Shoot into the sun? Won’t I go blind? Why would I ever shoot into the sun? Well, for starters, your subject won’t squint and yell at you. Secondly, you can get an amazing artsy print out of the deal.
Last week I was playing around on the Photojojo forums and saw an interesting thread called “shoot into the light”. They were looking for people to post photos featuring the sun, sun flare, bokeh galore. What can I say? It inspired me.
Now, keep in mind, when shooting into the sun, you are not trying to get the most accurate detail in your subject – you are going for art. These are the type of photos you can print, frame, and hang on your wall, not because they are the most realistic, but because the overall shot is pleasing to the eye.
In the photo at the top I was playing with ISO 100 (bright sun), f/1.8, shutter speed of 1/3200 sec (which stopped the flower from moving with the breeze). Somehow I was focused on nothing in particular. Honestly, the photo was somewhat of a happy accident.
For those who enjoy realistic photos, it would be considered a failure. Personally, sometimes I like photos that look like artwork. So, for me it’s a winner.
For my next photo, I somehow convinced my gorgeous model to stand still for a second while the sun was descending behind her.
With an aperture of f/3.2 I was able to blur the background. The shutter speed of 1/200 second kept her from blurring too much. Most importantly, though, was the use of flash. It enabled me to both capture the halo of sunlight and get some detail in her face. Without the flash, the photo probably would have been a perfect silhouette. The background would have been exposed correctly, while she would have been shrouded in darkness.
While these type of photos are not to everyone’s taste, they do make for a nice decoration on the wall. Have fun shooting into the light. Play around with the flash and shutter speed (or scene modes on your point and shoot) while you do it. Try taking lots of versions of the same shot to see which is most pleasing to your eye. Who knows, you may wind up with a happy accident gracing the walls of your living room.
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