Shooting At High Noon

So what is the best light for photography?

Some would say morning. Some would say evening just before sunset and others would say a bright but cloudy day provides a nice diffused light.

Most would agree that high noon on a sunny day is the worst light.

Well maybe not the absolute worst but it does provide challenges.

The harsh light can blow out your subject and you have shadows to deal with.

Well that seems to be the only time I go out and shoot.

On nice sunny days.

So what can a person do?

Depending on your subject you could use a white umbrella to diffuse the light, you could block the sun with your body, and maybe use a little flash or a reflector to fill in the shadows.

Or you could make the shadow the image!

Shadow on the wood border of my flower bed.

My friend had one of those sticky hearts placed on her window on one of the panes of glass. The sun came around and this showed up on the carpet. I excused myself from eating lunch and grabbed my camera! She was ok with it she is a photographer also.

While at the butterfly conservancy I looked up and saw this image.

Of course another option is to include the shadow as

part of the image.

                                                                                                                                                                                                        Damselfly sun bathing

It was the shadow on the ground that caught my eye in this image.

To photograph the shadow alone wasn’t enough. But making it part of the image works.

I also  applied the Orton Effect. It adds dimension and makes it more dramatic.

So grab those rays of sunshine,your camera,some sunscreen and get shooting!

Visit my website  www.vickieszumigala.com

To learn more on the Orton Effect click here. There is now an action you can download, it works well. But I prefer to create the layers and to apply the effect manually.

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