How to Take Better Photos in Harsh Daylight

Golden hour, the hour after sunrise or before sunset, is known as the best time for photos. The golden light creates a level of warmth and depth that harsh and flat midday sunlight simply can’t match. While snapping photos during golden hour is typically ideal, it isn’t always possible - especially if you’re a travel photographer.

Sure, you could get up early on your vacation, watch the sunrise and snap pictures for the following hour (if you’re an early riser, I highly recommend this). But, even if you do summon the courage to get out of bed early on your hard-earned vacation, you’ll likely be forced to snap photos during the day anyways. For instance, if you plan on chilling at the beach, heading out on an ocean-based excursion or simply trekking around town, you’re going to be taking a lot of midday photos - and I mean a lot.

Now, this may be a bit controversial, but midday photos aren’t that bad. Sure, midday photos tend to look flat, washed out, and desaturated, while creating super harsh shadows (not ideal for portraits), but they still capture important memories from your trip. With that being said, don’t limit yourself to specific lighting scenarios and miss out on capturing moments you want to revisit forever.

Plus, great photos can definitely be had during harsh midday light - you just need to know a few tricks for making them happen. On the bright side (pun intended), taking better photos in harsh daylight is actually fairly simple - and you can even make it happen without spending any money - although there are a few accessories that you may want to invest in if you’re going to be snapping a lot of midday landscape shots. Ready to snap epic travel shots from dawn til dusk? Here’s how to take better photos in harsh daylight on your next trip:

Locate the Shade and Embrace Overcast

Harsh, midday lighting creates strong, dark shadows, while washing out colours. While this type of lighting isn’t well suited for, well, anything, it’s especially bad for portrait photography, as it can create dark, unflattering shadows on a subject’s face, while completely washing out their skin tone. Oh, and if it’s really bright out, your subject may be squinting in every photo, too.

If you do plan on snapping some environmental portraits during the day on your next trip, try and locate some shade. While it may seem counterintuitive, you actually want to remove your subject from the bright, direct lighting source (the sun) when the sun is at it’s brightest and harshest. By snapping photos in the shade, your subject’s will have a more even and soft light on their face, eliminating the washed out, super contrasty look. Sure, snapping photos in the shade probably won’t match golden hour’s magical lighting, but, when you’re out exploring in the midday sun, it’ll help you still capture some nice images.

Oh, and if the sun isn’t out, don’t be afraid to snap some midday photos in overcast conditions. The scene may look a little dull and colourless. However, overcast provides diffusion from the sun, creating a soft, flattering light that works well for environmental portraits.

Use a Circular Polarizer

Now, before you starting snapping all of your midday travel photos in the shade, there is a camera accessory that will actually help you snap bold, saturated shots even in the harshest conditions. It’s called a circular polarizer - and every travel photographer should have one in their bag.

A circular polarizer cuts down, or removes, reflections from an image, making reflective elements, like water, leaves, sand, etc., appear more vivid in the frame. So, when you use a circular polarizer during midday light, you can actually cut out a lot of the sun’s harsh reflections, creating a vivid, saturated image that looks like it was snapped closer to golden hour than lunch time.

Now, there is a bit of a learning curve to using a circular polarizer. However, once you’ve got the basics down, you can make a lot of your midday photos look better - especially landscape photos. I said you can make “a lot” of your midday photos better because, in all honesty, a circular polarizer won’t work for every shot. The polarizing effect, in my opinion, can sometimes cut out too much reflection, creating overly saturated and unnatural looking shots, and the sun’s position in relation to your subject / scene is a major factor in how well the filter actually works. But, if you are out snapping photos in the midday light, it’s worth giving it a shot!

Invest in a Diffuser

This one’s a little trickier for travel photography, but, if you’re snapping environmental portraits near your house or if you don’t mind packing one for a trip, a diffuser can help create soft light when the sun’s at its strongest.

Available in different shapes and sizes, a diffuser is basically a translucent piece of material that scatters light as it passes through it. By doing this, the diffuser eliminates harsh shadows and washed out tones, creating a soft, flattering light that’s ideal for portraits.

To use a diffuser, all you really need to do is hold it up between your light source and your subject. From an environmental portrait perspective, this means you would hold up the diffuser in front of the sun, allowing the harsh light to pass through the diffuser and transform it into soft, workable lighting.

Aside from the awkwardness of packing a diffuser, the other downside is that you’ll need someone to hold it up while you snap photos. If you’re travelling with a number of people, this shouldn’t be an issue. If it’s just you and one other person, however, holding up the diffuser while snapping photos may prove impossible.

Conclusion

While all travel photographers strive for epic, golden hour photos, they will, inevitably, be forced to snap photos of their adventures in harsh midday sunlight. Luckily, travel photographers can improve their midday photos with a few simple tricks and camera accessories. If you’re snapping environmental portraits, try having your subject stand in the shade. This will remove some of the harsh and unflattering lighting effects of direct bright sunlight, providing a softer look. For landscape photos, use a circular polarizer to help cut through the sun’s reflections, creating vivid, saturated images. Lastly, if you have extra space in you camera bag or you’re snapping environmental portraits close to home, bring a diffuser. This simple, inexpensive camera accessory will scatter the sun’s light, creating a softer, more flattering image.