How to Take Pictures in Harsh Sunlight

“There are two types of photographers: the ones that have a preferred lighting type, and the ones that don’t. I happen to not care - light is light.”

— Me

So when I first started practicing photography, one of the main things I, like all new photographers, had to learn was finding the best light and learning how to shoot in it. But there was just one problem:

Good light doesn't wait around for you. 

Seriously - it's just never there when you need it. It's either too harsh, too dark, too dappled, on the wrong side of the building you want to shoot in front of, too low, too high, too orange, too blue, too diffused, you name it. And when you have clients that need to shoot at all hours of the day, guess what? You have to learn to adapt. So here are some tips for dealing with the most daunting of lighting situations: harsh light.

But first - how do you know you're dealing with harsh light? Well - it's usually way too bright, the sun is way too high in the sky, there are ugly shadows everywhere, and the contrast between light and dark is pretty extreme. Sounds pretty ugly, doesn't it? Meh - some of my best pictures are in harsh light. You just have to learn to manage it!

So what do you do? 

1. If you have an assistant, or someone with at least one arm available, have them hold up either a diffuser or some sort of large shade. The problem with this tip though is that if the sun is too high, your assistant has to be taller than your subject because he or she will have to hold the diffuser right over the subject's head, perpendicular to the subject's body. That can be rough to accomplish. This tip is also not very practical when, as is often the case with me, it's just you and your subject. No one else.
2. For tip number two, you can also invest in Scrim Jim and a stand or some other apparatus that can hold up shade for you (like this affordable light stand and reflector holder). But again, this isn't practical when, as is often the case with me, you're shooting on the street, in public areas, or have very little time.
3. If you can't create shade, look for some. If you're shooting around a building, find the side of the building that's casting a shadow. If you're shooting near trees, get under the trees. Just remember to pay attention to whether the bright sun will affect other parts of the picture, like perhaps the background. If you're exposing for your subject under the shade, the blown out highlights in other areas of the picture may be distracting. Try experimenting with composition here to cut out those unsightly highlights. 
4. For tip number 2, if you find shade in harsh sunlight, sometime that means the shade is darker than normal also. If you feel you've found shade but it's a bit too dark, look for natural reflectors to place in front of the subject. So for example, I love shooting where the shade meets the bright light. I'll stick my subject, in the shade, close enough to the line where the light starts so that that light can bounce back up into my subject's face. Beautiful!
5. If you can't create shade and can't find any, then F* it - you're shooting in the sun. If your subject has sensitive eyes, tell him or her to put sunglasses on and just own that direct, harsh sunlight. What I'll do if this isn't looking that good, and there's weird shadows all over my subject's face, I'll have my subject angle his or her face up a bit towards the direction of the sun until things start looking good (I'll usually say something like, "tilt the chin up so you can feel the sun on your face, like you're soaking it in"). But just remember, expose for the brightest parts! Unless you're getting artsy and are doing something with blown out highlights I have not yet been brave enough to tackle, definitely expose for the highlights.
6. If your client can handle tip number 3 without sunglasses, experiment with that, too!
7. You can experiment with hats also, although sometimes the hat can create weird shadows. Any way - if you go this route, a cool way to do this is to have the subject put the hat on, face the sun, and then tilt his or her face all the way down so that you can no longer see it. Of course, this only works if you don't care about whether or not you see the face in the picture.
8. Finally - play with shadows! This is the time to do it! Find cool shadows in places like underneath palm trees or near gates. Check out the last two pictures in this post for some examples!

Fair warning - not every subject does well in harsh light. Some people just don't look good in it, and that's OK. Just know that for those people you likely can't utilize tips 4, 5 and 6.

So the point is, next time you find yourself in harsh light, just have fun with it. The more you practice, the easier it becomes. And once you start getting good at it, you'll be surprised at the number of clients that actually ask to experiment with harsh light.

XO!

Pictured here: Priscilla Torres of The Fashion Muse (You can also find her on Instagram, here)

Featured Location: Little River Studios in Miami, Florida

Featured Clothing: Saunder, Diva Boutique

Custom Cake: Divine Delicacies

The More You Know, the Better Your Life Is

“If you want to be more powerful in life, educate yourself. It’s that simple.”

Most people will eventually say the same thing: as you get older, you give less fucks.

Why is that? Well, as it turns out, there are a number of reasons. But most of the reasons are based on two things - knowledge and experience. The hardest part about life is just not knowing what the F* is going on. Will it hurt? Will I cry? Will someone else cry? Will someone stop liking me? Will I get fired? What does getting fired feel like? Will I be OK? 

Once you realize you're probably not going to die every time something new happens to you, experiencing new things will not only be a lot less scary, but it will be a lot more enjoyable. In fact, you will welcome the process as opposed to anticipating the outcome.

Another amazing thing that happens to you as you get older, is you find it easier to sift through all the bull sh*t. And there is a ton of bull sh*t to sift through. Especially when it comes to products and marketing. Because there really isn't a whole lot of regulation on marketing. Companies can say pretty much whatever they want. So until there's a lawsuit, deceptive marketing is more or less the name of the game. Because to compete in a world where there is a never-ending stream of new products, even the most well-meaning company can resort to saying just about anything to stand out in the crowd. 

As a result, nowadays, I just don't indulge in new products all that much. If I've decided to invest my hard-earned money on a new product, it's because I've done my research and have found something pretty special, safe, and not harmful to the planet. Also, if I have to spend more money to support a small business instead of a big corporation, I will. But I don't know if I would have committed to the #ShopSmall movement prior to becoming a small business owner and experiencing the remarkable amount of heart that goes into it (see - the more you know...). 

So with an arsenal of knowledge, this year I cleaned house and removed all sorts of toxic products from my life. Best. Decision. Ever. One side effect though, I became really (REALLY) sensitive to artificial smells and chemicals. Basically, the smell of things like commercial cleaning products, candles, and perfumes make me gag. Mind you, I'm half cuban and dumping bleach and smelly things on everything is basically a lifestyle. But I missed perfume! I love a good scent and I just wanted that again. So I was so excited when I happened upon this gem of a product at a local trade show earlier this year.

Ayurveda Apothecary is a plant-derived apothecary line formulated by Aurveda practitioners at Yoke. Their products are hand-blended in America with food-grade oils, seasonal plants, and herbs, with a commitment to not harming the planet in the process. I haven't smelt anything else from their line, but if you like the smell of rose as much as I do, this perfume oil is the only way to go. It doesn't smell like cheap essential oils. It smells like fresh dried roses. They even put dried rose petals in the bottle, which is such a simple yet amazing touch. 

Also, they have like insanely good customer service. I didn't buy the perfume oil at the trade show, but instead searched for them a few months later. By that time, I had no idea which product I had fallen in love with at the show but I knew I had to buy it. I e-mailed their team and had a response within the hour. The tiny bottle cost $46 plus shipping, but don't fret - it's potent. I mean, really, this is as good as it gets. Definitely check them out! The product pictured is the Flow Balancing Perfume Oil

XO!

How I Learned to be so Happy it Hurts - Part 1 of 3

“I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition.”

— Martha Washington

Featured beauties: Gemma Marin and Ari

This past week, the happiest woman on the planet 

BROKE THE INTERNET.

Unless you're living under a rock (and if you are, that's cool - just keep reading and I'll bring you up to speed real quick), then you know who I'm talking about. Candace Payne is your new best friend. This last week, her Chewbacca mask video became the most watched Facebook Live video ever. Why? Because she's adorable, sweet, and so happy it hurts to watch. 

Yes, it hurts to watch. Like, your cheeks and abs - literally. If you watch her videos, this amazing woman has a laugh that is so contagious you can't help but to share in her joy. Sure, we don't know her backstory and whether she is suffering or has suffered something tragic. But that's OK. You don't need to know her backstory to KNOW: that woman is happy. Really and truly happy.

Because happiness is a state of mind. 

IT IS A CHOICE YOU MAKE IN SPITE OF YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES.

This post is not meant to discredit the countless incurable psychological issues millions of people around the world suffer from. Instead, this post is for those that, at worst, walk the line between mentally healthy and batshit crazy. I walked that line for most of my teenage and adult life. In fact, I've often crossed that line into batshit crazy.

Although I didn't know it at the time, growing up, I was surrounded by mental illness - depression, bipolar disorder, addiction, you name it. By the time I hit my teens, in addition to the havoc that puberty wreaked on my body and mind, hating myself was all I knew. I was programmed to believe I wasn't good enough, that everything was my fault, that I could have done better, and that I wasn't worthy of being loved. Toss into the mix that I'm an introvert and didn't communicate these feelings to anyone, and it just wasn't pretty.

As a result, I suffered from depression for over a decade. It was a rare day when I didn't take the first opportunity to be alone and to cry. I hated myself and wished I was anyone else but me. Until one day I read one single sentence in a book that turned my world upside down. I don't recall the book or the quote, but it basically said this:

being unhappy is a BAD habit, 

and you have the power to break it.

What?! A HABIT?! That changed everything for me. It made so much sense I wanted to kick myself for not realizing it sooner. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that over the course of ten years, I had created more bad habits than I could count. 

So from that day forward, I set out to undo what I had allowed my mind to do to me. I was going to destroy each and every bad habit, one by one. I was going to be happy. 

And guess what? It was easier than I thought. 

Eventually, I'll put out Part 2 of 3 - what bad habits I set out to break; and Part 3 of 3 - how I broke them. Until then, just think about this: being happy is a good habit you can start developing right now. And don't you dare tell me that's not completely and utterly empowering.