You could use a circular polarizing filter. it would cut down or eleiminate the nose/eye glare. OR- turn the model to a different angle(because she is squinting and that does not make a flattering pose) OR move the whole shot to the shade which eliminates the problem OR get a helper to hold up a sheild of some kind to put her in the shade where she is...

Metering Mode = pattern / multi-segment (5).

I could go and explain this but you probably only want to hear what to buy so, buy a polarizer!Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/..

A polarizing filter won't do anything for the image because it eliminates reflections and there are no reflections on any surface in the image that can be eliminated. Additionally it only works on a 90 degrees axis to the sun..

You can take the picture properly by moving out of direct sun or using fill flash to balance the lighting and change exposure to reflect the use of flash. But it's best to diffuse the light on the model's face by getting out of the sun..

I don't understand why you are using a skylight filter. A lens hood will give you better flare control and protect the lens under normal shooting conditions without adding a layer of glass that could cause reflections..

Marksaus wrote:.

I took this photo today and as you can see, the sun has reflected ahuge brightness on the nose and under eyes! Should I be using apolarizing filter in these direct sun situations to avoid thesepatches of brightness? The camera is a D200, 18-70mm lens with a B&Wskylight filter. Any other suggestions welcome!.

Larry Bermanhttp://BermanGraphics.com..

Many reflections from flat surfaces are polarized regardless of sun angle or even having the sun as the light source. But I dont think a polarizer would help much for that shot..

As a general rule I use fill flash for all outdoor portraits. I dont like my subjects squinting in the sun and the dynamic range limitations make it hard to avoid the kind of problem you are observing..

There are times when you cant get the background you want without having your subject(s) face the sun. But the situation should be avoided whenever possible. Even if your subject is facing the sun fill flash will help soften the shadows..

The highlights are blown in the bright reflection area, but you can do a decent job with an image editor in toning the bright parts down some...

Actually I would love to hear you explain if it's not too much of a hassle for you! I don't think that all my mediocrities should be solved with new gear, I really think that about... 90% of them are technique, so I'm very open to hear your suggestion..

Thanks,.

Markz..

That makes sense actually, I was using the filter AND the lens hood, I'll experiment just using the hood. I have a bit of prejudice re lighting and the sun and ISO that I guess I should test in order to change into objective rules to follow.....

I actually already touched shadows/lights (sorry for the translation, I use PS in Spanish), it was worse before. Thanks to all for answering. I will try to get used to shooting in less light, Spanish sun in July and 3pm is definitely too "loud"..

Markz..

Marksaus wrote:.

Actually I would love to hear you explain if it's not too much of ahassle for you! I don't think that all my mediocrities should besolved with new gear, I really think that about... 90% of them aretechnique, so I'm very open to hear your suggestion..

Finally! Sorry, was a bit sarcastic earlier on. There's a group of people posting here that think everything can be solved by throwing money at it..

OK, from your exif it looks like you selected matrix metering. What matrix does, and does very well, is meter on a lot of spots all over your picture. It then selects shutter speed or aperture to get an exposure that will be correct on as many places as possible..

Problem or challenge if you like here is that there's a LOT of dynamic range. Possibly too much to cover properly..

Looking at your pic it only missed out in a few places. A marquee or something on the left edge of the picture and a few tiny spots on the face. You could underexpose a bit, -0.3 or -0.7 and you'd probably save the face..

You could also select center metering and meter on the girl. You'd likely get that properly exposed but you may end up with some blown highlights in the background..

Point I'm trying to make is that matrix is great for all sorts of pictures but it does have it's limitations. I'd suggest try and shoot a few frames like this in matrix, center and spot. Not all of these will yield good results but you will get a good feeling for the differences and you'll have another tool in your toolkit..

One other thing, I noticed your whitebalance on sunny. Now I'm not familiar with the D200 but on my D50 that tends to give me slightly reddish results..

Hope this helps.Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/..

It makes sense about the metering, tomorrow I will get someone patient to stand in the sun while I take trial pictures. About the white balance, it is also something worth testing, but I have so much to investigate and try! It's that feeling which I'm sure you know that is somewhere between overwhelming and exciting in a good way, knowing there is so much learning to look forward to .

Thanks for the advice,.

Markz..

None of that metering info matters as far as your bad phtograph goes..

What matters is simply this; you had the womanstanding in a bad place, mixing bright sun and shade at the same time..

The easy way to solve this problem is to move her so the light is even; either lots of breight light everywhere (although this may make her squint) or move her into shade so there's no over-bright patches..

The harder way to solve the problem is to use either a flash unit or a reflector to put more light on her face, brightening the darker parts..

By making the dark parts brighter, you reduce the difference between bright and dark. The camera , or you, will adjust exposure so the bright parts (and the boosted dark parts) are properly exposed, and all will be fine..

A third approach, and this is harder, is to reduce the brightness of the bright spots. That involves putting some sort of scrom or block between the sunlight and her face. FAshion photographers have these things imagine a 4 x 8 sheet of translucent cloth that cuts the light a bit, but does not block it entirely..

REGARDLESS, the goal is to reduce the difference etween brightness and darkness..

EASIEST: turn her around, so the whole face is in shade, move the camera close to her face so it teakes it's reading only from the face (whioch will now be evenly lit with no sunny glare) figure out how to "loclk" this esposure while you back away, frame, and focus, and take your shot..

For a second picture, you need to repeat the close up meter reading, or, in the first place, set the camera on manual exposure when you take the close up meter reading..

BAK..

No equipment is going to resolve this problem.Sun is directly over head and causes hot spots..

Even if you metered the scene differently, the hot spots are still going to be hot. They will be shifted away from the right axis of the histogram but will still be "hotter" than the rest of the image..

What's needed is fill flash to brighten the shadowed areas of the subject and even out the dynamic range. (Range from darkest shadow-brightist lit areas of your given subject)..

Slide film users, as well asAnsel Adams, all tried to stay within a 5 step range. Called the "Zone System" (google it and learn).

Anyway, when outside, I almost always use fill flash. Like anything, the more you use it, the better you get at it..

Think of the use of flash, exactly like the use of womens make-up.IE:.

Idea being to use just enough, to make eveything look better, but without letting it be seen, that anything was being used at all..

Google FIll Flash and read, read read.

Then experiment, review.& experiment some more..

Dave PattersonMidwestshutterbug.com'When the light and composition are strong, nobodynotices things like resolution or pincushion distortion'Gary Friedman..

No amount "Metering" is going to reduce the wide range of light upon the subject. Your sarcasm wasn't very helpful either..

Try again?.

Dave PattersonMidwestshutterbug.com'When the light and composition are strong, nobodynotices things like resolution or pincushion distortion'Gary Friedman..

I have, you haven't read it.Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/..

Such problems can be well corrected using the clone tool or healing brush in PS or similar software. It is best to avoid such situation but often that is not possible.Leonhttp://homepage.mac.com/leonwittwer/landscapes.htm..

Firstly I'm going to suggest the shot is fine. The lady looks nice in it, it's a bright day and the shot says it well. The words "nice summer day" leap to mind. It looks natural. Why mess with it ? .

You still want to mess with it ? OK. If you want to reduce the impact of those kind of bright highlights first (a) move the subject so the light is less of an issue - remember that in PP you can make it look as bright as you want later. (b) You could simply change the colour of the area in question using the clone tool or similar in whatever photo editor you use. (c) Shoot RAW ( I always do this ) if you can and ensure you don't over-expose. Then manipulate the curves so that the shot looks the way you want. Doing this lets you 'anchor' the bright level while raising the brightness of everything else..

Letting the lady put some makeup (powder) on her nose first would also help. Not really useful for snaps, but for posed shots..

Probably all of the above..

StephenG.

Fuji S9600Fuji S5200Fuji F30Fuji E900Canon A710ISPCLinuxOS..

"..A polarizing filter won't do anything for the image because it eliminates reflections and there are no reflections on any surface in the image that can be eliminated. Additionally it only works on a 90 degrees axis to the sun....".

The above isn't completely true..

First, the highlight on the subject's nose is in part a specular reflection of sunlight from a non-metallic, glossy surface and is surely polarized; it is likely that more than 1/2 the extra brightness from that highlight can be canceled by an appropriately aligned polarizer. The highlights on the cheek-bones will be similarly affected..

Second, all specular reflections from glossy non-metallic surfaces (like sweaty or oily skin) are partially polarized. The degree of polarization depends on the angle; for a wet surface the angle of maximum polarization effect is about 37 degrees (angle between reflecting surface and lens axis - where zero degrees would be light just skimming the surface.).

Dave..

Marksaus wrote:.

Hi guys,.

I took this photo today and as you can see, the sun has reflected ahuge brightness on the nose and under eyes! Should I be using apolarizing filter in these direct sun situations to avoid thesepatches of brightness? The camera is a D200, 18-70mm lens with a B&Wskylight filter. Any other suggestions welcome!.

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about this one. It's a perfectly nice snap of a happy person baking in the noon time sun. If this were a commercial shot, just outside of the range of the lens there would be a crew of make-up artists, stylists, grips sporting massive reflectors, silks, scrims, and various types of auxillary lighting, and a fussy AD standing around moaning about everything he/she can think of. The hotspots would be gone, but gone too, would be any trace of honesty..

Next time, just use some fill flash. That will not only help to fill in those high-noon shadows but also give you a chance to under expose the ambient light relative to the more directional light coming from the flash, brightening up the eyes and helping to tone down those highlights a bit..

'Here, look at the monkey. Look at the silly monkey!'.

Tom Younghttp://www.pbase.com/tyoung/..

Set your WB to Sunny -2 - that makes things pretty good on my D200. And don't be afraid to use the Bracketing feature with the camera set to 5fps..

While you're in the learning mode, get online and order Thom Hogan's D200 e-book (unless you already have it). It will teach you things about the camera that even Nikon-san doesn't know!.

Http://www.bythom.com/d200guide.htm.

Rob.

Everyone, everywhere, has to do everything for a first time. There is no failure in failure, only in failing to learn...