The sun is not always your friend when it comes to taking pictures of people out doors.  It can lead to harsh shadows, squinting eyes   Typically those with no training tend to shoot daylight photos with the sun behind them like this:





Ever wonder how some people are able to shoot in the midday sun in Phoenix without getting harsh shadows or squinting subjects?  Positioning the subject in shade is not always your best option. Using reflected light off of surrounding objects can help.  You can try these things in any combination, but they still might not be enough and that's when strobes (flashes not mounted on camera) or flashes come in to play.

Some people like to use their flash to fill in shadows when the sun is used as the key light.  I don't like doing this as it often means the subject(s) are squinting and being blinded doubly when the flash goes off.  I prefer to use the sun as my hairlight and use 2 strobes to balance the sunlight.



The strobes I use in the field are Nikon SB800, SB80DX, SB28, and or an SB24.  I use them with various modifiers as needed including a DIY Beauty Dish, shoot through umbrellas, and gels.  Shooting towards the sun makes the camera's meter misgauge the light needed to make my shots so I usually will check it with a separate meter, or guess at it (years of experience helps).  I generally decide upon the aperture I wish to use and meter the light at my subject facing the camera to determine the right exposure time.  

If you wish to make your own lighting diagrams, visit http://www.KevinKertx.com or Lighting Essentials to obtain one.

I heartily recommend that you visit Lighting Essentials if you want