In travel photography, natural light is likely to be your key light source.
It’s important to find out available daylight hours when you plan a shoot. For instance, June 21 is the summer solstice, the longest day and shortest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The sunset I experienced in Norway was 9:30 pm. Have you ever heard of the midnight sun? It happens in the Arctic Circle for a few months every year. The sun circles around from left to right just above the sea horizon all summer. It’s a different story in Australia and New Zealand. June 21 marks the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year. If you are planning to capture the sunset, it’s crucial to know what time to arrive at the location.
Who doesn’t love the magic hour? The warm tone, the angle and its softness are just incredible. But it only lasts for a short period of time. What about the rest of the day?
“How to utilize mid-day harsh sunlight ?
The intensity of light is always changing. On an overcast day, it’s like a softbox. Soft light is favourable for portraits because it doesn’t cast hard shadows, it’s relatively easy to work with. On a cloudless day, the sun shines like a spotlight. Let’s find out how to utilize it in a productive way.
Shadows
“Where there is light, there must be shadow.”
Shadows are fascinating in so many ways.
Depending on which direction the light is hitting and where you stand, it can cast shadows like stencil art on the walls or other flat surfaces.
Look for anything that can get between you and the direct sunlight.
It could be clouds, trees, architectural element, mountains.
Sun flare
Pointing the camera directly into the sun’s direction creates high-contrast atmospheric images. It’s also known as backlighting. The key is to keep the aperture small at f/16-f/22. You would notice the subject is likely to be in the dark and underexposed. This technique requires a high dynamic range sensor that can capture all the tonal details. If you shoot in RAW format, the shadow details can be recovered in the post-processing stage.
Window light projection
Sunlight can travel from outdoor to indoor. If the light is strong enough to create a projection, it adds visual interest to the scene. Pay attention to the shapes of the projection, how it interacts with the interior space.
Move around and experiment with different angles for your composition.
