Overcoming hard lights outdoor

k.udhay

TPF Noob!
Joined
Mar 6, 2013
Messages
130
Reaction score
9
Location
India
Can others edit my Photos
Photos OK to edit
Hi,

Recently I came across this instagram pic:

Instagram post by neerhiragarshoot • Jul 18, 2017 at 4:11pm UTC

This looks like an outdoor shoot. Though the sunlight looks hard, the shadows on the model (or even at background) objects don't have any dark sudden shadows. I see soft shadows under her chin.

Any opinion on this lighting set up?

Thanks
Udhaya
 
he whole face is in shadow, the light is from directly above -- notice the end of her nose is bright.

the photographer exposed for her face most likely, look how overexposed her legs and ground are or how light her shadow cast is, and then did recovery work in post.
 
Thanks @Braineack. Thinking of doing such outdoor photoshoot.
 
The light-colored concrete will also give a lot of fill light from bounce. High, noon-time sun like that shooter had can be used.
 
D61_1336_converted_Batch 2.JPG


Sunburn and hard, unmodified summeretime lighting in the Columbia River Gorge Natural Scenic Area a coupelk weekends ago...
 
View attachment 143779

Sunburn and hard, unmodified summeretime lighting in the Columbia River Gorge Natural Scenic Area a coupelk weekends ago...


Thanks, @Derrel. In your pic., I see harder shadow under the model's chin. Plus, shadows around her thigh are also distracting. Will you make them a smooth transition in Post-Production?

And the background in your pic looks underexposed as against the pic. I shared. How do you think that can be achieved?
 
Derrel can speak for himself but I don't see the background as underexposed in his photo. He was most likely at a pretty fast shutter speed by just looking at this one. Besides if you expose the image anymore, you will loose detail in the forehead and cheeks of the model.
 
The background was amply well-exposed at 1/250 at f/7.1 in July afternoon sunlight. But the way I processed it, I tried to emphasize the shadows, not artifically lighten them and make them go away...the shadows, being dark, make her legs stand out....light advances, dark recedes. You see, the shadows on the ground, the shadow of her torso and arms, and also the shadow from the historic, 1920's-era lamp poles at Vista House, are both parts of this photo's compositional idea. I'm actually using the dense shadows as a compositional element...so no, I am not going to "lift" them away.

What you are seeing as under-exposure of the backdrop is a result of the processing I did on the .NEF file. Here's the original SOOC camera-processed image shown on the right, compared to the Lightroom processed proof file, on the left. As you can see I have deliberately made the shadows darker, and more-dense in post.Screen Shot 2017-07-21 at 6.29.17 PM.jpg

Using a high, hard, main light source is a classic way to photograph people outdoors, or indoors. The high, hard shadows make the face "pop!" It's an older style of using natural, or studio lighting, using shadows to provide clues to the shape and depth and texture of things... Hence, no, I am not going to lighten the shadows one bit. I do not want this "light from everywhere, light from nowhere" look that so many young people seem happy with. Too much fake fill light looks unappealing to me, but I am a man in my mid-50's so...

Exposure Bias Value: 0
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure Time: 1/250
FNumber: 7.1
Focal Length: 86
Metering Mode: Pattern
Saturation: Normal
Focus Distance: 3.981 meters
Lens Model: AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED
 
That's terrific, @Derrel! Your description has been perfectly captured in the final photo. Thanks a ton for explaining so much in detail! :applause:
 
I want to show you what high, bright sunlight looks like when the subject is positioned near a large expanse of NEWLY-poured, light-colored concrete, or on light sand, or on snow: tese were shot during the third week of August, a time of year where the sunlight is bright and VERY strong for this region...look at the eyeballs, and see the bright reflection of the concrete on the lower portion of her eyeballs, and see how much fill-in lighting the shadows receive from the bright "flooring". This is just my walkround lens, a 70-300mmRandi in the Pearl District.jpg
Randi in Pearl_2.jpg , and no flash, no reflector, just using the sun as my light source, and shooting in a place where I can get bounce-fill from the cityscape. Can you see how bright the shadows are, when the shooting environment provides fill-in? This concrete was from a brand-new city park, only a month old!
 
I want to show you what high, bright sunlight looks like when the subject is positioned near a large expanse of NEWLY-poured, light-colored concrete, or on light sand, or on snow: tese were shot during the third week of August, a time of year where the sunlight is bright and VERY strong for this region...look at the eyeballs, and see the bright reflection of the concrete on the lower portion of her eyeballs, and see how much fill-in lighting the shadows receive from the bright "flooring". This is just my walkround lens, a 70-300mmView attachment 143802
View attachment 143803 , and no flash, no reflector, just using the sun as my light source, and shooting in a place where I can get bounce-fill from the cityscape. Can you see how bright the shadows are, when the shooting environment provides fill-in? This concrete was from a brand-new city park, only a month old!

Never knew I could get such bright fill lights from ambience. How do you position the subject to get this benefit? Like any thumb rule?

P.s. - Sorry for such a delayed response. I was travelling.
 
Position the subject so that the sun bounces off of nearby buildings, beach sand, or streets or sidewalks. The angle the sunlight hits at will be mirrored in the bounce it gives, so, look for the incidence/reflection angle of the major direction the light is coming from, and position the subject as-needed.
 
You can also time it based on clouds passing over the sun. Clouds act as a diffuser and minimize hard lighting on super bright days.
 

Most reactions

Back
Top