Do you want to take perfectly illuminated portraits of outdoor subjects in bright sunlight? How about in situations where they’re standing in front of a bright background? Do you hate dark shadowed “raccoon eyes?” The answer to make your outdoor portraits pop, is to expose for the sky. Use this tip to make the shot every time!

Using a SLR 35mm autofocus camera and flash, you can create flattering and dramatic outdoor portraits with ease.

Technique:

With the flash turned off and your camera set in manual mode, use the camera’s internal exposure metering system. Looking through the viewfinder, press the shutter button halfway to illuminate the internal panel. The exposure meter is generally in the center on the bottom as you look through the viewfinder. (-2…1…0…1…+2)

To make the adjustments, start by selecting either your f stop or shutter speed. Aim the camera towards the brightest part of the picture, in this case the sky. Using the meter as a guide, adjust your shutter speed and f stop until reading is centered at 0. With the exposure set, turn on your camera’s flash, stand within a normal flash exposure range (6 – 10 ft.), focus on your subject and shoot.

Your flash will fill in and illuminate your subject nicely. If you desire more or less exposure on your subject, step forward or backwards accordingly. Some flash units can also be adjusted manually to allow shorter or longer bursts. This is also an option.

Very important, — always pay attention to the changing light. The sun going behind a cloud while you are shooting can affect the results of your image. The sky is no longer as bright as when the full sun was exposed so you will need to check your exposure meter again for the change in light.

Last, but certainly not least, be kind to your subject, don’t have them facing so they are looking directly into the bright sunlight. They will appreciate it and it will help to avoid squinty, closed looking eyes.

Examples

The image examples below were shot using a Canon 5D Mark II and Speedlight 580 EXII mounted on camera. The lens – 28-135 3.5-5.6 IS.

Photograph 1, was shot using the camera’s internal exposure meter as a guide. ISO was set at 100, f/13 the aperture with a focal length of 135mm. The meter centered at 0 at 1/125 of a second for the shutter speed. Here’s the result:

Photograph 2, shows the camera aimed toward the bright sky behind my subject, adjusting the shutter speed and f stop until the camera’s internal meter was perfectly centered at 0 . This recorded at 1/400 sec, f/13, ISO 100, 135mm. Here’s the result:

Photograph 3, the exposure meter was set for the sky, flash turned on, aim, focus and fire. Here’s the result:

Sum it up: 1/400 sec, f/13, ISO 100, 135mm with on camera flash. Pretty Blue sky, white billowy clouds, nicely illuminated subject…that’s a wrap!

Don’t miss out on the everyday moments you want to capture with your little ones! Photographing infants and toddlers can be the most exhausting and stressful assignment for a professional with a limited time frame and cranky kids, but those of you with your very own portable human and a camera have no reason to miss out! Make it a point to keep your camera in a quickly accessible spot. Convenience is key!

Here are just a few simple tips to making sure you capture the moments before they’re missed. Most of these tips are for both point and shoot and SLR users. If you’re the type that’s never switched your camera’s setting from automatic, give it a try and you’ll be amazed at the great shots to be had. Here are some tips:

1. NO FLASH

Get a more professional look even if you are limited to a small point and shoot by using available light. Open up the curtains and play right next to a window or outside under open shade. Overcast days are great for this. Your shutter speed will be slower without the flash so try a higher ISO setting if your shots look a little blurry.

2. USE COLOR

Adding a little color can brighten a shot and create a fun fresh look. Try pining a colorful sheet up on the wall behind the play area. Using a colorful chair, rug, pillow, etc… look around and you’ll find something fun!

3. NAP TIME

Take advantage of nap time! Try using a dark sheet or blanket, it really helps with the contrast especially if you enjoy converting your shots to black and white. It’s also a great time to get those extreme close up detail shots of feet and hands wile they’re still. Try close ups for a fun collage or multiple photo frame.

4. ZOOM!

If you’ve a got an SLR and a decent zoom lens you can capture amazing candid shots of everyday activities. Just sit back, keep your camera in hand and click! If you’re more than 15 feet from your subject go ahead and turn the flash off.

Again, the most important part of getting the shot is not having an amazing camera, but keeping the one you have nearby.

Tilt shift lenses focus on a single part of the photo and shift (blur) the surrounding area to create an optical illusion of miniaturized scenery. Real tilt shift lenses are quite expensive, but a similar effect can be achieved by using Photoshop after you take the photo.

Tilt shift photographs create an optical illusion that makes scenes appear as if they are actually miniature models (like your uncle’s train set). The outer edges are blurred which tricks the eye into perceiving everything in the unblurred parts as miniature. There is a Flickr group dedicated to this technique. It’s a fun post processing trick – and it’s quite easy to reproduce.

Here is my (and Drew’s) Photoshop tutorial for creating fake tilt shift photos.

1. Taking the photo. An above ground shot is usually best for this type of technique. Cityscapes, crowds, streets, and similar things are perfect.
2. Open the shot in Adobe Photoshop and click onto “quick mask mode”.
   
3. Select the gradient tool.
4. Select the “cylindrical gradient reflected gradient”.
   
5. Draw vertically upwards from where you want the point of focus to be up the screen to the top of the window, and release the mouse button. A red transparent line should appear.
   
6. Go back into “Standard Mask Mode”.
   
7. In Photoshop CS2 or CS3 go to Filter > Blur > Lens Blur (Or if you have Photoshop 7.0 you can use Gaussian Blur). Then select the amount of blur you’d like. You can experiment with the radius value a bit to see what amount of blur looks best.
8. (Optional) For a more “plastic” feel you can increase the saturation and contrast in the photo.

There you have it – you should have a nice “fake tilt shift” photo. You can experiment with lots of different photographs – some are a lot better than others for “miniaturization”. Below are a few more examples. Feel free to link to your own tilt shift photos in the comments. Happy shrinking!

Since the direction of my desired shots was westward-facing, having the sun at about 60 degrees above and pointing my way was producing washed out shots and giving me sun spots. After a few shots I realized my folly. Here are some examples:

If you’re planning to take some photos, make sure you time the sun correctly and avoid having sunshine directly above, or at a direct angle of your camera, especially when taking shots of things you can’t physically move.

Early mornings and late afternoons (right before the sunrise) usually provide the best lighting. For any time of day, though – make sure the sun is at your back as much as possible. In the mornings it will be at your back if you’re facing West. In the evenings it will be at your back if you’re facing East.

Here’s my crudely hand-drawn illustration – in an attempt to live up to this site’s name:

A UV filter is one of the cheapest and most useful accessories you can buy. After a while you won’t even think about it. I have mine on 90% of the time. It usually only adds a fraction of an inch to your lens and absorbs any abuse you might put your camera through. Replacing a $15 UV filter is far cheaper than replacing a $500 lens.

One thing to remember (which I myself tend to forget) is to take the UV filter off for night shots. When the filter is off, take extra care to avoid contact with the lens. If you leave the UV filter on, you’ll get “green ghosts” in your shots like this:

… or glare off bright lights like this:

Worse yet, you often won’t realize you’ve ruined your night shots until after you see them on your computer. Any photos of the moon are especially susceptible to this. I’ve read that more expensive multi-coated UV filters may not produce these ghosting effects but I have not been able to verify this myself.