Zoo Photography: Midday Sun and Shadows

Most photographers will tell you it's not wise to shoot under the midday sun, some have even claimed you can't get a good picture due to the harshness of the light and the hard contrast, but I think you can get amazing images if you know what you are doing.
During my photography career, I've shot a lot of outside events and this has bred in me the habit of analyzing shadows before taking the picture. When I first started, I saw a lot of what I thought were good images ruined by ugly shadows taking attention away from the subjects. As a result, I came up with a few strategies to combat this and take those great images. I'll be focusing on zoo photography although you can use these for any outside shoot.
Positioning is important because it will affect the background, which can be brighter or darker than the subject, and how the subject is lit. If the subject is between you and the light, you might need to increase the exposure compensation, or lower it if you're between the subject and the light. What kind of image you're trying to shoot will affect your positioning. If a dark subject is between you and the light and the background is the sky, you might want to go for an overblown white/gray background.

This perched Abdim's Stork stands out against a near-blank background of an overblown sky. It's easier for this sort of portraiture effect if the subject is between you and the light (sun). Another example:

The second thing to take into consideration is the direction of light, which will affect your positioning based on the kind of image you want. Many times I've seen animals lighted on one side while the other is shadowed. In this case, figure out which side you want to shoot but make sure the other side doesn't show much to cause too much distraction.

Here I chose to shoot this black-tailed prairie dog from the lighted side, and its shadowed side doesn't distract even though its partially visible.
In this next one, I shot the shadowed side.

You don't have to stop shooting just because the sun is harsh outside, just make sure shadows aren't messing up your image. The sun can add a certain life and vibrancy to your images, especially in the spring and summer months.

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