3 Photography Tips: Shooting Flattering Portraits at the Midday Sun

Credit: C-reel

If you’re a photographer just onboard or based on the island, creating portraits in the middle of Bali sun can be challenging. This midday light is often avoided by photographers just because it can lead to awful results, especially if you’re not experienced with photographic problem-solving. Sometimes you just don’t have a choice; the sun is an extremely hard light source. It emphasizes textures on the skin, it can create unflattering highlights and because it’s such a high angle at midday, it can create really harsh shadows in the eyes as the light is top-down. When shooting at high noon, there are two things that need to be solved: the quality of light and the direction of the light. 

Here are the three photography tips for shooting portraits in the midday sun:

Diffuse the Light

To make a broader softer light source, try diffusing the sunlight. You can use either the diffusion or a three-in-one reflector diffuser. Shooting through an umbrella is also an option. When the sun hits the diffusion material, it spreads out. It becomes a larger, softer light source and it loses its specularity. The shininess of the sun becomes more flattering to the skin. 

Shooting at midday requires you to shoot from a higher angle. Lift the model’s chin and eyes towards the light to avoid deep shadows in the eye sockets. Alternatively, you can add a reflector underneath the chin for a little bit of fill.

Bounce Reflectors

Look for a large white surface hit by the sun. This could be a doorway, a sidewalk, or a white wall. When the sun hits the surface, it bounces off and becomes a large soft, and beautiful light source. Be sure to have the subjects back to the sun or place them in the shade just opposite that bounce reflector. The closer they are, the softer the light. If you don’t see any natural reflectors, you can create your own. You can use white fabric as a material that can easily be found. White fabric reflects a soft natural light which makes it ideal for outdoor portraits, especially when the sun is strong. 

Embrace the Sunlight

Credit: C-reel

Although it's hard, one thing for sure about sunlight is it can create beautiful high contrast, sunny results. Depending on your models, you’ll want to consider using blotting papers or maybe matte make-up to reduce oily skin and improve unwanted textures. When the model is in direct sunlight, try lifting their head up to the sun and play around with the hard shadows and it will give you creative results. Most likely though, this style of the portrait will require more retouching, it’s just part of the deal. However, with this technique, you can create drastically different and potentially more exciting results than if you’re just using soft light only. 

When you’re shooting at noon, you have to be meticulously careful of distracting background elements. Be sure to vary your angle, use a narrow depth of field or even put up a background on location. All of these things will help reduce distractions. 

If you’re looking for ways to shoot portraits, lifestyle or fashion besides golden hours, these photography tips can be helpful. Shooting in midday light is challenging for sure but all you have to do is take control of that lighting and you can create really flattering results.