APS-C camera, 16-55 f/2.8 @ 47mm, 1/1000 @ f/5.6
Light is one of the most important elements in any image. Mid-day sunlight, as we learn early on in our photographic journey, is to be avoided. Harsh shadows created by excessive tone contrast will ruin any image you create in the middle hours of a sunny day.
How incredibly limiting….
The issue isn’t that sunny mid-day light is “bad.” The issue is whether this light is appropriate for your subject and the message you are trying to convey with your image. If the light isn’t appropriate for your image’s goals, you can either learn to modify it or return at a later time when the light is more suitable.
Sometimes, all it takes is a simple reflector — something every photographer should have and know how to use effectively.
For this image, in the lavender fields of the Valensole plateau in Provence, a large-ish 32″ soft silver reflector was held to camera left, positioned to bounce the near-midday sunlight into the shadow side of the model. How far or how close the reflector is held in relation to the model determines how much fill light is introduced and, therefore, the contrast level recorded on the model.
Knowing how and where to place the reflector comes with experience, or you can simply experiment a bit and check the rear LCD on your camera. As for how to hold the reflector in position… a small, lightweight light stand can do the trick, or you can simply have a friend or fellow photographer hold it for you. (naturally, you’ll hold it for them when their turn comes!)
Now… a reflector can lower the tone contrast but cannot soften the sharp-edged highlight-to-shadow transitions created by direct sunlight —which is essentially a specular light source. That would require a sizeable translucent diffusion scrim between the subject and the sunlight… something I didn’t have with me at the time. In this case, though, the sharp shadow transitions serve to highlight the model’s well-defined jawline — not a bad outcome at all. Finally, her white dress provides additional fill in the folds of cloth and her folded arms.
Developing a sensitivity to light and the ability to shape and control it is an essential skill for all photographers.
