As we all know, the Fall is fast approaching and the sun is starting to set earlier and earlier each day that goes by. Sad day. What’s even more sad is how much more time it takes out of your day for outfit photos, especially if you have a busy schedule during the week. Grace and I are always rushing during this time of year to squeeze in a couple of outfits right before the sun goes down. Because of this, we often times find ourselves shooting when the sun is very low, which has actually been the result of some very pretty photos for us.

To get these photos, we shot into the sun. It’s just simply putting the sun behind your subject and then taking the photos. There’s a few things that you need to know before you go out and take these yourself however.

1. Use center-weighted/partial metering mode on your camera. This is a fancy way that your camera determines the proper exposure for your subject. In automatic mode your camera is stupid. It tries to measure the light on every part of the photo and average them out. This is no bueno because of one reason. When shooting into the sun, there is a ton of light entering the camera from behind your subject, but no direct light coming from your subject because they are technically shaded. Your subject will come out underexposed when using the automatic metering. You need to expose for your subject only, this is where the center-weighted/partial metering mode comes in. It measures the proper exposure needed by averaging out the light from the center 10-15% of your viewfinder, right where your subject will be.

2. Use manual mode. You need to have fine control over shutter speed and ISO. It’s essential.

3. Don’t listen to your light meter. That’s right, in this scenario, the little trickster lies. When your light meter says that your subject will be properly exposed, it won’t! You need to deliberately move the arrow in the light meter one or two stops to the right {by decreasing shutter speed or raising the ISO}  of the center mark to ensure that your subject is properly lit. By doing this, the background will be slightly overexposed, but that’s just part of what makes these types of photos look so good.