How to use a reflector for outdoor portraits

Sometime I always get ask a lot is how do I get such beautiful pictures outdoor? How do I get my clients face bright outside? You shot this in high noon? Isn’t the sun too harsh during high noon?  I love shooting outdoor and I love playing with light. Personally I really don’t mind shooting outside in high noon. Even though it’s the time where the sun light is really harsh but as long as you know how to find the light your pictures will be beautiful. If you’re new to photography and you love taking pictures outdoor here is how I do it.

You have a few options.  First, you can always find a shaded area as shown below.  About 75% of the time I always shoot by myself, therefore I always try to find something to lean my reflector on.  The  behind the scene iPhone picture to the right I decided to use a white reflector side to shine a little light on my client’s face.  As you can see based on the picture she was lit up pretty well.

This picture was taken in high noon.  I want some flare to her hair so I decided to put her out in the sunlight.  I could use the white side if I want more of a softer light but since I want everything bright and more light to her face I decided on the silver side.  The silver side of the reflector tends to give off way more light especially during high noon.  I would opt for the white side when possible.

In this iPhone picture I was probably about 10 feet away from my client.  I want to show a little more background area and also the flare from the sun.  As you can see I leaned my camera on my reflector for balance.