The sun has been shining so rarely these days that when it does, my phone rings off the hook with realtors and builders wanting to get some nice view shots. The other day I did a shoot for realtor Monique Badun out on the UBC campus. This top floor condo has a large wraparound patio that looks spectacular when the sun is out and the sky is blue. However, as most people know, shooting in the direct sun can be very problematic. The highlights are often blown out, and the shadows turn into inky black holes. So, flashes to the rescue: one on the camera, and another in my hand. Although my flashes are pretty powerful, they only have a range of about 20 feet in the sunshine. So the trick with shooting a sunny scene is to position the camera so the immediate foreground is darker than the background. That way the flash can light up whatever is right in front of you, and Mother Nature can light up the background. Here are a couple of samples of flash fill.
The image below was lit from on camera and the right side of the frame, and it stretches the limits of what a flash can light up outdoors.
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