Shooting natural light portraits does not mean you are stuck using the sunlight exactly as it is without any modification. You can use modifiers to shape the sunlight to be more flattering, and this great video tutorial will show you an effective way to create such illumination.
Coming to you from Jay P Morgan with The Slanted Lens, this awesome video tutorial will show you how to use a large shoot-through umbrella to turn hard sunlight into soft, flattering light. Essentially, what you are doing in this case is turning the umbrella into a makeshift scrim. A scrim is nothing more than a large piece of fabric that is used to diffuse light and make it softer. However, you are more likely to own an umbrella than a scrim and the extra equipment that goes into rigging it. The one thing you need to be extremely careful of in this scenario, however, is securing the light stand with sandbags. Any large umbrella is going to act like a sail, so be sure to secure the setup and pay attention to the direction of the wind, and if it's breezy, wait for another day. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Morgan.
