees. I shot a lot of garbage in order to learn about my camera and lens anyway.

What's the first angle of attack for days like this? Adjusting photos in post? Polarizing filter? Lens hood?

Save a raw file and process: Photograph just about whatever you want in just about any lighting condition. Harsh bright-sun sidelight is no problem.

Here's an example:
Sometimes all you get is the light you're given. I took my wife to an appointment two months ago and had to wait. Looked across the street and there was an abandoned mall -- I'm going there (always have a camera).

The light was harsh afternoon sun and in the photo here it was partial backlight which is adverse lighting. The foreground is washed out, the bldg. facade is in shade, the sky is too light -- hard if not impossible for the embedded camera software. But easy processing a raw file.

First photo below is the photo I took and below that is the SOOC JPEG (resized only). HERE'S THE POINT: Nothing could be done with the picture controls in the camera to adjust the camera final output image to come anywhere close to the photo I took. That capability is not built into the camera and all the camera can do is produce one or another sh*ty photo in that adverse lighting. But easy processing a raw file.