Full sun has become a staple in this project, and it's always one I both dread and love. There's something so intimidating about full sun, but once I get going with this theme, I always wonder why we avoid it so much - most of the fun in a day takes place during the full sun hours!
I love watching people dive in deep to this theme, and all the blue skies and beach images. Let's be honest, I'm still finding sand in my camera bag from my own summer vacation, and I'd go back to the full sun shore in a heartbeat!
Get out there, and document the best parts of your day! Emily
Gear: Canon Mark 5D IV w/ Sigma 24-105 1:4 lens
Settings: Focal was 24mm, F10, 1/400, ISO 100, Spot metering
The Shot: I was standing to the left of the diving board and shot over head while viewing through the LCD screen. I was spot metering and trying to get more familiar with the “Zone System”. I metered for her skin.
Post Processing: All edits done in Photoshop. Started with Camera Raw to tweak shadows & temps. Opened into a smart object which I started with straightening, cropped, and extended the water. After that I removed debris in the pool, enhanced the water with color balance & photo filter, blurred the edges, and finally a small vignette with a curves layer.
Gear: Canon 5DIV, Sigma 35 mm f/1.4
Settings: F/5.6, ISO 200, 1/1600 sec
The Shot: Standing on the top of the climbing frame looking down and using live view.
Post Processing: In Light Room I straightened, increased contrast and used the HSL panel to alter colours. In Photoshop I extended the canvas and deepened the shadows.
Gear: Canon 5D MkII, Canon 85mm
Settings: 1/5000, f1.8, ISO 100
The Shot: We took a break during our afternoon backyard badminton game and I noticed the pattern created by the racket on my daughter’s face. I simply asked her to position the racket so the shadows fell aesthetically on her.
Post Processing: Edited with Untamed preset from the Elements CM collection and local adjustments
Gear: Nikon D810 and Nikkor 24-70 2.8
Settings: 24 mm, 1/4000 sec, f/4, ISO 64
The Shot: I saw the benches at the end of the pier and asked my little one to sit on the bench. I waited until people were gone
Post Processing: Adjusted the exposure for the pier and my son as I had to underexpose them. Added clarity and vibrance and used a graduated filter to make the sky more blue
Gear: Canon 5D mkIV 16mm
Settings: f5 1/400sec ISO100
The Shot: On a recent trip to Colorado, I knew we would be visiting The Garden Of the Gods and I wanted to try and get something super flowy in the rock formations. So I packed this outfit in my camera bag and my oldest modeled for me mid hike There were actually quite a few people around since this was a popular spot but she was a trooper! I had her grab the bottom of the skirt and give it a good swing. By shooting low I was able to framer her entirely with the sky and not get other people down on the rocks behind her.
Post Processing: I cropped, adjusted levels, highlights and shadows, color and sharpened in Photoshop.
Gear: Nikon D750, Nikon 105mm
Settings: 1/125 sec, f6.3, ISO 200
The Shot: This little echinacea flower was in full sun (barely) and the background was spotty sun and shade mix. I shot toward the darker background. My focus was on the darker insect so I had to almost blow out the petals to get the darker insects well lit. A little give and take.
Post Processing: Edited in ACR using a Krautkopf preset adjusting the highlights slider to help with the petals blown out areas.
Gear: . Canon 6D and Tamron 24-70
Settings: f2.8, 1/640ss, ISO 800
The Shot: My family was at the bottom of this hill, making s’mores. I crouched down at the base of the hill but get a lower perspective as Walter started toddling toward the sugar.
Post Processing: I straightened, centered and cropped the image, then added some contrast and a center fill highlight.
Gear: Canon 6D Mark ii, Sigma 35mm
Settings: ISO 100, f/8.0, 1/1600
The Shot: With the sun to my right, I draped bubble wrap around my lens to create a bokeh effect and focused on my daughter so that she would be sharp.
Post Processing: I edited this in Lightroom to bring down exposure and highlights then finished in Photoshop to tweak colours and add sharpness and contrast.
Gear: Nikon D7500 and Tamron 18-270 mm
Settings: ISO 320, f/6.3 and 1/250 sec
The Shot: .I was playing with my 18 month niece in the sun and asked her to pick some flowers so I could get some detailed shots.
Post Processing: I used the preset Take Me Home in LR, cropped, did some dehazing and adjusted white balance. Then took it in PS for levels.
Gear: Canon EOS R6, RF24-105 at 24mm
Settings: 1/15 f22 ISO100
The Shot: Merry go round picture of my daughters. My youngest loves the merry go round so much and I wanted to capture her happiness so I focused on her. I lowered my shutter speed to 1/15 so that the movement of the ride was noticeable. I had to pan up and down at the speed of my daughter on her horse to get her in focus. I liked this one because you can see the ferris wheel behind my daughter
Post Processing: Edited in LR to adjust exposure. Brought down the luminance of green and red because the red and green ceiling of the carousel was glowing in the sun and distracted from the main focus. Increased contrast. Opened in PS to do some dodging on my daughter (I just like the look of PS dodging over an adjustment brush or radial gradient in LR)