There are certain rules in photography, a sort of dos and donts to get the best images. Being honest though, I am a bit of a lover of breaking them rules. One such rule however I do love challenging is the rule to not shoot at midday. Harsh light portrait photography…bring it on
Why?
- Harsh lighting can make your subject over exposed.
- The sun overhead causes ‘raccoon eyes’ aka dark shadows in the eyes.
- The strong light can make colours washed out.
Lee Blackwell popped back to our Northampton studios to have another shoot but given that he spends much of his time outside being a pro skateboarder, we headed out to shoot. Midday. Check out his first shoot with us here: Natural Light Portrait Photography with Lee
The key was to find areas of shelter such as arches and similar but that the light ‘bounces’ back into the subject. Another thing I love about midday is the shadows and the light leaks.
Check out our behind the scenes video! Like the video? Why not subscribe to the channel!
There will be a video on how I create those bokeh light leaks soon enough. Watch out on my Youtube channel for those. Did ya spot me in his glasses? I wouldnt normally allow that but these two above were casual portraits and I love them. I am going to be working on another video on that too. I am nice to ya’ll right. Also watch out for a forthcoming group shoot workshop!
Popping Lee under the bridge allows the concrete infront of him bounce the light up into his face. Check his glasses to see what I mean.
Searching out for light leaks. Still get the harsh shadows but I love them leading lines. Love putting them into my portrait photography.
Using a shallower depth of field means that a somewhat busy background is less distracting and can enhance the portrait image further. 
