Amateur Digital Photography
How to Get Rid of Unwanted Shadows

Whether you're interested in amateur digital photography or wanting to become a photography professional knowing how to get rid of harsh shadows that appear when you take photos outside is vital to getting a great portrait.

Most people know about the famous Golden Hour. In case you don't know, The Golden Hour refers to the hour just after sunrise and the hour just before sunset. At this time of day the sun casts a golden glow on everything that is just amazing. It is also low in the sky so you're less likely to get harsh shadows on the subject of your picture. While the golden hour is a great time to take a picture it is only a short span of time during the course of an entire day. What do you do about the rest of the day? When you take pictures of people in bright afternoon sunshine often times their faces appear shadowy. Something like this...

Here are some amateur digital photography tips that will help you get ride of the harsh shadows that appear when you take pictures in the bright afternoon sun.

Using Your Flash

When you want to take pictures on a bright sunny day you don't normally think about using your flash, do you? Your flash can be used to banish the shadows that are often cast on the face of your subject when taking pictures in this situation.

When you use your flash fill in shadows it's referred to as a fill flash. When you're using a fill flash you don't want the flash to be as bright as it normally would be. If your flash is too bright it will make your image look flat. You only need the flash to put out enough light to fill in the shadows on your subject.

On most cameras you can control the intensity of the flash 1/2 to 1/3 stops. Setting your flash to a lesser intensity will allow you to take a picture using the flash to fill in the shadows without allowing the flash to flatten the image.

Try setting your flash about a third of a stop down before taking the picture and then previewing it on your LCD to see what you think. You can then adjust the flash again according to what you think you need for the image.

If you have a simple point and shoot camera that doesn't allow you to adjust the flash don't worry there's a solution for you too. You can tape wax paper, tissue paper or even a thin piece of fabric over your flash to soften it a bit.

Every camera is different so read your camera manual carefully to figure out how to adjust the flash on your camera.

Using a Reflector

Another great amateur digital photography tip for getting rid of harsh shadows is to use a reflector. If you don't want to use you flash in your pictures you can try using a reflector to bounce available sunlight into the shadows. A reflector can be placed on the ground in front of the subject to bounce sunlight into their face softening the shadows. You'll have to play with the angle and placement of the reflector because exactly where you put it will depend on where the sun is shining. I find it useful to have another person with me who can hold the reflector where I need it.

You don't have to order a reflector from a photography store for this purpose. Photography reflectors are useful because they fold and zip up making them convenient to carry around, but you can quite easily use another reflective surface. I used to use a large sheet of white Styrofoam. While I liked the reflectiveness of it it was annoy to carry around, especially on windy days. I've found that one of those silver car windshield shades works great and you can fold it up and carry it easily. They are quite cheap too. You can usually get them from the Dollar Store.

I hope these amateur digital photography tips are useful to you. If you're interested in more great tips check out these digital photography tutorials.