Open Shade is another easy way to create soft light on a bright sunny day. Find an area of solid shade, not dappled light. Place your subject as close to the edge of the shade as possible with out being in the sun. This will allow the open sky to act like a huge soft box. It will create soft even light and large reflections in the eyes. Using a reflector is a great way to add some pop to the portrait and create catch lights in the eyes. If you are using a silver or gold reflector you can even create a direction of light with the fill.
Shooting Assignment
1. Fill from inside the Shade
For this part of the assignment shoot a bracket set of exposures with no augmentation. Look at each of the five exposures and determine what is the best exposure for your lighting situation. Set the camera to that exposure compensation setting for the rest of your picture. Shoot 5 more image of each of the following augmentations: white, silver, gold and black reflectors to soften the shadows and to create catch light, try both from below and from the side. Experiment with different angles, posing of the model and points of view to create an interesting image. Also have your subject sit and look up to the sky, this will remove even more shadows.
Best Of
No Fill
Silver
Gold
Black
White
2. Fill from outside the Shade
Another way to work with the reflector and Open Shade is to use the fill card from outside of the shade. Keep the reflector up high and reflect the direct sunlight back into the shade. Try to keep the light fairly frontal, creating a butterfly to loop light on the subjects face.Start the assignment by shooting a bracket set of exposures with no augmentation. Look at each of the five exposures and determine what is the best exposure for your lighting situation.Set the camera to that exposure compensation setting for the rest of your picture. Shoot 5 more image of each of the following augmentations: white, silver and gold.