​Portraiture in Direct Sunlight and Bokeh basics

What does a family do on a sweltering hot day? Go for a walk along the river and enjoy a traditional Drumstick ice cream of course! I took my camera, not necessarily to take a picture but look for possible backdrops for future portraits. The colours along the South Esk river at this time of year are perfect. Yellows, oranges, browns and greens line the river bank and extend well into land. I love these earthy colours in portraiture. The ice creams disappeared, for the most part correctly, although quite a bit was deposited on the face and dress of my daughter, see below. ​ Even before delving into photography, I had heard the phrase "the best time for shooting is during the hour after sun rise and within an hour before sunset". This is a very true statement. These times provide a photographer with the best sources of light. The sun being lower in the sky softens its effect due to more atmosphere in which the light has to travel through before it gets to you, very simply speaking and without referencing a more detailed justification. Shooting during the day, when the sun is high up in the sky, is known for the harsh shadows and the unflattering effect it has on the subject. If the subject is positioned accordingly however, this light can be used as a back light. Just ensure to expose for the face of the subject or fill with well positioned, off camera flash. If I had a flash with me, I would have utilised this option to give the subject a little more fill.

200mm, f/4.0 @ 1/1600 sec

Undertaking my standard portrait edits and a slight adjustment to raise highlights in the face, the harsh sunlight gives the subject a soft glow effect when used as a back light.

Unedited 70 mm, f/4.0 @ 1/1250 sec

I would like to talk about the importance of not only bokeh but how it is composed. The above image has not been retouched and will only be used to demonstrate this effect. Bokeh, the blur in an image, needs to be carefully considered and composed to ensure softness, colour, and tone complement the subject. It does this effect by warping and blowing out the distant background. With my family in toe, we set off to find and experiment with different locations and light. In contrast to the previous image, the bokeh is considerably harsh. With the focal length at 70 mm, an aperture of 2.8 would have softened this. The aperture of 4.0 on the other hand requires a deeper focal length to soften the background. The 200 mm focal length of the first image demonstrates this clearly. I generally use Aperture priority mode and chose an aperture of 4.0 to ensure I capture enough detail from the nose to the pack of the head. The other influencing factor of bokeh is the distance the subject is to the background. The more distance between the two the more of a bokeh effect it will have. Blurring the background is a great way to make a subject stand out and why outdoor portraiture generally heavily relies on it. Just ensure you take the focus off your subject and continuously think about the kind of backdrop you are shooting them against.