THE SOLUTION

The solution for these situations is a combination of fill flash and exposure adjustments.

Every subject, flashed or not flashed, requires the correct aperture and shutter speed if you hope to record a correct exposure. For an ambient exposure, the camera’s light meter indicates the correct aperture and shutter speed based on the ambient light in the overall scene. A flash exposure, on the other hand, depends on the right flash-to-subject distance, which is determined solely by your aperture. The smaller the aperture, the closer your flash needs to be to the subject. When you plug your chosen aperture into your flash unit, it will tell you the correct flash-to-subject distance. Then simply position your flash that distance from the subject.

If you want to adjust the brightness of the background, on the other hand, which is the same as the ambient exposure, you adjust your shutter speed. Keeping the aperture the same, you can render the background lighter by lengthening your shutter speed, or darker by shortening your shutter speed. Just make sure your shutter speed is in sync with the flash. Put in simpler terms, don’t use anything faster than 1/200 sec. with some cameras or 1/250 sec. with others (refer to your camera’s manual to know which shutter speed is your fastest sync flash speed).

Confused? Try thinking of a flash-ambient exposure this way: when you use flash, you have two light sources, the ambient light and the supplemental light from your flash. Shutter speed controls the ambient light, while aperture controls the flash exposure. In other words, shutter speed determines the length of time the ambient light hits the digital sensor (or film), while aperture determines the amount of flash light that hits your digital sensor (or film).

With all this in mind, how do you light up a subject in open shade against a background in full sunshine? First, set your aperture. Is depth of field important for your image? If it isn’t, choose a “Who cares?” aperture of f/8 or f/11—good middle-of-the-road apertures for compositions that don’t need a particularly deep or shallow depth of field.

Next, take a meter reading off the brighter background. In this case, chances are good that at f/11 and ISO 100, your meter will indicate 1/200 sec. for a correct exposure. Fire off a test exposure for the background to ensure that it looks perfect. Your subject in the foreground shade will still be too dark, but not to worry, as we are about to “shine the light” on that subject.

Now turn to your flash. I am a manual flash kind of guy, so in this example, I’d dial up f/11 on the back of my flash to match the aperture on the camera. The flash will then tell you what your flash-to-subject distance should be for that aperture. In this example, my flash would tell me that at f/11, my flash-to-subject distance should be roughly 6 feet. I’d then place my flash 6 feet from my subject. Next, with my flash held in my left hand, set to fire remotely, and at a distance of 6 feet from my subject, I’d press the shutter release. Voilà! A perfect exposure. I’ve exposed the subject with flash at f/11 at a 6-foot distance and also recorded a perfect ambient exposure of the bright background at f/11 for 1/200 sec. See? It’s easy!