Sunny days are overrated!
Posted on 3rd February 2021
Sunny days are overrated. When it comes to filming videos or taking photos using natural light, sunny days can be quite challenging. We are here to tell you why and more importantly, how to fix it.
I know what you’re thinking. It’s winter day eleventy billionth, London is at its bleakest and all we can think is bring on the sunny days. After all, we need that perfect brilliant sunshine to film all those videos we’ve been meaning to publish. Right?
Wrong!
We can all agree that there’s no light source as bright as the sun, but a lot of light can translate into a lot of problems. All that light will cause super bright hot spots and deep dark shadows.
Add to this the general unpredictability of an outdoor shoot. As the day goes by, passing clouds will play tricks on you, constantly varying the amount of light and shadows on your subject, effectively making it seem as if your composition flickers.
The key to making your filming session a success is to be in control of your shooting environment. When filming outdoors, the one element that will cause the most trouble is ambient light.
Somewhat surprisingly, with natural light being the one element that can cause the most trouble during outdoor shoots, one solution is to film on overcast days. A cover of clouds will soften the effects of harsh sunlight effectively making shadows disappear altogether and giving a more uniform overall lighting effect.
However, this is not always possible, so this is why we always recommend to our clients a real game-changer when it comes to lighting. A diffuser, you can find our preferred option via our shop, it’s actually a 5-in-1 kit of diffusers and reflectors you can place between the light source and the subject, to soften the amount of light.
Bear in mind that using a diffuser will probably mean you’ll need an extra pair of hands, but as we always say: great videos are the result of team effort. Alternatively, you can invest in a stand, or our absolute favourite, Manfrotto’s Magic Arm.
As ever, if you have any questions at all about video, just give us a shout! We love a chat, especially if it’s a “video chat”! (See what we did there?).