Some Helpful Tips for Shooting in Harsh Midday Sun

We all know about golden hour and how it can offer you warm, soft, and flattering light for your photos, but if you're only working with natural light, restricting yourself to only golden hour can make it quite difficult to get shoots done. This great video will give you some helpful tips for dealing with harsher midday sun.

Coming to you from Michael Sasser, this helpful video will give you some tips for shooting in midday sun. The problem with midday sun is that it tends to be very hard light from directly overhead, creating numerous unflattering shadows and stark contrast. Nonetheless, that doesn't mean you should never shoot in it, as it offers a look all its own, and you can also take steps to work around it and create softer, more flattering light. Often, this means doing something as simple as finding a place that provides a bit of shade. And of course, even though the video shows usage of driveways and the like, as you're looking for places to shoot, be respectful of private property. That's just one way around the issue, though. Check out the video above for the full rundown. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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11 Comments

..My guess is that if you follow the 'usual' formula the half naked girl cancels out the hard light.

If you look hard enough there's shadows being cast...

Modifiers and shade are for the weak! j/k :)

Was the half naked clickbait image really necessary? Gutter journalism.

You mean the image of the subject he’s shooting the entire video?

It's called a swimsuit/swimwear. You frigid prunes need to get out more.

A bathing suit? Seriously stop embarrassing yourself.

Wow. Hate much Richard, I shoot a lot of swimwear and what she is wearing is pretty average and mainstream compared to what is being actually worn at beaches. I do not see anything wrong with the video or the fact he decided to photograph a young lady in a bikini to demonstrate his tips.

Clickbait would be something totally unrelated and the thumbnail used is a screenshot from the video. So how is that clickbait?

Seem you are just a troll. I don't think you have ever posted a positive or constructive comment on here. Just hate. Gheeee.

Thank you Alex. Enjoyed the video/tutorial and picked up something new. Would give you a "look" but I don't have a youtube account.

thanks! Good tips!

lol just use a half naked woman and BOOM art. you learned something today