THE CHALLENGE

Many of us have learned to avoid shooting in bright sunlight at midday, since the light is so harsh. This aversion to midday light usually comes on the heels of shooting in early-morning or late-afternoon light, when the light is much warmer and more appealing. However, sometimes we must shoot at midday.

This frustrating light strikes reflective surfaces and bounces back up, producing distracting hot spots all over our compositions. Reflected glare also drowns out pleasing colors; your image can become grayish or washed out, with little flares around any reflective surface, including glass and metal. This problem of glare is magnified on days of heavy overcast and rain; everywhere you turn, the wet streets, sidewalks, buildings, cars, flora, and fauna are covered in a dull gray glare caused by the reflection of the dull gray sky overhead.