Keep it simple. The first thing you want to control when shooting models against sunsets is your natural light exposure. The setting should be exactly how you want the background to be. This will begin to change as the sunset moves into dusk.

Let me explain further from a one shot scenario. Set your camera to manual mode. Meter the scene as if you were taking a picture of the sunset the way you want that to look. Pay attention to your exposure when you preview your shot. Generally speaking, if you are not shooting high speed sync, set your camera at your highest sync shutter speed when making this exposure. Let's say, for example, your shutter speed is 200 and your F-stop is f-11 at iso 100. After you are satisfied with your exposure setting to get the look and feel you want of your background; you will then need to set your flash output to allow the flash exposure to be at F-ll. That is so simple and yet many photographers are intimidated by this. The same technique is used with high speed sync capable flashes and cameras. The only thing you need to think about is the power of your flash as it takes more power with HSS. Let's repeat. Step 1. Find your exposure that you want your background to look like. Step 2. Bring in the flash. Adjust the flash power to meet that exposure on your model. It's as simple as that.

As your natural light changes with the setting sun, you need to know that the ambient light exposure of your scene will change as the sun goes down. You control your ambient light with your shutter speed since the flash exposure is controlled by the F-stop (aperture).

Let's say you are not working with HSS. Keeping the exposure at F-11 and the flash power the same, you can adjust your ambient light exposure by the shutter speed. This will not affect your flash exposure. From 200 shutter speed you can go down in increments to a safe hand holding speed. Since flash can freeze certain actions, you can generally get away with shooting as low as 60th of a second shutter speed. Again, your ambient light is controlled by your shutter speed and your flash exposure can be controlled by your aperture or the power of your flash.

You have to watch out for ghosting of your subject with slower shutter speeds. Especially if your subject is moving. One of the advantages of working in High Speed Sync is you have lots of room to work with in safe shutter speeds. Generally, the light has to be closer to your subject when working with HSS.

Once you get to that slow shutter speed threshold, you will need to start thinking about opening up your aperture then to get your sky the way you want it. When you start opening up your aperture, you will need to turn down the power of your flash to balance your subjects exposure. This will allow you to control your flash exposure on your subject and keep you from any ghosting of your subject against the sky.

At anytime. You can adjust accordingly with the same starting method of setting your shutter speed to work with your flash in sync or HSS, metering your natural light scene, adjusting the F-stop (aperture) to meet your desired ambient light exposure, and then adjust the power of your light to match your natural light scene exposure.

Pray for some clouds. A clear sky is not your best scenario to photograph sunsets. You want some clouds for an epic sunset. Start paying attention to the late afternoon to see if the conditions are going to be right for a wonderful sunset. A blanket overcast sky will kill it altogether and be a bust. If the sun setting is not going to be ideal, take that time to simply shoot sweet light or get creative with sun flares, rim light with sun and silhouettes. Always make the most of any situation.

Power Shoot. Shooting at sunset is what I call a power shoot. You only get about 30 minutes from sunset to early dusk for a usable background. This is a thrill and no time to be fumbling around. You must get the shot. Especially if it is an epic sunset with a wonderful model.

Don't give up when you think it's not going to happen. I have seen the sun break through an evening overcast horizon on moments notice. Get set up and pay attention of the western sky to see if it has the possibility to change. The cloud blanket might break up just in time and you don't want to miss that opportunity of the sun filtering through. That moment could be an amazing scene that lasts for only a few seconds or if you are in luck, a minute. It could be that second you will nail the image of your lifetime.

Get hands-on experience to learn more at www.supershoots.com and www.hitthelodge.com

Equipment Used from our affiliation with Adorama:

Adorama Store at SS

Supershoots will celebrate its 20th anniversary season for HTL and Las Vegas Supershoots series in 2019. Before these two events, back in 1998, Hit the Beach, now Back to the Beach Michigan City, Indiana was started. That series will also hit it's 20th event in 2019. It lead to our official Supershoots.com photography workshop platform in the year 2000 to what you see today. We are very proud to help photographers see the light and to help them succeed in portrait, beauty, glamour and fashion photography. It's hard to imagine that this all started when we were dialing up at 28k just to hook up to the internet. We started way before facebook and instagram and the idea was to get photographers and models across the globe, off the internet and actually work together and meet in person.

We have a special Superpass ticket to combine two of our signature events, HTL XX and Las Vegas SS XX in our 20th celebration year. It also includes 4-nights private room for HTL XX. If you are seriously looking to improve your photography, these two creative photography workshops will help you gain knowledge and learn new techniques to start crushing your competition or simply be a better photographer. These hands-on workshops will provide you with expert instruction, unique locations and beautiful models to photograph in 1-on-1 sessions for multiple days.

J T Smith Owner and Founder of Supershoots.com

www.supershoots.com

www.hitthelodge.com

Open Shade is a reference to an even shadow area outdoors. When shooting at mid-morning, noon, or mid-afternoon, this area is crucial to find. During these times, the sunlight has a lot of contrast and it's angle is higher in the sky. This direct sun from above is generally not a flattering light to use. With that said, you don't always have to shoot early morning and late evening to find quality light. You can create fabulous photographs shooting at all times of the day.

Look for structures that produce shade that also has the sunlight casting around it. If you find an area which has sunlight that can bounce off a white wall into the shade, you have the ultimate open shade spot to photograph in. This will give you sweet light. You can also direct light with a reflector for adding more punch. To name a few spots to look for; tall buildings, walls, garages, sheds, tunnels, thick foliage, underneath bridges and trestles.

Illumination on the subject isn’t going to come directly from the sun. It’s mostly going to come from reflective surfaces. What’s a reflective surface? Just about anything bright. Sand. Rock, Concrete. Buildings. and Water. Open sky is even going to offer some light in. Open sky is referred to by me as a section of sky that is sunless. The sky can have a few clouds when working in open shade. White clouds will reflect light into open shade. Actually some white puffy clouds are your friend when working in open shade. The negative thing about those independent clouds flouting around, is the sun can constantly go in and out of those clouds and it changes the intensity of your reflective light into open shade. This will also effect your exposures.

Color Contamination. The biggest drawback from using open shade is having certain objects contaminate your white balance. Shade itself will photograph more blue. If you have a lot of grass in the sunlight nearby, green will contaminate. To minimize color contamination you must bring in a heavy dose of reflective light that is more in tune with pleasing colors. Silver, gold, tan or white. You can also block the contaminated surfaces with something called a flag. Basically, anything blocking the contaminated reflection of light. I've been known to lay down large white sheets/foam core, to large reflectors on the ground to minimize reflective contamination.

Photography is about give and take. If you haven't figured it out yet; photography will cause you to make sacrifices. You always have to sacrifice something. The key is minimizing the damage by outweighing the negatives with more positives. Nothing is perfect. Show me a perfect image and I will show you what is wrong with it. Open shade itself is not guaranteed for excellent photography. It can be a place to control the light to your advantage at the wrong time of day.

I am not a fan of using speedlites or portable strobes unless I want to shoot sunsets or want to photograph, let's say, a sky underexposed to have that rich look. If I can find natural reflective surfaces I love that or if it's not enough I will bring out my California Sunbounce reflectors in such a place that will redirect the sunlight into my open shade spot.

We recommend the California Sunbounce for your reflector needs. A nice size is the 4x6 Silver and White starter kit. You can purchase it HERE with our affiliate link.

June 9-12, 2019 will mark our 20th year for this incredible photography event. HTL started with one goal in mind and that was to gather like minded photographers and models face to face to create beautiful images together in a retreat type atmosphere.

In the year 2000, Social media was just starting with various news groups and photography forums. Years later, facebook, twitter, instagram, linkedin, and snapchat took over these photography forums and is our main social media platforms today. Now our phones consume our daily lives. We hide behind our phones instead of communicating face to face. Heck, we don't even speak on the phone anymore. We type words to communicate as if our tongues are cut out.

HTL has always been fun, friendly and a place to be creative. Skilled colleagues that enjoy sharing and teaching proven techniques with those who truly want to learn has been the forefront of why photographers support the event and the reason why you should attend. There are no Rock Stars at HTL. In fact, some photographers and models that attended 20 years ago, that became successful, are now part of the SS team who enjoy inspiring others to become better.

It doesn't matter if you are wanting to be a better artist, hobbyist, amateur, advanced or professional photographer. It's about creating and learning new techniques and brushing up on proven techniques.

There are several studios and locations to explore. Orvis endorsed Heartland Lodge is set on the rolling hills of the Mississippi River Bluff in Pike County, Illinois. Wheat fields, wild flowers, open prairies, country roads, forests, water falls, rock structures, old barns, antique cars to small town urban locations provide many scenes to create unique images with beautiful models. Instructors and mentors who truly have a passion to share their knowledge with you so you can become a better photographer.

For more information please visit www.hitthelodge.com

5' to 7' Octa

What I like about the larger Octaboxes are being able to use one light and cover the subject or subjects in a group. You don't necessarily have to worry about unwanted shadows on the model's face. Especially when models like to flow from pose to pose.

The larger Octaboxes will cover and wrap around your subject and illuminate your background at the same time. They can diffuse or eliminate a shadow on the background in proximity with your subject. Depending on the angle or feathering of light to your subject, they will have some amount of shadowing to sculpt a face. Many manufactures offer additional diffusion panels to alter the light source to minimize any hot spots. I do like the fact that I can have a large soft light and still achieve some short lighting.

For those that are not familiar with the definition of short lighting, let me define it. Short lighting is putting a shadow on the side of the model's face closest to the camera. In the cover image, I added a white reflector panel for filling in the shadow side of the face.

Smaller Octa

The smaller versions will offer more contrast of light. It will provide a certain punch and still be a soft light source. Many photographers use a smaller Octabox for a pseudo beauty dish effect. Remember, the closer the light the softer the light will be.

Photographers can never have a vacation because we are always looking at things to see how it will photograph.

What will be undetermined is the weather and exact lighting conditions when you plan to come back in the future. Location scouting is a vital process in the production stage of photography. When scouting a location, you want to pay attention to the time of day. If you don't have a lot of time to review your location through out the day, you will need to imagine what lighting conditions might come into play. Think about what the scene will be at an earlier or later time. Think about the direction of the sun in relationship to the scene. What if it rains? What if it's windy that day? What if it's cloudy or a heavy overcast. Not to mention, if you are scouting in the month of May, how the sunlight angle and schedule will be in September. In the cover image at Hampton Beach, you have to think about the low and high tides. You need to think about all of these things and more to have a successful shoot. This will prepare you in case you have to adapt your original ideas.

An experienced photographer understands how to deal with situations that are not exactly how a session was originally visioned. To adapt and photograph nature's given moments successfully, you have to understand many things. The first thing to think about is typography direction. What I mean by that is understanding directions like a compass will point you in the right direction. Know where your background is in relationship to the East and West, North and South. You also need to understand the times of sunrise and sunset for scheduling your time appropriately. Check an almanac for sunrise and sunset times at your location. The sun angle will also change with the seasons. You will want to take advantage of having better lighting conditions early in the morning or later in the evening. If you are planning a sweet light session, make sure you have plenty of time before the sun goes down completely. I always schedule a session about two hours before I am ready to shoot my original idea at sweet light.

Going with the flow. You can have control in the studio and I can find shooting in the studio to be a bit boring and cookie cutting at times. Believe it or not, this is exactly why I love working outdoors on any given day. The challenges of photographing with natural light can keep you on your toes. Outdoor lighting conditions can be challenging. Evolving with the seasons, time of day, and weather. This is why I enjoy working in natural light. It can spark the creative mind. It causes you to think about how to create the best images possible with any act of God. My point, have a few backup ideas to run with in case things are not ideal for you.

The session starts at 4 p.m. with the sun setting around 7:00 p.m., I noticed the wind was gusting around 25 miles per hour. Now is the time to utilize mother nature's creative beauty. I noticed the ocean slapping up against the rocks. High tide is also rolling in. In order to get to this rock structure, I knew we had to hike the terrain and have it be an in and out shoot situation. Otherwise, we risk being stuck on the rock with with high tide coming in. I didn't want to call 911 and have the Coast Guard rescue us. Needless to say, I got my shoes wet, milking every last second before coming back to higher ground.

Amber changed quickly into this fashion, thanks to some planning ahead of time; Amber brings a tote bag full of clothing options. Amber absolutely loves this dress and she wanted to model with it. I also thought it would work well for this location. She also found a bird feather so this became a personal story for her to be photographed holding the feather. If you noticed, some clouds started to roll in from the North. Clouds add dimension to an image versus a solid blue sky and it can also diffuse the harsh sunlight.

Not exactly what I had in mind because I wanted sweet light. Sweet light to me is the last 60 minutes of the day. If a model can handle the direct sunlight without squinting, you have a wonderful opportunity to photograph with nice light and warm color. I had to settle for diffused sunlight. This is when you have to forget about your vision and create a new story.

The model doesn't always have to look at the camera. I see many photographers not direct a model correctly with various lighting conditions. Stop forcing your models to always look at the camera! Remember to create images, instead of shooting pictures. Think in terms of creating a story when you have some light that's not so perfect for shooting a model looking at the camera.

I see it often. Photographers shooting the bride and groom always looking at the camera no matter how the lighting conditions are. They have their speedlite or portable strobe out and blasting away. "Look here, look here and smile for the camera!"

Tip:

Stop it! If you are one of these cookie cutting photographers always blasting unnatural light at your bride and groom, please pay attention. When lighting conditions are not in your favor or you're in deep shade at a park; start directing and create stories. You are missing artistic lighting conditions when you always use fill flash outdoors. Now is the time to use natural light to your advantage. You do not always have to have the bride and groom look at the camera. In fact, those shots can be boring. Light them up with the God given light and start creating stories. You don't always have to artificially light the eyes or be in sweet natural light to shoot subjects.

Instead of bringing light to the subjects, bring the subjects to the light!

Think about using reflectors instead of fill flash to give a natural light look that has a little pop. When you are in shade or overcast sky, use a silver reflector to bounce some light in when you want to photograph a traditional look with having subjects looking at the camera.