Bright light photography and learning how to shoot video in direct sunlight can be difficult: everyone wants to shoot at golden hour or blue hour. But that doesn't make you become a better photographer or filmmaker - learning how to shoot in harsh sunlight at ANY time of day is what does.
Shooting hard light photography doesn't need to difficult, and these simple tips may help:
00:00 - Intro
01:14 - Film people in hard sunlight using the Hand Test to find angles
01:48 - Avoid harsh shadows under eyes (and squinting) with sunglasses
02:15 - Place your subject in or find the side where light is being blocked
02:50 - Find interesting shadows: look for harsh lines and dappled light.
03:26 - Use the contrast of light/shade to direct attention or create leading lines
03:48 - Shoot layers at a narrow focal length for compression
04:12 - Shoot into the sun and get silhouettes and sun flares
05:00 - Find natural diffusion - or just go inside by a window!
05:50 - Find natural reflectors - like a bright wall or reflective surface.
06:30 - Try exposure bracketing (oops I forgot to update the sub-caption!)
07:15 - Shoot scenes or sets over hero shots
08:23 - Shoot your subject in-between foreground & background elements
09:28 - Look for reflections
09:49 - Final thoughts: Why harsh light may actually tell a better story
Drop any tips you have for shooting in harsh light in the comments below!
