Good morning and happy Monday! We had a great time in Chicago photographing a beautiful wedding and getting to spend time with my sister's family.
I wanted to go over this past set of photos below and let you know how I did it!
First of all I will share my camera settings: 85mm, ISO 320, f 5.0 1/125 sec
When going for a creamy, warm, soft images like the ones below I put my clients back to the sun, but I have found it is better for me to not shoot directly into the sun. If there is something (like a tree, or the back of my clients head) covering partial or all of the sun it helps me be able to focus better and not blow out the image. I usually focus while the sun is blocked then slowly move my camera over to the left or right just a very, very small amount to let a little bit of sun peek through. Generally I set my lens on AF, but sometimes with this technique the sun is just too bright to lock in on where I am attempting to focus, so I oftentimes will resort to manual focusing these types of images. No matter how I choose to focus I choose a focus point in camera. I meter for the clients face, but adjust according to what I am seeing on my camera screen. Also, I do this around sunset time for the warmest of hues. Please save your eyes the trouble and try not to look into the sun too long:)
Generally for editing I warm up the white balance to enhance the "orangy" look and I add contrast to my taste, easy-peasy!
This is just my way, but I hope this is helpful in developing your preferred method! Enjoy!
This is how I do it for the most part. I automatically meter up 1-2 stops, always manual focus and I don't mind if the sun is right in the photo but only just a tiny bit!
ReplyDeleteBack lit sunshine photography is my favorite and sunset lighting is the best one for it from my experience.
Thanks for the post share.
Cheers and Love~Ivy
Love the feel of these!!
ReplyDelete@Ivy I looove backlit images too. It just makes them pop and there is something so satisfying about utilizing the sun to make images come alive. xo!!
ReplyDelete@Mary- Thanks! These are a couple portraits of my mom when she came to visit. I checked out your blog and looove it! You do incredible work! Thanks for stopping by the blog!