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Archive 2014 · Working with the Sun. - Need Help

  
 
Ljburb01
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Working with the Sun. - Need Help


I admit that I am a very amateur photographer. I mostly take pictures of my kids or friends' kids. I am having an issue with the sun.

I noticed when I placed my subjects in front of the sun they would squint their eyes and complained. Okay. So I put the sun behind them. Easy fix I thought. Wrong. Now I'm dealing with this cloudy haze in all of my pictures. It's like I can't win.

What do you all do in reference to the sun and positioning? This picture is SOOC. It was taken at 9AM when the sun wasn't very hot. The sun is behind and slightly to their left.







Jul 06, 2014 at 07:48 AM
Eyeball
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Working with the Sun. - Need Help


This is lens flare caused by the sun shining directly on the front of the lens.

To combat this:
- Use a lens hood
- Use your hand or other object to block the sun from shining on the lens.
- Remove any filters that you have on the lens. They can contribute to the flare, particularly if they are inexpensive filters with poor surface coatings.



Jul 06, 2014 at 10:14 AM
JameelH
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Working with the Sun. - Need Help


Good suggestion by Eyeball. I'd add

Use an angle either horizontally or vertically such that the sun isn't shining straight in.



Jul 06, 2014 at 02:35 PM
Ljburb01
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Working with the Sun. - Need Help


Great suggestions.

Thank you Eyeball. I have a lens hood that I have never even used. I will try it next time.

JameelH - The sun wasn't straight in. It was behind them, but to the left of them.



Jul 06, 2014 at 06:37 PM
sbeme
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Working with the Sun. - Need Help


Dennis, AKA Eyeball covered it.
You took on a challenge with the sun positioned as it was.
You could try some PS work...not my expertise...with the goal of rebuilding some contrast and color density of the kids. Perhaps some judicious use of duplicating the original layer with multiply blend one or several times, then masking the effect, dialing it back as needed as a starting point.
Scott



Jul 06, 2014 at 09:22 PM
RustyBug
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Working with the Sun. - Need Help


+1 @ Dennis & Scott

There is a degree of recovery possible for this image, as it is overexposed ... adding to the issue of backlighting. I'm inclined to think the overexposure is the greater culprit than the backlighting alone.

Proper exposure for the background with some fill flash is one approach. Also, an exposure (if not using fill flash) that is about 1 stop over for the bg will give you a bit of a lift to the kids, without washing out the bg too much. That would leave the kids a bit underexposed, but could be lifted in pp.

Another thing you can do while shooting is to stand so the camera is in a shadow of a tree, building or something wehn available (a bit easier than blocking with your hand or hat) to mitigate the flare from the sun striking your lens directly.



Jul 06, 2014 at 11:13 PM
tommycrow
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Working with the Sun. - Need Help


I agree that the overexposure is more of an issue than the backlighting. I always try to move around just a little bit and try a few angles with the lens when I know I'm going to get sun streaming in like this. It's amazing what small movements can do.


Jul 10, 2014 at 02:30 PM





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