Stock Shot Project

Achieving a sunset look when photographing at mid-day

The other day I was playing around with a lighting technique I had come up with years ago to obtain the look of a sunset or late afternoon light while shooting in mid-day.  It was easier when I originally did it because I was using film, and the lenses were not as coated and resistant to flare as they are today.

I placed two large and very shiny reflectors behind the model to serve as a partial background and positioned them to pick up the hot mid-day sun, and reflect it past the model's face and directly into the camera lens

For the top photo I wanted the warm-colored, playful light of a summer sunset, whereas for the bottom image I wanted more of a desaturated tone to emphasize the serious, no-nonsense intensity of the athlete's stare.  A warm Photoshop filter gave the upper image its color, while the Vibrance control dialed down the color in the bottom photo.

For a further explanation of this technique, visit my learning blog.