Amateur here, and I've been trolling on the board for a few months now. I'd post some pics, but I don't know how many I've shot that wouldn't get torn to shreds here (probably rightly so). I may post some before too long, however.

In the last couple of weeks, I've had to do some outdoor situations that were very bright. I feel that I'm competent at indoor shoots, but I'm just having fits getting anything right in the bright lights.

The lenses I was using were a canon 70-200 2.8L and a canon 24-70 2.8L. I'm shooting with a canon 50D.

I've tried just about every combination of shutter speeds and apertures, but I'm not getting what I want. I want to shoot with a fast ratio to get nice bokeh, but that just blows the exposure (even at 1/250). I didn't get decent exposures until I was stopped down to the f11-f20 range.

I suppose I need a filter to cut the light input, right? What kind? ND (what %)?

How do I keep my subjects from squinting? Put them in the shade and then fill light with flash? I actually tried this, but even using the 24-70 pretty close (~10-15ft), the flash didn't fill in the patchy shadows on the faces completely...

I have to admit that I'm lost here

Thanks!

As for eyes squinting; you probably shouldn't have your subject facing the bright sun. Shoot with the sun over their shoulder or behind them and use fill light. like this:



I had some photo's where my subject was looking into the sun and I don't care for the shadows it produces. I had him keep his head down and eyes closed until I counted to 3, then he looked up and I shot him instantly. Like this:

Hi jtaylor, don't worry about getting your images "torn to shreds" -- people generally give pretty constructive criticism here, and those who don't are easily ignored.

I recently responded to another poster with info on lighting for outdoor portraits; you can read it at this thread:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/837121/0#779559

The short answer to your question is YES, you need an ND filter! I would recommend this one:
http://www.adorama.com/HY58ND8XM.html?searchinfo=hy58nd8xm

I own it and use it extensively when shooting outdoors, especially in the summer. It will allow you to get much wider apertures without blowing your backgrounds. However, it will also darken the faces of your subjects, so you will need lighting (reflectors or flashes) so their faces remain properly exposed.

Also, no matter where you place your subjects, make sure there is no patchy light on their faces. If you're shooting in full sun, put their backs to the sun, light their faces with flash or reflectors, and you're all set. If you're shooting in the shade, make sure it's not dappled shade -- the lighting on their faces must be even.

P.S. You haven't been "trolling" on this board as far as I can tell -- trolling is when you pick fights and cause problems on internet boards just to be a pain in the @$$. . You have been "lurking" for a few months now.

Sure you can equal the sun brightness with a powerful strobe but why go to all the trouble unless you have no other choice. Even then you would want to remove the light from the top of the head with a scrim and prevent squinting eyes by use of another scrim. Many of the professional beach shots seen are done under a large open ended tent ( scrim material ) blocking direct sun on top and sides.

The simple way is shoot only at the times of day when the sun is at an angle and you have full control over it. Not 12:00 Noon!
Place sun at back most of the time. Make sure client can open eyes 100% without squinting. Place client under covered shade. The shade needs to be even shade. Hot spots will be seen in the shot and will not be covered by use of fill flash. Fill flash should only brighten the eyes a touch but not look like flash was used. If you have hot spots in the shade grab a difusser or solid board or reflector to block the hot areas.

The hair light is a lil too high, my $.02

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

I definitely would have preferred to no shoot at noon, but it was a wedding, and I just didn't have any choice about the available light.

So I'll get one of those 10% ND filters. However, there appears to be quite a spread in price and features.

I usually use UV/Haze filters by B+W, and I really like the quality of that brand. Their ND filter in 77mm size is $92.

Hoya is probably a good brand as well (I mean, they do own Pentax now, and they made some great optics), but I don't really have any experience with them. They have 2 versions. The one pointed to me above, in 77mm size, is $57, and they have another ("pro") version for $122.

Is there much difference in these things? Obviously, I don't care about coatings that will affect the transmission on a filter that is supposed to block 90% of the incoming light. But since I'll be using this primarily in very bright conditions, I am a little concerned about getting reflections or scatter from the filter. I also don't want something that falls apart or rattles (or has to have attention paid to it). Will the cheaper Hoya filter meet these requirements (or the others)?

Also, is it best to remove the UV/Haze filter to put this on, or can you just stack them (ND on the outside)? Again, the primary concern here would be reflections between the filters (a big issue when stacking astronomy filters).

Thanks again!

jtaylor,

I feel you. I have to shoot T&I outdoors, no diffuser for direct sun (have to shoot through noon hour), no shade, etc. You're not going to get great results unless you use ND or get them into even shade. Shade from trees is usually more even the taller the tree (where sun comes through it). The "hold your eyes closed for and on 3 open them" doesn't really work well most of the time (for me dealing with kids) because its like being in a dark room and all of a sudden flipping on the lights (ahhh my eyes!). Also, remember the subject is facing you, so bright stuff behind you will make them see more light, and therefore squint... so be carefull of light color buildings, water, white anything, etc.

-Joe

See this tutorial of mine which explains how to use flash effectively outdoors to match scene range to the sensor, which is what defines correct exposure: LINK

Chuck

Shoot when you want to, and not when the sun tells you to.

Use enough to match that sun, and go nuts...

Easy stuff