How To Use Flash For Portraits In Harsh Sunlight

On this video tutorial photographer Gavin Hoey takes a look at one of the most common but still very hard shooting scenarios – location portraits in harsh sunlight.

So let’s say that you went shooting in the middle of the day in the middle of the summer and there is no cloud in the sky. If you don’t want to get a silhouette you will need to use some lighting to overpower the sun.

In this video Hoey tests 3 portable flashes ranging from a small speedlight to a full sized 600ws studio flash, to see which performs best on location with some surprising results.

The Lights used:

Flashpoint Zoom Li-on Manual On-Camera Flash ($180).
Flashpoint StreakLight 360 Ws Creative Collection (full kit – $700)
Flashpoint XPLOR 600 HSS TTL Battery-Powered Moonlight ($750).

We have looked at flash and natural light photography several times in the past including: “Outdoor Portraits – Using Natural Light and Fill Flash” with photographer Craig Beckta, On Reflection – Working with Natural Light” by Christian Hough and “Shooting Using Reflectors and Natural Sun Light” by J.P. Morgan and “Using Fill Flash in Bright Daylight for Portrait Shooting” with photographer Matt Granger.

You can check out many more helpful photography tips on our Photography tips section here on LensVid. You can also check out some of Gavin Hoey’s other videos here on LensVid.

Iddo Genuth

Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.