People: Hair Highlights Teen Girl and Boy
Backlighting in the afternoon can be fine, or absolutely brutal. It's a magical time when things may appear to be on fire. This girl and boy at the beach are barely visible. But just look at that flaming hair. Beautiful youth!
Afternoon before the sun sets at the beach is a crap shoot. For product shots where you want that authentic, warm look, you have to hope the fog doesn't roll in. You must get everything lined up and ready to go, then start working an hour or two before the sun goes down. The sessions can be intensive as there's much to be done and so little time to fit it in. With models, getting them back another day can be more challenging than even the cost (if you are paying fees.)
What would happen without flash fill?
Look at the picture above to see what the results may be when you let the camera metering decide the correct exposure of a shot. The results aren't necessarily bad but they may not be exactly what you seek. If I had wanted to lighten these faces the graininess and loss of information would not create the optimal effect. This was just a journalist "grab and shoot" photo so I didn't have a chance to bracket the subjects to get more facial information.
Bracketing
- When you're in those tough lighting situations you definitely should make use of bracketing your exposures plus and minus a few f-stops.
Practice
Thank you for visiting CaliforniaBeachPhotos.com! Just remember to practice, practice. Return to photograph a pier sunset again. Each sunset is different so there's no room for boredom.
