Running from the Sun
Written and Photographed By: Farrah Fox
Lighting. It's one of the most difficult and manipulatable facets of photography. Not only is it constantly changing, as lighting throughout the day depends on the sun's movement, but lighting is also dependent on the weather. Nothing about it is predictable, especially with Southern California's bipolar and completely random weather shifts. It's hard to teach and difficult to pinpoint. Lots of professional photographers carry around reflectors and flash set-ups, dragging along a crew of people to create good lighting for them. This isn't necessary!! The sun provides us with beautiful natural light all day long and if you can manipulate the placement of your subjects just right, you can spin any type of lighting in your favor!
(CAUTION: Mid-day sun is especially hard to work with and should be avoided when at all possible!! When your shoot cannot be scheduled for any time other than 12 o'clock noon, just prepare yourself for a challenge. Get ready for harsh shadows and extremely bright sun. It will be rough out there. Tip: you'll want to try to shoot into the sun as much as possible, with your subject facing away from the sun and towards you. This way, your subject won't be squinting with the sun in their eyes and they also won't be washed out by the incredibly bright light. Warning: this will take some manipulation of ISO and shutter speed.)
The most treasured time of day by photographers is called the "Golden Hour" or "Magic Hour." This is the hour right after sunrise and the hour right before sunset. The lighting during these times of day is really interesting and awe-inspiring, allowing you to accomplish really cool things with your photography. One of my most recent shoots was taken during the early morning golden hour. That's right. I woke up at sunrise for these pictures. Don't ask me how Sophie looks so flawless at 5:30 in the morning- it's a mystery to me as well. Photography is all about sacrifice and hard work. Waking up early for these photos was worth it. The golden light. The purple and orange mountains in the background. The empty desert. Everything about this shoot was perfect. And all of it was accomplished using completely natural light.
Having the ability to use the sun to your advantage and not having to rely on reflectors or flash is one of the handiest tools you can have. I recommend picking up that skill and putting it to use because as far as we know, the sun isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Lighting. It's one of the most difficult and manipulatable facets of photography. Not only is it constantly changing, as lighting throughout the day depends on the sun's movement, but lighting is also dependent on the weather. Nothing about it is predictable, especially with Southern California's bipolar and completely random weather shifts. It's hard to teach and difficult to pinpoint. Lots of professional photographers carry around reflectors and flash set-ups, dragging along a crew of people to create good lighting for them. This isn't necessary!! The sun provides us with beautiful natural light all day long and if you can manipulate the placement of your subjects just right, you can spin any type of lighting in your favor!
(CAUTION: Mid-day sun is especially hard to work with and should be avoided when at all possible!! When your shoot cannot be scheduled for any time other than 12 o'clock noon, just prepare yourself for a challenge. Get ready for harsh shadows and extremely bright sun. It will be rough out there. Tip: you'll want to try to shoot into the sun as much as possible, with your subject facing away from the sun and towards you. This way, your subject won't be squinting with the sun in their eyes and they also won't be washed out by the incredibly bright light. Warning: this will take some manipulation of ISO and shutter speed.)
The most treasured time of day by photographers is called the "Golden Hour" or "Magic Hour." This is the hour right after sunrise and the hour right before sunset. The lighting during these times of day is really interesting and awe-inspiring, allowing you to accomplish really cool things with your photography. One of my most recent shoots was taken during the early morning golden hour. That's right. I woke up at sunrise for these pictures. Don't ask me how Sophie looks so flawless at 5:30 in the morning- it's a mystery to me as well. Photography is all about sacrifice and hard work. Waking up early for these photos was worth it. The golden light. The purple and orange mountains in the background. The empty desert. Everything about this shoot was perfect. And all of it was accomplished using completely natural light.
Having the ability to use the sun to your advantage and not having to rely on reflectors or flash is one of the handiest tools you can have. I recommend picking up that skill and putting it to use because as far as we know, the sun isn't going anywhere anytime soon.