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I have a family portrait scheduled and they’ve given me a heads-up of what their wearing. The men are planning to all wear white shirts and the girls dark red.
I’m a little nerves about all the white and having blown-out highlights. (It’s going to be close in the middle of the day, compounding the problem).What I’ve done in the past for portraits is to have their backs to the sun and expose for the highlights. But then I’ll get really dark faces. If I do the opposite of exposing for the shadows then I’ll get hot spots on the shoulders and tops of heads.
Do you have any tips or technique for portraits with white clothing and harsh light?
I was reminded that this is possible with @jamesstaddon’s new blog post and the pictures of the ceremony.
-HannahTo avoid hotspots on shoulders and heads, put the subjects in shade. Midday is pretty difficult to do backlighting.
If the subjects don’t squint, then you don’t have to do backlight. 🙂 Most of the photos taken during the wedding ceremony of the blog post you referred to were not backlit. The sky is bluer and colors richer. I used to do all my portraits between front and side lighting back before I learned about backlighting. I don’t have as much of a problem squinting in full sunlight too, so I didn’t mind front lighting. But, not everyone is like me, so backlighting or shade is usually going to be your better option.
And if you’re doing backlight, and if the subjects are in full sunlight, make sure there is something other than blown out brightness behind them. The hotspots on heads and shoulders will bleed into the sky, which can look strange.
Also, keep in mind how much you know you can do in post processing. Sometimes you can underexpose the faces just a little, and brighten them up in post. And sometimes you can pull back highlights a little.
If you’re nervous about it, perhaps doing a test run with some of your sisters could help.
Thank you @Jamesstaddon! I guess I’ve had the idea that I can only make backlighting look good. I can see what you mean about the sky being bluer and colors richer.
I’ll keep experimenting and practicing!You know me – I tend towards backlighting. I don’t know how the light is in your area, but where I live at this time of year the sun isn’t direct overhead even at midday so I’d personally think you’d still be fine. Do be careful of background with light bleeding, like James said. And I’d probably try to expose a little more in the middle, and then utilize the combined power of shooting in RAW + editing in LR to pull back on highlights and bring up shadows in editing.
These comments are all if there’s no shade to step into. If there’s some light shade you can put the people in, that’s obviously a great option.
Thanks @lenspirationLydia for your perspective!
Yes, I have been noticing that the angle of light is lower this time of year. And also how the sun is setting much early makes the “midday light” not last as long.Light bleeding is something I haven’t paid attention to before, but now I see how much of a difference it can make.
When you’re talking about light shade, are you referring to the edge of shade where people can still see the sky above them? I tend to have the problem of putting people to deeply into shade and then their face will be to shadowed. (For example in the middle of the woods).
When you’re talking about light shade, are you referring to the edge of shade where people can still see the sky above them?
Yep! That way there’s still plenty of light but not direct sunlight ON them.
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