Shooting mid day and converting to a black and white image?

5 years 7 months ago #602775 by Alfonso Camil
I was told to avoid shooting during mid day because of all the harsh light.  

I understand that.  But if you are converting your image to a black and white, does it make it OK to shoot during mid day with sun directly above?


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5 years 7 months ago #602776 by icepics
Not necessarily... I think the harsh light could just make a B&W image contrasty.

I shoot B&W film, but whether I'm doing that or thinking of doing a digital image in B&W I tend to notice the tones, the contrast of dark and light in a scene or subject.

B&W is the absence of color, so if I'm shooting digitally and want to do a B&W image I usually just Remove Color in Photoshop, then adjust the contrast as needed from there.

I haven't seen B&W 'fix' a bad picture; if the exposure was off it's just off, whether it's color or B&W. Shooting film I particularly want a proper exposure so my negatives aren't too dense or too thin.

Sharon
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5 years 7 months ago #602778 by Alfonso Camil
So do people just not take photos mid day?  

Is it possible to even get good shots mid day with sun up high?


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5 years 7 months ago #602781 by garyrhook
You will get different opinions about shooting midday depending upon who is speaking.

One significant position is that there is no such thing as "bad light". Or "good light". It's just light. So you need to learn to work with what you have, or avoid it. For midday, where the light is more harsh, shadows deeper, scenes contrasty,  the question is whether you can work with that.

I would encourage anyone with less experience to try to shoot at all times of day. And to research the subject. To look at the work of others, especially street photographers. Then to study the results and see what one thinks.

But I would never encourage anyone to convert to B&W as an answer to challenging light.


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5 years 7 months ago #602782 by Alfonso Camil
Always the help on this site is so appreciated! 

Thank you!!


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5 years 7 months ago #602787 by Ozzie_Traveller
G'day Alfonso

Gary is quite correct in suggesting you - and others - try as much as possible as part of discovering what works vs what doesn't work.

Another side of 'middle-of-the-day' images, esp of people is that the shadows under the eyes & mouth & chin can become very harsh, thus making the image less than exciting to look at. But- this is where you as a photographer come into it by "voting with your feet" and finding a different viewpoint, so that the light & shadows fall in a different direction

Some things & some times you cannot help but shoot at mid-day ... travellers cannot always hang around till late afternoon for the best shadows - so it becomes a matter of looking around and selecting a viewpoint that does the best for you. It's all a matter-over-mind exercise :)

Hope this helps
Phil from the great land Downunder
www.flickr.com/photos/ozzie_traveller/sets/

Phil from the great land Downunder
www.flickr.com/photos/ozzie_traveller/sets/

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5 years 7 months ago #602793 by garyrhook
For what it's worth, here's another shot from El Morro, taken last week, at about 1:30 PM at an altitude of 2256m. While you see clouds on the horizon, there were none above. The light was not only harsh, but moreso than what you would find at sea level. And yet I'm pretty happy with  the results (documenting my road trip).



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5 years 7 months ago - 5 years 7 months ago #602801 by effron
I'll shoot when I see what I think will be a good shot. I fret the light more when the sun is high, but give me a few clouds, or even better an overcast and I'll be happy. I rarely plan on a B&W until I see it on computer....

Why so serious?
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5 years 7 months ago #603129 by Alfonso Camil
Hey Gary, that shot is really nice.  Was this a single image or a few put together for a panorama or just a crop?


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5 years 7 months ago - 5 years 7 months ago #603204 by garyrhook

Alfonso Camil wrote: Hey Gary, that shot is really nice.  Was this a single image or a few put together for a panorama or just a crop?


Thank you. That's a 16-image panorama. Ended up 20,564 x 5,682.


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5 years 7 months ago #603321 by Colorado Mike
Did you print that out Gary? 


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5 years 7 months ago #603343 by Jared-Weaver
It can work, though its highly subjective. I've done it with mixed results. This image turned out fairly good in my opinion since the harsh sun was diffused through a cloud. I wouldn't recommend shooting on a perfectly clear day. 
Make: Canon
Model: Canon EOS 6D
Lens: EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/16.0
Shutter speed: 1/60 sec
Captured: Wed, 4 May 2016 15:27pm


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5 years 7 months ago #603347 by garyrhook

Colorado Mike wrote: Did you print that out Gary? 


No, it was just a handy example from my recent road trip. I've got better stuff.


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5 years 7 months ago #603348 by garyrhook

Jared-Weaver wrote: It can work, though its highly subjective. I've done it with mixed results. This image turned out fairly good in my opinion since the harsh sun was diffused through a cloud. I wouldn't recommend shooting on a perfectly clear day.


It works when it makes sense. This image is about the geometry and the texture, and while i would control that sun a bit more, it's not that problematic for me.

The tones are pretty evenly distributed in that. Have you experimented with more contrast on the bridge?


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5 years 7 months ago #603377 by Conner
I do it all the time, you just need to find the right scene.  Any sort of clouds in the sky, playing around with 10 or 15 stop ND's is fun during mid day.  So many options, get out there and experiment.  


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