It took a while for me in my photography journey to not be scared of harsh light. Only scheduling photo shoots during the early morning hours, golden hour or always running for the nearest open shade, I would count my blessings when the day was overcast and the clouds shielded the evil midday sun. Thankfully, that fear didn’t last long as I had lovely mentors to guide me through working with ‘bad’ lighting conditions. Open shade and golden hour will always be ideal conditions to work in, but as a photographer (especially a wedding photographer), you don’t always have the choice.

[REWIND: SHOOT BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS IN THE HARSH NOON SUN | LINDSAY ADLER]

In the following 3 minute video, Nikon ambassador Cliff Mautner gives us a simple tip to shoot in a challenging lighting situation to turn ‘bad’ light into ‘good’ light. It’s nothing new or earth shattering, but it’s one of those things that we all learn (and hopefully learn early) in our photographic journey. The tip is this (spoiler alert): place your subject(s) between yourself and the sun. This will help you create a beautiful backlight, even lighting on their faces and a beautiful rim light on her veil.

Harsh-light-cliff-mautner

He lists his gear in the video (after all, it is a video sponsored by Nikon), so if you’re interested, Cliff used a Nikon D810, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G and Nikkor 70-200mm f/4G for the shoot and of course, having a stunning couple in the shot doesn’t hurt one bit.

Watch Nikon Behind the Scenes: Turning Harsh Light into Good Light

If you’re new to photography and want a crash course in everything you need to know, check out our BRAND NEW Photography 101 Workshop DVD available in the SLR Lounge store!

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