Have you been wondering about what is the best time of the day for outdoor portraits? If yes, then don’t worry; sit back and relax. We will be sharing some of the best times of the day, which are suitable for taking classy portraits and making use of them to share them for your portfolio, online profiles, and much more. This guide will explain which times are best for you and what you should shoot based on several factors.
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At 3 pm, the sun will be very harsh, depending on your location and season of the year. If you must take outdoor portraits at this time, be sure to do it under a good shade.
Magic Hours Of The Day
Magic hours are favored for outdoor photography throughout the winter. Due to the sun’s low angle in the sky, snow-covered mountains and forests appear to have a mystical character during this time of year. In contrast to the summer sun, which creates dark shadows, the winter sun emits soft light for most of the day. However, in the winter, ambient light may be beneficial for virtually the whole day.
The greatest time of day for the shoot is during these magical hours when the sun is low yet still provides clear, strong light. Magic hour is generally the time that is somewhere between the blue hour and the golden hour. During golden hours, outdoor photography is at its best. It will generally be a 2-hour period in which you have to find your go.
Portrait photography aims at capturing the personality, character, and emotions. It can either be candid or artistic. Portrait photography requires more than just the ability to understand your camera settings, lighting, and composition.
You must also possess the ability to connect with your subjects and capture their unique qualities. So, it is a difficult but rewarding genre of photography.
Click Below to read a comprehensive guide to learning and mastering the art of portrait photography.
The sunlight travels farther to reach the Earth’s surface during these times, and the atmosphere diffuses the light, making it softer, warmer, and more dramatic.
The Golden Hour
Other than a magic hour, golden hour is one of the favorite times of any photographer. Why? Because the photographers get the best lighting with warm shades to click some of the most touchy portraits of any person standing in front of them. You can choose to go with manual mode on your camera during this time. The benefit that you will get from capturing a face during this time is that there will be less contrast in the illumination because the sun is lower in the sky.
The low angle of the light softens the shadows and creates a lovely visual effect. The contrast between the highlights and the shadows is also at its highest at this time. The depth and form of landscape scenes are improved by this.
Blue Hour
If the golden hour is not your style to take outdoor portraits, then consider taking photos of your favorite person during the blue hour periods. The Blue Hour is a wonderful and distinctive time of day, which is mostly observed at the first sunrise just before the golden hour and in the evening when the sun is set. Taking portraits during blue hour brings very highlighted and attractive photos.
Beautiful angled light is present in the morning and the afternoon, generating exquisite shadows and highlights. These hours of the day are used to backlight and highlight a subject. Any person can look beautiful in the soft, indirect light that the Blue Hour provides. It’s perfect for photographers to make the best use of this prime time and capture a moment before it fades away.
When you take portraits during blue hour, you will see that the background of many headshots has gorgeous bokeh and lighting effects in the background making small details less significant.
Midday For Photography
A common time of the day for any photographer to work for taking portraits is midday. For skilled photographers, midday is the best time of the day to shoot outdoor portraits; not to forget, they also know how to dress their clients up for the photo shoot on a bright sunny day! It is because different time periods require a suitable camera setup that needs to be properly set up in order to tackle all the conditions on a photo day.
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Tips For Taking Portraits Outside In The Sun
In case you plan to go out and take portraits on a bright sunny day, here are some tips.
- Accept the harsh light and place your subject using your understanding of portrait lighting patterns, but keep in mind that it will be challenging for them to maintain a butterfly light pattern in the harsh light.
- To get soft, diffused light on your subjects while avoiding harsh shadows, seek out open shade.
- Use the deflector to fill light to bounce light back into the faces of your subjects when taking portraits of them having their back turned to the sun, casting a shadow over their features.
Tips For Taking Portraits On A Cloudy Day
If you want to take portraits on a cloudy day, here are additional tips.
- On cloudy days, try to crop off the sky because it won’t add any intriguing or dramatic elements to the scene.
- If subjects aren’t facing the light, use a reflector as a fill light to bounce light back onto faces, just like on sunny days.
- On really overcast days, shoot with a slower shutter speed and/or a wide aperture.
- Your subjects should face the light; otherwise, the portraits will be very dark.
- When it is heavily clouded, stormy skies may be incredibly moody and dramatic.
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