Shooting skills work with the sun

Discover how we approached this tricky outdoor lighting technique

01 considerations

Sun flares can be used as a creative feature of your images. If you want to avoid them, however, add a lens hood onto the end of your lens, or shoot from areas of shade. You can also block out direct light by shooting through foliage, like tall grass.

02 Lens choice

A fast prime lens is needed to make the most of this effect and diffuse the backlight. Use your lens at a wide maximum aperture such as f/2. A longer focal length such as 85mm is ideal, as it will give greater working distance between you and your subject.

03 exposure Settings

Switch to Manual exposure mode and select a wide aperture, such as f/2. If it’s midday and the sunlight is strong then start with a base ISO of 100. If the light levels are lower, such as during the golden hours, you might need to boost the ISO significantly.

04 frame for the Sun

Use Live View to compose the shot. Position the sun just outside the frame or behind the model’s head. If most of the direct sunlight is out of the frame, you’ll avoid problems with autofocusing and too much light leaking in. Pose your model, then shoot.

05 meter and focus

Switch to Spot Metering mode and select an AF point on your camera that meters for the subject’s skin tones. Dial in some positive exposure compensation if your subject is underexposed. Switch to manual focus mode if your lens won’t lock onto the subject.

06 a different approach

After you’ve taken a few shots, play around with the position of your model in relation to the sun. Consider using the sun itself as a feature by including it in the frame. Results vary with the time of the day, location, light intensity and also your shooting angle.