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Writer's pictureAngie Mahlke

Full Sun by Marcie Reif

Full Sun By Marcie Reif



Shooting in full sun is certainly not desirable for every type of portrait or shooting situation but I actually love it for shooting at the beach. There is so much color and scenery to capture. The key to shooting in full sun is your lens and your settings. My favorite type of lens to shoot with is a wide angle. This could be a fish eye lens or a zoom comparable to a 15-30mm. I love using my Tamron SP 15-30mm F/2.8 Di VC G2. I also have the G1 version and they are both phenomenal. They capture the sky and water perfectly and there is no need to merge images or create composites to get the perfect sky.






When I arrive to the beach and it’s full sun I will not shoot with anything longer than a 35 mm. I prefer to shoot with the Tamron SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC if I’m not shooting with my Tamron SP 15-30mm F/2.8 Di VC G2. I set my ISO at 100-200. I keep my aperture around 2.8 and my shutter speed is usually really high because of all the available light. Once I have my settings I will use my meter in camera to over or underexpose my images as needed. This will change my shutter speed. I find that my favorite full sun images are images of my kids or subjects playing. Because the sun is high there may be shadows so I try to capture them in a way where they are not negatively effecting my images. Sometimes you can even use the shadows to your advantage. Shadows of jumping, toys, kites, bubbles, hands, and the list can go on!


If you are at the beach and shooting in full sun there is a good chance there are other people at the beach. I like to find the least crowded place as I can but there is always people around me. Photoshop can easily remove people by using the lasso tool.




Capturing motion and creating sharp images is easy to achieve during full sun. There is so much light available that you can manage a very high shutter speed and still get great exposure. This is great for jumping into pools or water!


There are so many possibilities for awesome shots in full sun. Be confident and come prepared with the right lenses and you will achieve what you set out to do!

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