Has the sun been giving your camera focus issues all summer long?
Is your lens acting like an indecisive teenage and canNOT decide what to focus on…if anything at all.
Have you been shooting in the shade, missing out on those amazing lens flare shots, because your camera won’t focus when shooting directly into the sun?
Then you need….
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…Sunblock.
Ok, totally kidding, obviously. But now that I have your attention, here’s a simple tip for avoiding focusing issues when backlighting and incorporating the sun into your images.
Backlighting – what is it and what’s the problem?
Backlighting in natural light is using the sun to illuminate your subject from behind. It’s characterized by beautiful, golden light, hazy images and, occasionally, sun flare.
It is best done when the sun is lower in the sky – earlier morning or later evening. If you’re trying to create a backlit image image in midday, you’re going to have trouble unless you get down on the ground and photograph UP.
Why is focusing such an issue?
When the sun is in front of your camera, light shines into your lens (directly). As you know, your camera’s lens focuses by using good light and contrast to determine where objects are (and hence what to focus on). Because your camera is being showered in light, your lens can’t “see” any contrast. Think about when someone shines a flash light in your eyes…can you focus? Same concept.
Just to clarify the type of photos I am referring to, here are some examples:
Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
1. The problem with backlighting explained…
I use the backlighting technique, placing the sun behind my subject, and get totally excited about how the awesome light makes my subjects look like angels in heavenly light. I bring my camera up to my face, compose my shot, create a tiny bit of lens flare, hold the shutter halfway down, and the auto-focus goes crazy trying to find a spot to focus on. The shutter finally clicks only to create something that looks like this….
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If you look close you will notice that everything looks great except that the couple is totally out of focus. This photo is worthless to me.
2. The Solution – Use your hand (not actually Sunblock)
Squirt SPF 45 on the top half of your lens… still kidding!
The real solution is to hold your hand up to block the sunlight coming into your camera lens.
You want to make sure the you are blocking the sun, but still leaving room to spot focus on your subject. Once you have your focused locked, keep the shutter button halfway down, recompose your shot, and click.
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3. The Result – a beautiful photo AND sunflare
Now you have a well composed shot with the desired lighting style. If you plan on using this technique all day you might actually want to consider putting real sunblock on your hand!
Image may be NSFW.
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How else can you photograph backlit subjects (and still capture sunflare)?
I admit, this technique is difficult to do, because it requires you holding your enormous camera with one hand, trying to lock focus with one finger, all the while shading your lens from the sun with the other. So here are some other methods to try:
Use an umbrella
Either stick one in the ground if you’re by yourself or have an assistant hold it for you. If you use a white umbrella, you may even be able to use it as a reflector to open some shadows!!
Use your feet
That’s right – move it! Sometimes simply adjusting your position can put the sun behind a tree or building, just slight enough for you to lock focus. Get creative with those compositions!
Use a lens hood
Using a lens hood can sometimes prevent you from catching any sunflare at all, but if the sun is low enough, it may still provide the shadowing needed for your lens to focus properly.
Manually focus
Probably more difficult to do than dole out as advice, but if your camera won’t focus for you, then do it yourself. Of course, this takes practice to perfect and I wouldn’t recommend it with children (because they just won’t hold still!).