My intro to portrait/modeling photography

Cmike2780

They look good, but could be better. It looks like on some shots she's in a shaded area, but she's a bit underexposed while others are in the open. On a sunny day like this, the light is really harsh and isn't the most flattering if it's direct sunlight. There's a lot of hard shadows and overexposed/washed areas. Its a great source, but you need to control the light. There are a few ways to "light" her up properly with softer light and get rid of the hard shadows.



-The first is a reflector. You need to move your model into a shaded area. Then use the reflector to control the light that hits the model. It's basically a shiny, collapsible reflector on one side and white on the other. You bounce the direct sunlight back to the model, but the result will be spread more softly. You also control how is and where the light hits, which can make or break the shote. I personally like Lastolite. They come in different sizes.


-The second approach is a collapsible diffuser. This is a bit more cumbersome and requires setting the diffuser up high and you will probably need a helper. The advantage is not having to move to shaded area with a large enough diffuser.

-The third approach is to move to a shaded area and use a strobe/flash. Sunlight is great though, so why not use it.

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