harsh sunlight

I am shooting outdoors both portraits and nature. I would like some advice on what filter to buy to tone down the harsh sunlight in these pictures and balance the light better. I know it's a got to be a ND of some sort, but all the numbers and letters attached to filters mean nothing to me. Can someone please explain the filter rating system to me and how I can use it to buy the correct filter?

you might try setting up some kind of canopy. take a cheap white sheet and set it up as a kind of canopy. it will diffuse the very harsh light that you'll get shooting in the middle of the day. As far as filters to lessen the harshness of the sun, I don't know.

Cappy wrote: you might try setting up some kind of canopy. take a cheap white sheet and set it up as a kind of canopy. it will diffuse the very harsh light that you'll get shooting in the middle of the day. As far as filters to lessen the harshness of the sun, I don't know.

Thanks for responding, yeah, I thought about a canopy, but dragging a canopy through the woods doesn't make too much sense. I was hoping for an easier way out with a filter. Thanks.

The first filter you should get is a polarizer. It cuts the reflections on all non-metallic surfaces that can fool your meter, then look into an ND filter if you shoot a lot of landscape.

I guess a polarizer would be handy to have, but it's not going to do anything to tone down hard midday shadows, which is essentially what your problem is going to be. You need some way to diffuse the light. Diffuse light is sooo much more appealing for portraits than, say, the sun or a bare bulb.

California Sunbounce makes these white diffusers canopies that can be hand held or used on a stand. Technically they have (2) 4x6' and 6x8', you know what? I might have the wrong size's.... either way they are big, but easy to set up and use. These would work perfect for what you are looking to accomplish. These will turn the suns harsh light into some nice diffused soft light. While at the Vegas WPPI show I had the opportunity to see these guys and saw first hand some of their goodies.

Alex wrote: California Sunbounce makes these white diffusers canopies that can be hand held or used on a stand. Technically they have (2) 4x6' and 6x8', you know what? I might have the wrong size's.... either way they are big, but easy to set up and use. These would work perfect for what you are looking to accomplish. These will turn the suns harsh light into some nice diffused soft light. While at the Vegas WPPI show I had the opportunity to see these guys and saw first hand some of their goodies.

Don't these need a extra person to hold them or will a stand of some sort work?

The handiest ND filter (which is what you need for the situation that you're talking about) is a 3 stop filter. In the Tiffen brand this is a .09, and in Hoya it is a .8 Either one of these will do what your looking for. A polarizer filter is only good when the sun is at 90 degree angles to you( or a little less). Get the ND and you'll be happy !

ND and Polarizers are great for landscapes. A must have if you want to get into serious landscape shooting.

They won't help much with portraits though. For that you'll need diffusers if you're shooting mid-day in harsh sunlight. Alex mentioned California Sunbounce canopies. They make good light modification products, as do a lot of other companies.

I'm listening intensely to this subject as summer is coming to Florida with lots of sunshine. I've orders some filters that include a FLD. Here is what I know of this filter...

FLD Filters
A FLD filter (fluorescent light correction) provides the perfect solution for obtaining pleasing skin tones and correct color while shooting without a flash under fluorescent lighting. This filter gives true-to-life color rendition by removing the harsh yellow-green cast ordinarily resulting from fluorescent bulbs. When shooting under natural light, a fluorescent filter dramatically increases color saturation of subjects such as sunrises and sunsets.

Does this filter have a use in the harsh sunlight environment?

Thanks for the tips posted above. You guys have me on a pretty steep learning curve.

Perhaps I'm reading this different from others, but I don't think filters are going to solve the kind of problem you're describing. Harsh lighting looks harsh for one major reason, shadows. There are a few ways to help out, but none work as well as waiting for the light to soften or moving to partial shade.

The first method is to use a diffusion screen to bounce additional light into the shadows of the face & even out shadows.

The second method is to use fill flash, pref with a bounce like Stofen.

Using one or both of these methods, the next trick is to properly meter the subject (such as their face). If you meter the entire scene, a very bright background may make the subject appear darker than they should (like a snow scene would). Try using partial or center weight metering for the subject. You could TRY spot metering, but since it is such a small area to meter, shadows may still be a problem.

Umm... how about not shooting in harsh sunlight... derp.

Flash or reflector to fill in shadows (portraits)
Grad ND filter and/or circular polariser for landscapes.

Or...wait till sunset (or get up for sunrise) for softer/more beautiful light...

As far as your question about ND filters, here is a guide

Neutral Density factors:
ND .10 (exposure adjustment = 1/3 stop)
ND .20 (exposure adjustment = 2/3 stop)
ND .30 (exposure adjustment = 1 stop)
ND .40 (exposure adjustment = 1 1/3 stops)
ND .50 (exposure adjustment = 1 2/3 stops)
ND .60 (exposure adjustment = 2 stops)
ND .70 (exposure adjustment = 2 1/3 stops)
ND .80 (exposure adjustment = 2 2/3stops)
ND .90 (exposure adjustment = 3 stops)

Well you really need the canopy/diffuser which is what it is. You can make one easily with PVC pipe and ;ight gauge white whindbreaker material. You can make it any size you like and the best part is you can break it down for compactness and lightness.

chasrich wrote: I'm listening intensely to this subject as summer is coming to Florida with lots of sunshine. I've orders some filters that include a FLD. Here is what I know of this filter...

FLD Filters
A FLD filter (fluorescent light correction) provides the perfect solution for obtaining pleasing skin tones and correct color while shooting without a flash under fluorescent lighting. This filter gives true-to-life color rendition by removing the harsh yellow-green cast ordinarily resulting from fluorescent bulbs. When shooting under natural light, a fluorescent filter dramatically increases color saturation of subjects such as sunrises and sunsets.

Does this filter have a use in the harsh sunlight environment?

Thanks for the tips posted above. You guys have me on a pretty steep learning curve.

Never use a FLD in normal daylight, especially if you're shooting people. It'll make them overly magenta/orange. You don't need any color correction filters when shooting normal daylight, with exception of perhaps the sunrise/sunsets, but expect some REALLY warm colors in the sky.

Incidentally, a FLD filter isn't needed these days at all now that we're shooting digital. Digitals have pretty decent white balance compensation built in. I used to use FLD's when shooting indoor with daylight balanced film. I haven't touched them in years now.