Shooting in a Park - General Tips/Recommendations?

[Brandon Adams]

I'm shooting in a park for my first 16mm project. I was just wondering if anyone has any general tips for getting good results in such an environment. I'm in SoCal, so hopefully it won't rain.

 

If the cloud patterns vary throughout the day... does anyone have any tips for trying to maintain continuity?

 

I'm trying to get some silks to use, but that may not happen. Other than that I've got white board and some reflectors... anything else?

 

Also, there is one "beauty" shot I'd really like to nail of a girl walking through the park reading a book. I'm planning on shooting it in the late afternoon with a strong backlight and perhaps a little bit of soft filter depending on what I can get. I'll probably be using a whiteboard for some bounce. Does anyone have any other suggestions for getting a great shot?

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

[andrewbuchanan]

A few tips for shooting in the daylight...

 

1. Get a Polarizer filter for the front of the lens. ND filters if possible (to set your f/t-stop where YOU want it).

 

2. Don't let the sun hit the front of the lens (this will cause flares and imperfections like dust to appear).

 

3. Bring something to bounce soft fill light onto your subject (like the Whiteboard). Also bring a hard reflector (something like a mirror or aluminum foil on a board) that you can use as a hard light source (for a backlight etc).

 

4. Try to shoot your subjects against a contrasting background (like a sun-lit person against the shadow of a tree, or the silhouette of a person against a sun-lit bank).

 

Otherwise, it is sounds like you are thinking about the right things. Goodluck.

[Ckulakov]

Use a lens hood to prevent the sun spilling into the lens.

 

Use a ND for exposure problems

 

do not shoot with light hiting directly from the front onto the subjects face.