How to shoot in midday

[giulio1993]

Hello!
I do know that midday is the worst time to photograph but the next week I'm going to Munich with my class and I won't be able to wait for the perfect time. We'll go out of the hotel at around 9 and we'll get back at around 18. We're also visiting the amazing Neuschwanstein and I really don't want to miss a similar shot it but we'll probably get that view at around 12.
Any advice?
Could a polarizer help? If yes, how should I use it?

Thanks

 

[tirediron]

A polarizer will give the greatest effect when the sun is low on the horizon and close to 90 deg to the lens axis. The higher in the sky, and/or closer to the lens axis the less the effect. At noon, there will be little to no apparent effect on the image. Bring/beg/borrow/steal a tripod and try some HDRs. Also bring along a couple of stops of G-ND.

 

[bazooka]

Tired, perhaps you can school me on CPL's, but when the sun is directly overhead, if you are shooting toward the horizon in any direction you are at 90 degrees to the direction of the light and would therefore obtain the greatest effect. Is this incorrect?

 

[Big Mike]

I was going to say the same thing. If the sun is directly above you, and you are shooting horizontally, then you are shooting at 90 degrees to the sun's rays, and thus you should be able to get maximum effect....but only on the part of the sky that is directly in front of you. As you include more of the sky in the shot, the angle gets closer to the sun, reducing what you can do with the polarizer.

Long store short...yes, get a polarizer. It's a great tool and you'll be glad you have it with you. Just remember to take it off when you go indoors and need the extra light for a faster shutter speed.

 

[gsgary]

Sorry to burst your bubble but it is not that amazing i was very dissapointed

 

[KmH]

True the sun is 90° to the lens axis when overhead mid-day, but the difference is how much atmosphere the sunlight goes through.

When the sun is less than 30° above the horizon the atmosphere is about 3 times thicker than when the sun is overhead at noon, and that is why there is little if any effect from a CPL at mid-day.

 

[bazooka]

I've noticed dramatic effects at midday using my CPL. Specifically from Pike's Peak where the atmosphere is very thin and the sun was directly overhead. Using my wide-angle looked silly because half the sky was blue but the other half almost black.

 

[Big Mike]

Ya, I was shooting at a very high altitude and the polarizer almost made the sky black as well. I didn't mind it, it's much better than a blown out white sky, and it makes a nice contrast for brightly lit mountain faces.

But of course, you can choose to rotate the filter to get more or less of the effect.

 

[bazooka]

I was using the 10-22mm so rotating the filter just moved the dark area in the frame across the horizon.

Actually, here's one of the shots... sun is actually about 45 degrees...

 

[kundalini]

I posted this yesterday, but I think it applies to this thread also. It's about using a diffuser in brightly light portraits.

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