Michael R  Kihn Studios wrote:
I prefer to shoot in overcast conditions. If I need extra light
I'll bring it.

Ha, which I don't have.

Chris Keeling wrote:
Overcast days are what I pray for on location shoots!  Sunny skies mean harsh shadows.  The best light source you can find is the sun with clouds acting like softboxes.

I understand.  I'm trying to focus my shoot around a lot of bright colors and action, though, which I think would actually be enhanced with a bit of hard light—not too much to look unappealing, but it adds a great effect when used correctly.

Jillian Keats wrote:

Ha, which I don't have.

You don't need extra lights.  Overcast days provide plenty of light.  Look at my port, maybe 1 out of probably 70 outdoor shots in my port used and sort of artificial light source.  Pretty much all of them were done by putting the model in proper relation to the sun.  Very few of them did I even use a reflector. 

No crying about can't afford a reflector either.    I go to walmart and spend $3 on white foam board, and then wrap aluminum foil around it.

Jillian Keats wrote:
I understand.  I'm trying to focus my shoot around a lot of bright colors and action, though, which I think would actually be enhanced with a bit of hard light—not too much to look unappealing, but it adds a great effect when used correctly.

Again, look at my port, do you see any color problems on my outdoor shots?  I very rarely shoot in harsh sunlight, and never in the middle of the day.  I always shoot when the sun has already sunk in the sky.

Jillian Keats wrote:

I understand.  I'm trying to focus my shoot around a lot of bright colors and action, though, which I think would actually be enhanced with a bit of hard light—not too much to look unappealing, but it adds a great effect when used correctly.

Besides, bright sunlight, or any kind of harsh light will wash out bright colors.  You'll get much more color saturation on an overcast day.

Legacys 7 wrote:
Overcast is apart of my style when I get the chance to shoot with it.

Very cool shot! 

How's this one?

Legacys 7 wrote:
Overcast is apart of my style when I get the chance to shoot with it.

That's really awesome.

The point of me wanting a sunny day rather than an overcast one is merely to blend with the mood I'm trying to create.  If I plan to add a wide-angle shot that placed the model in front of the sky and I'm trying to convey brightness, I'd like the sky to blend with that. 

But that's neither here nor there.

Chris Keeling wrote:

Very cool shot! 

How's this one?

Me likes. I've looked at some of your stuff before. I like the paint look. It reminds of an add.

Jillian Keats wrote:

That's really awesome.

The point of me wanting a sunny day rather than an overcast one is merely to blend with the mood I'm trying to create.  If I plan to add a wide-angle shot that placed the model in front of the sky and I'm trying to convey brightness, I'd like the sky to blend with that. 

But that's neither here nor there.

I think what we are trying to say Jillian, is if you shoot in the middle of the day, with harsh sunlight, unless you're extremely creative, or using something huge to diffuse the Sun, your shots are going to come out looking like snapshots.  Control of light is what it's all about.  NOTHING is more important than light in photography.

Chris Keeling wrote:
You don't need extra lights.  Overcast days provide plenty of light.  Look at my port, maybe 1 out of probably 70 outdoor shots in my port used and sort of artificial light source.  Pretty much all of them were done by putting the model in proper relation to the sun.  Very few of them did I even use a reflector. 

No crying about can't afford a reflector either.    I go to walmart and spend $3 on white foam board, and then wrap aluminum foil around it.

and the buildings you shoot around act as great reflectors as well, light is truly a marvelous thing but I prefer the sun to pop out of those clouds as i like harsh light and shadows

Legacys 7 wrote:

Me likes. I've looked at some of your stuff before. I like the paint look. It reminds of an add.

Thanks, and likewise!  I've known about the image you posted here for quite awhile, it's VERY cool!

LeDeux Art wrote:

and the buildings you shoot around act as great reflectors as well, light is truly a marvelous thing but I prefer the sun to pop out of those clouds as i like harsh light and shadows

Yeah, but your Jonathan Ledeux, and you know things the rest of us just don't know! 

Jillian Keats wrote:

That's really awesome.

The point of me wanting a sunny day rather than an overcast one is merely to blend with the mood I'm trying to create.  If I plan to add a wide-angle shot that placed the model in front of the sky and I'm trying to convey brightness, I'd like the sky to blend with that. 

But that's neither here nor there.

Thank you. Your reason for the sunlight is the exact same reason why I like overcast, moods. I think that you are out of luck during the winter season over in the east coast. During the summer season here, the sun is plenty, but I try to avoid it. Thank god for the fog that we have here. But the sun can be your friend too if you use flash to over power the sun. It can give you a surreal look. I haven't used this technique yet. I do have a shot of a model in my port that was taken on a bright sunny day. I didn't like the bright conditions, but I used it to my advantage. The shadow complimented the model and location.

Legacys 7 wrote:

Me likes. I've looked at some of your stuff before. I like the paint look. It reminds of an add.

this is my fave of Chris latest work, its perfect in every way

Jillian Keats wrote:
That's really awesome.

The point of me wanting a sunny day rather than an overcast one is merely to blend with the mood I'm trying to create.  If I plan to add a wide-angle shot that placed the model in front of the sky and I'm trying to convey brightness, I'd like the sky to blend with that. 

But that's neither here nor there.

Chris Keeling wrote:
I think what we are trying to say Jillian, is if you shoot in the middle of the day, with harsh sunlight, unless you're extremely creative, or using something huge to diffuse the Sun, your shots are going to come out looking like snapshots.  Control of light is what it's all about.  NOTHING is more important than light in photography.

I'm not sure I would go that far. Maybe its my experience as a landscape shooter but a good photographer should be able to get something usable in pretty much any light. There is no way I'm gonna drive for hours to shoot someplace only to bag it because of direct sunlight.



Direct sunlight, around 11am. I can't see how a cloudy day would have helped this image. I did use a Sunpak 622 for fill though

Chris Keeling wrote:

You don't need extra lights.  Overcast days provide plenty of light.  Look at my port, maybe 1 out of probably 70 outdoor shots in my port used and sort of artificial light source.  Pretty much all of them were done by putting the model in proper relation to the sun.  Very few of them did I even use a reflector. 

No crying about can't afford a reflector either.    I go to walmart and spend $3 on white foam board, and then wrap aluminum foil around it.

ditto. I didn't use any light here.

Chris Keeling wrote:

Thanks, and likewise!  I've known about the image you posted here for quite awhile, it's VERY cool!

Thank you.

LeDeux Art wrote:

this is my fave of Chris latest work, its perfect in every way

yes it is. looks like an ad for a style magazine.

Legacys 7 wrote:

Thank you. Your reason for the sunlight is the exact same reason why I like overcast, moods. I think that you are out of luck during the winter season over in the east coast. During the summer season here, the sun is plenty, but I try to avoid it. Thank god for the fog that we have here. But the sun can be your friend too if you use flash to over power the sun. It can give you a surreal look. I haven't used this technique yet. I do have a shot of a model in my port that was taken on a bright sunny day. I didn't like the bright conditions, but I used it to my advantage. The shadow complimented the model and location.

thats so true , I use the sun as a fixed light and adjust my model accordinly and then use whatever strobe I have handy to get the mood I want, generally the pop up flash which is not ideal but works for me

Lumigraphics wrote:

Jillian Keats wrote:
That's really awesome.

The point of me wanting a sunny day rather than an overcast one is merely to blend with the mood I'm trying to create.  If I plan to add a wide-angle shot that placed the model in front of the sky and I'm trying to convey brightness, I'd like the sky to blend with that. 

But that's neither here nor there.

I'm not sure I would go that far. Maybe its my experience as a landscape shooter but a good photographer should be able to get something usable in pretty much any light. There is no way I'm gonna drive for hours to shoot someplace only to bag it because of direct sunlight.



Direct sunlight, around 11am. I can't see how a cloudy day would have helped this image. I did use a Sunpak 622 for fill though

I can still get something out of harsh sunlight, but it's a bear to do.  The OP has already stated she doesn't have artificial light to work with like you did.  The following was done in the middle of a bright sunny day, with no flash.  Just a reflector being held just out of the frame on camera left.

Legacys 7 wrote:

yes it is. looks like an ad for a style magazine.

definatley, time  or life or somthing, its great

Chris Keeling wrote:

Lumigraphics wrote:

Jillian Keats wrote:
That's really awesome.

this rocks, thats the way to use the sun on a clear day

Lumigraphics wrote:

Jillian Keats wrote:
That's really awesome.

The point of me wanting a sunny day rather than an overcast one is merely to blend with the mood I'm trying to create.  If I plan to add a wide-angle shot that placed the model in front of the sky and I'm trying to convey brightness, I'd like the sky to blend with that. 

But that's neither here nor there.

I'm not sure I would go that far. Maybe its my experience as a landscape shooter but a good photographer should be able to get something usable in pretty much any light. There is no way I'm gonna drive for hours to shoot someplace only to bag it because of direct sunlight.



Direct sunlight, around 11am. I can't see how a cloudy day would have helped this image. I did use a Sunpak 622 for fill though

Yes of course a good photographer can do this. But for some of us, it boils down to preference and style. I can use both to compliment my style. This will depend on my vision. The example that I put up is one of the 3 that is part of my work.

LeDeux Art wrote:

thats so true , I use the sun as a fixed light and adjust my model accordinly and then use whatever strobe I have handy to get the mood I want, generally the pop up flash which is not ideal but works for me

Exactly. A soft box will do the trick.

Chris Keeling wrote:

I can still get something out of harsh sunlight, but it's a bear to do.  The OP has already stated she doesn't have artificial light to work with like you did.  The following was done in the middle of a bright sunny day, with no flash.  Just a reflector being held just out of the frame on camera left.

that's pretty good considering that you didn't have to use the flash. The sun can be very harsh on pale skin.

LeDeux Art wrote:
the sun is lighting the model from the left, the truck offers lots of fill and I poped a strobe in her face


here I used a very harsh sun to back light the model and used a strobe to balance the shot

She's positioned perfectly!  The shadows fall on her just right.  Where the heck did you find this girl JL, her legs are killing me!