how would you set up your cam for travel, if you are mostly out during mid-day sun?

[Janmc]

I have a dilemma - I'd like to get some nice pics of amazing places and certainly have the passion for it. Problem? I will be mostly at those places during mid-day time-frames and most likely without a tripod and traveling with family. How would you set up your camera (full frame) for travel shots in mid-day situations in order to get something decent? Looking for tips from experience!

 

[oldhippy]

Not much of an expert, but I know that when I put a Circular polarizing filter on my 70-300 VR2, I got some of my best shots yet. They were all at mid-day. Imho

 

[pgriz]

Sometimes, you have to look for obvious. In this case, mid-day sun usually casts very strong shadows and this makes the images very contrasty. However, if you incorporate the shadows as a visual element, you can make some pretty nice images. You can minimize the shadows if you can position the sun behind you, but this also makes it difficult to take non-squinty portraits. Another way of fighting the shadows is to use fill flash for close-up subjects. If you get partial overcast, that usually gives a much nicer overall look, with soft, diffuse shadows, but the techniques needed to arrange the clouds to give that effect is probably beyond the scope of a photography forum.

 

[snowbear114 46]

besides the obvious and the polarizer, maybe a ND filter and lens hood. Use fill flash to help with the harsh shadows if you're close enough. I have a small collapsible reflector/diffuser set that can help with the harsh light, but I really cant shoot and hold/aim it at the same time so I have to have an assistant (wife, son, nephew, niece, etc.) do that for me.

 

[The_Traveler]

^+1

There are lots of pther things you can do, depending on the situation.

• accept the fact that SOOC shots won't happen.
• shoot in raw + basic jpeg to give you the most dynamic range
• keep the bright sky out of the frame as much as possible
• try to keep the sun to your back and side if you are photographing structures with glass windows so the sun doesn't reflect off them
• overexpose (expose to the right) as much as possible to get detail in the shadows and counteract the tendency of cameras to be fooled by the sun and underexpose.
• shoot in burst mode, with bracketing by as much as you need.
• don't expect your shots of icons to be iconic because professionals people will wait for good light to shoot and then sell books - shoot other stuff and buy a book
• bring a p&s for most of your shots and save the angst of schlepping a big dslr in the bright sun.

 

[imagemaker46]

200 iso, 640-800, 6.3 Or just shoot one, see if it looks ok, and go from there.

 

[Derrel]

Some good advice here!!!!

 

[KirkS]

Learn THIS

 

[kitjv]

Every time of the day & every lighting situation presents unique photographic opportunities. We simply have to learn how to see them. As I learn to become a better photographer, I am learning to see better.

Case in point: The other day I was in a park at noon without a cloud in the sky. The harsh shadows created a distracting scene for landscape photos. However, the backlit translucent flower petals & leaves were magical. The opportunities are there; we simple have to learn to see them.