over-powering the sun

[louis_rosenthal]

<p>Hi everyone!<br>

So I'm looking to do some outdoor portrait photography this summer in the sun, and I was hoping I could get some advice on whether there is some way to successfully do so with SB600, SB800, or SB900, or if I'll need a portable monolight setup, how many Ws will I need, to successfully overpower the sun (perhaps in a softbox)?<br>

Thanks in advance!<br />-Louis </p>

[cabbiinc]

<p>The camera that you use as well as the ISO and aperture that you plan to try to use will have a direct impact on what the answers will be.</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>Time of day? In open shade or in direct sun? Working distances (between you and your subject, between your lights/modifiers and the subject)?<br /><br />Are you looking to fill shadows, or to render a sun-lit scene down to dusk-like darkness while making your own light source the key? <br /><br />Need a little more to go on, for the big picture.</p>

[mark_harrington1]

<p>Over-powering the sun isn't a one stop fits all approach. You can get reasonable results by using a portable flash unit. The real issue is to balance the background and foreground so the results look more natural. Many people set flash exposure to -1 or -2 EV so the subject isn't blasted by light, others underexpose the background and so on. The easiest approach is to try finding a setting that doesn't have direct midday sun shinning directly on your subject. Digital makes it easy to practice and see immediate results.</p><div></div>

[louis_rosenthal]

<p>I'm thinking direct sunlight, with my D700 (ISO range: 100-25600) with the 24-70mm 2.8 somewhere between 35mm and 24mm.</p>

[louis_rosenthal]

<p>@matt: render a sun-lit scene down to dusk like darkness... is what i want to do.</p>

<p>I'd use a reflector, but i don't want to blind the subjects.... my plan is to take spontaneous free portraits of people down by the lake to become more known and to work on not only my photographic skills but my people skills as well.</p>

[Hamor Photography]

I do believe you'll find the following relevant to your interests:

 

* http://speedliting.com/how-to/dimming-the-sun-with-high-speed-sync-2/

[model mayhem gallery]

<p>Louis, I think you are resisting the valuable information others are suggesting. In general you want to "AVOID" shooting in direct sunlight at all cost. Direct sunlight will cause very harsh shadows on the model and cause their eyes to squint. Also when the sun is high the sky will be white in the background not very appealing. However, if you just wait for dusk when the sun is dropping you will get real dusk lighting which you can't "render". The sky is one of the most beautiful things to photograph and probably one of the hardest things to create artificially in photoshop. Also, I hate the term "overpower the sun". You are not over powering the sun you speedlight is so much closer to the model it is simply brighter than the sun. in comparision to its distance from the model. However, too much light from any source creates a washed out un appealing look. You would much rather move the model to a shaded location i.e. under a tree, etc. Use your flash to equal the ambient light around you and shoot the background a couple stops under exposed to saturate the background colors more.</p>

[louis_rosenthal]

<p>here's an example of what i'd like to be able to do:<br>

http://www.billcawley.com/Wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/20070531_bill_mary_blog-07.jpg</p>

[ian_casement]

<p>Try zooming your speedlight.</p>