My apologies if this has been raised before, but a search for 'sun' and 'sky' returned the claim that these had never been discussed and a manual search of titles on the last ten pages produced nothing... Anyway...
 
What are some successful strategies for dealing with the sun? I have a few, like waiting for a convenient cloud to block direct sun, or positioning the camera so the direct sun doesn't shine in, but this doesn't always work. I shot some cubic VR's in canyons in the sw US, where there is nowhere to hide from the sun so its light doesn't shine right on the sensor. I tried my hand, a hat and a variety of other things, but all of these create their own issues and the need to do a lot of fiddling later on to even colour and intensity.
 
What works for you when the sun is right overhead and there is nothing to block its rays?
 
Thank you
 
David

The short answer is - you're stuffed!
 
But the actual answer depends on what you are saying is the problem with shooting when there's no clouds and no-where to hide.
 
Is it your shadow? Is it the bright glare of the sun? Is it reflections and lens flares? There's a few answers I can give if you expalin a bit more what the specific probem is you're having with the sun in shot.

David
I live and shoot virtual photography in Albuquerque and deal with the bright sun when shooting outdoors shots.
 
Using a 2 shot capture with a Coolpix 5400/FC-E9, the main thing to do is "split the light source" with the seam.
 
When I do a 3 shot capture, I set the shots so one is facing directly away from the sun and the other 2 have it on the edge.

I use a 28mm-equivalent lens so necessarily, my VR's are assemblages of multiple images. In shooting sky and sun, the variation in intensity as you approach the sun gives you significant differences in sky colour. Looked at individually, any given shot may look fine, but once you assemble them into a pano, there are big colour changes that are very difficult to edit out without rendering the sky flat and unnatural; these changes can be reduced by editing curves before you assemble the project, but that's a lot of work, so I wonder if there's a shooting method that will reduce these colour shifts.
 
I'm also concerned about the effect of direct sun on the sensor when the lens is set to expose the sky correctly. It's my understanding that letting intense sunlight pour onto the sensor is not a great idea (this doesn't really concern me much under a Toronto sun, but in Bryce Canyon, the sun felt like a bullet in the brain, so I fretted). As I said, I've used my hat, my hand and other implements to block intense sunlight, but this creates the problem of editing out the blocking item and also of recreating a realistic sun.
 
Suggestions - shooting and post-processing - all welcome with thanks.
 
 

davidww
This link has 2 scenes where the sun was in the brite clear sky in the Front View and the Patio/City View
 
http://www.do222.com/iPIXIndex.htm
 
For the fraction of a second that the shutter will be open there are no problems with a camera sensor capturing the direct sun. They're made to do it. Prolonged exposure may be a different matter, but depending on the aperature, you'll be shooting around 1/1000th of a second.
 
As far as the differences in color as you "approach" the sun, there should be much change if you're not shooting in AUTO. The right way to shoot a virtual image is to select in MANUAL, an aperature and shutter speed you'll use for every shot. You'll also set your White Balance to SUN or Pre-Set a White Balance using a piece of white paper.
 
What little difference there will be in the many photos, the sitching program will blend them to a uniform look. At worst, you'll have to do a little touch up in Photoshop.

Hi David
I use HDR for scenes where the sun is shining directly. That allows me to get enough detail in teh sky, even with direct sunlight. I have not found a satisfying way to deal with the tripod's shadow though.

davidww...
 
I agree with what all has been said so far!
I shoot with a Nikon D1 and 28mm lense and haven't had much trouble with the sun...  
 
As long as you never shoot in "AUTO" mode and take your meter readings from the most reflective surface (usually opposite the sun) you shouldn't have much trouble.
 
Also, it is sometimes better to shoot slightly underexposed than over... you can brighten things up in Photoshop.  Once you overexpose things... it is hard if not impossible to correct this.
 
If you shoot the sun slightly underexposed you will get more of a "star burst" and nice lens flares (depending on the lens)...
 
Hope this helps...
Todd
 

Another thing...
 
I prefer to shoot where it is best for the navigation of the tour... not where there is less of a shadow problem.
 
The key is Photoshop!!!!
It sometimes takes some work... but I've always been able to remove the shadows this way.  However... this does require Photoshop "skill"... someone new to Photoshop will have a hard time with the "learning curve"!
 
Todd

I'm sorry not to have responded to all these suggestions; I gave my daughter the camera I normally use for VR's for her work at art college, so I've not been following this board. Thanks for everything. Now I've got a replacement, I need to try all these ideas out and see what works for me in terms of a decent workflow.  
 
Tripod shadows aren't too serious an issue for me. The combination of a nadir shot and a bit of Photoshop work cover it off, and using the timer or a remote shutter trigger gets me out of the picture and minimizes the area I have to work on (I've been using Photoshop since v 2.5 - I never thought that one day the creation of rocks, dirt and pavement would number among valued skills).
 
Thanks for all ideas.
 
David