Paris Loc: Iowa

How do I take a group picture at noon and the group will be facing the sun, because of the background they want them taken at. I could use some advice on how to set me camera for this. For lenses I have 70- 200mm , & 28-300mm & my camer is a Nikon d750. Thanks a head of time for any help .

melismus Loc: Chesapeake Bay Country

Pray for a cloudy day. High sun casts ugly shadows; if you have a powerful flash and can get close enough to get effective fill flash, you may get away with it. Off-camera flashes would be even better. Take practice shots ahead of time.

melismus Loc: Chesapeake Bay Country

Oops

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Set me camera with a good flash to fill the shadows!!!
SS

Jakebrake Loc: Broomfield, Colorado

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Full sun facing folks = squinty(?) eyes = racoon eyes = bad regardless of what you do.

As one said, pray for a cloudy day (or make sure the forecast does announce an overcast day).

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

You don't tell us how big the group is. Is it a group of 4 people or a group of 30 people. I think you will need the 28-300 if a large group. If it was me I would do all I could to emphasize the group will be squinting while facing the sun. I would so all I could to encourage them to use another background. You could also use an open f stop to blur the background. I would also suggest going a few days before with a friend to give yourself a chance to practice and find the correct camera settings. Good luck with your shoot.

Dennis

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Is there any way you can set up some sort of an awning? Even an old sheet on a clothesline will work. Even with fill-flash or reflectors, the people will be squinting, as has been noted. Unless they're all wearing sunglasses!

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

Remember the Sunny 16 rule. If you aren’t familiar with that, then read on …

In a nutshell, the Sunny 16 rule is a simple method of establishing a correct exposure when taking pictures outdoors without using a light meter. The premise of the Sunny 16 rule is that sunshine is a constant source of illumination, which depending on a short list of variables, is easy to classify. You have clear, sunny skies, hazy days, slight overcast, heavy overcast and precipitation in the form of snow, sleet or rain. Add to the above parameters the reflective nature of the surroundings, i.e. city/suburban streets, the beach, snowscapes and high/low altitudes.

The starting point for establishing the correct exposure is to set the only non-variable part of the equation, specifically the f-stop of the lens, which as you might guess when talking about the Sunny 16 Rule, is f/16.

Once the lens is set to f/16, we now have to establish the correct shutter speed, which on a clear sunny day should correspond to your working ISO speed. What this means is if you’re shooting a landscape or a portrait of your cocker spaniel, for that matter, on a sunny day with your camera’s ISO set to 100, the correct exposure should be f/16 @ 1/100-second. Similarly, if your ISO is 400 or 4000, the shutter speed should be 1/400- or 1/4000-second respectively. Easy… no?

The thinking part comes into play when it’s not a bright, sunny day, and here too we’re not talking rocket science. If you’re shooting on a hazy day, open up a half stop to f/11.5. Cloudy? Open up a full stop to f/11. Light rain? Open another half stop to f/8.5, which is a stop and a half wider than the base f/16 we use on sunnier days. And if it’s pouring cats and dogs or the skies are heavy overcast, open up a full 2 stops to f/8 and you’re good to go.

As for the best combination of f/stop and aperture, your final choice should be determined by the nature of the photograph you’re capturing, i.e. a landscape, sporting event, portrait, etc. That said, an exposure setting of f/16 @ 1/100-second can be easily converted to f/22 @ 1/50, f/8 @ 1/400, or f/2 @ 1/6400-second. The depth of field and blur of moving objects within the frame will vary, but the exposure density of each of these exposure variations of the original f/16 formula will remain identical regardless of your final choice of f/stop and shutter speed settings.

Hope this helps.

Bobbee

I have one, these help.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=643208&gclid=CjwKEAjw7e66BRDhnrizmcGc8VcSJABR6gaRH_fR3jVJEziMByzAyid4PwE7mHmR18xsArc29336MBoCkzbw_wcB&is=REG&ap=y&c3api=1876%2C89827194362%2C&A=details&Q=

nokin

You can use a neutral density filter. A lot easier to use when too much light!!!!!!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Avoid shooting in noonday sun with people facing the sun. No amount of fill will fix squinting. Also, if the background is important, you have to find out how important - it means the difference between using F16 and F4.

Once you have the issues above resolved, then it is a simple matter to use your camera's spot meter and read someone's face. If they are pale and un-tanned, then add about 1/3 stop to the reading. If they are tanned or olive skinned use the reading as is. If they are black, then adjust the reading downward from 1/3 to 1 stop. You could also use an incident meter and just use the reading as is, with the understanding that if these people are wearing bright white shirts or blouses, you might have to adjust your reading by as much as one stop LESS exposure.

But you should avoid that combination of lighting and time of day if you can.

If you can't then you'll need to buy/rent/borrow a couple of these:

http://www.lastolite.com/product/1066861.1066894.398.0.0/LL%2BLR82243R/_/Skylite_Rapid_Standard_Large_Kit_2_x_2m

Along with some fill reflectors for up lighting the faces a bit - you can use foam core or other reflective surfaces.

Otherwise ask the family if they mind squinty eyes.

Where there's a will there's a way - production doesn't stop because the weather is uncooperative - you work with what you have.

Dave R. Loc: PNW

Usually the photographer is in charge and has the subjects in a location that best suits the lighting conditions. If they are not willing to cooperate with you then politely decline. It's your work that ultimately will be judged.

Carl D Loc: Albemarle, NC.

I agree with the neutral density filter approach.

Bobbee

Put your camera on a tripod, or even hand held, take a picture of the background. Then get everyone to stand for the shot and have them stand out of the sun infront of a non-very-busy background. White or solid color will cause you the least amount of work. Go to Photoshop and do some background lifting. I did that here.