Mastering harsh sunlight on film
When you’re shooting street photography on film, harsh midday sunlight can feel like a big challenge to overcome. Deep shadows, blown-out highlights, and high contrast can make even the most interesting scene look unusable. But instead of packing your camera away until golden hour, there are ways to embrace this kind of light and turn it into part of your visual storytelling.
☀️ The challenge of harsh sunlight
For amateur street photography, the sun at it’s brightest can feel overwhelming. Unlike digital sensors, film doesn’t give you instant feedback, so it can be tricky to know if you’ve nailed exposure. Harsh sunlight tends to create:
Blown Highlights – White areas with no detail.
Hard Shadows – Areas that might turn too dark or muddy.
High Contrast – Difficult for film stocks with less latitude.
But with the right approach, these so-called problems become opportunities.
🎞️ Choosing the right film stock
Film stock choice makes a huge difference in managing sunlight.
Portra 400 – Its wide latitude makes it ideal for handling extreme contrast. It keeps detail in both highlights and shadows if slightly overexposed.
Kodak Gold 200 – Great for sunny conditions, but less forgiving than Portra.
Black & White Film – Stocks like Ilford HP5 can thrive in harsh sunlight, where contrast becomes a stylistic advantage.
If you’re unsure, Portra 400 remains the safest and most versatile choice for shooting in direct light.
📏 Exposure tips for harsh light
Overexpose Slightly – Rating Portra 400 at ISO 200 gives you cleaner shadows without losing highlight detail.
Meter for Shadows – In street scenes, protect shadow areas to keep your subjects visible.
Use the Sunny 16 Rule – On bright days, set aperture to f/16 and shutter speed to the reciprocal of your film speed (e.g., 1/400 for ISO 400). This is a classic film trick for predictable exposures.
🌆 Creative ways to use harsh sunlight
Play with shadows – use building edges or staircases to frame your subjects.
Look for reflections – sunlight bouncing off windows or cars can add layers to your compositions.
Embrace silhouettes – expose for the highlights and let your subjects fall into shadow.
Colour and contrast – strong sunlight makes colours pop, which works great with film stocks like Portra 400.
✨ Final Thoughts
For those practicing amateur street photography, it can become a playground for experimenting with contrast, geometry, and colour. When paired with forgiving film stocks like Portra 400 for street photography, direct sunlight becomes less intimidating and more inspiring.
Film rewards experimentation and sometimes, the scenes that look impossible at first glance turn out to be the best ones when you embrace the light instead of avoiding it.
