using the sun

There are many rules in photography and many of these rules are good to know for most circumstances. However one also needs to know when to break the rules. Often shooting in direct sunlight is a no-no. It causes glare, squinting and is just plain unpredictable. However when looking for artful and creative imagery I always use the sun. If I see an interesting play of light I go for it and place the bride and groom directly in it or in front of it and see what happens. Above we have the sunlight shooting through the backs of trees to stream down as heavenly light upon the couple. Below I put the sunlight behind the tree limb and increased my flash power to prevent silhouetting. The result, the couple is lit properly against a surreal setting of a late summer day light.