Sunlight Transformations

My favourite thing about spring is the sudden change in sunlight. It is about a month now since the spring equinox, that magic date when the world is balanced between the dark and the light, and there is noticeably more sunlight now than during the dark months of February and early March.

How do we make the most of the sun in our photography practice? My best tip can be summed up as follows: Look at how the sunlight changes what you see, and decide from there how to shoot. This means that you shouldn’t automatically listen to blanket advice saying things like avoid shooting in direct sunlight, but rather that you should decide for yourself based on your own vision.

For my own part I have recently been studying the interplay between sunlight and shadow, the effects of sunlight on water and the geometry of sunlight.

I have discovered how sunlight can transform something as mundane as an office chair into a thing of beauty.

I have found that the sun can make me pull out a camera even while doing the dishes (which I usually find quite mind-numbingly boring).

And I have become aware that the geometry of sunlight – created by rays of sun, camera flare and shadows – adds additional lines to take into account when I compose images.

What are your best tips for shooting in sunlight? Feel free to share in the comments!

~ All the best from Jenny.