Make the Most of Golden Hour with These Portrait Tips from Manny Ortiz (VIDEO)

Everyone knows that shooting during the sweet light of  “golden hour” makes for better landscape and nature images. But in this tutorial from innovative photographer Manny Ortiz you’ll learn how to take great portraits when the sun is low in the sky.

Ortiz demonstrates his techniques for using the sun as both a main light and a backlight. He explains that in the former instance it’s important to make posing and other adjustments to prevent your model from squinting. One trick is to have the model glance downward, and another is to have the subject keep her eyes closed until just before you snap the shutter.

Ortiz offers some equally helpful advice for using the sun as a backlight, including how to achieve dreamy flare effects by including the sun in the frame. It obviously helps to have a pretty model like Ortiz’ wife Diana, but this six-minute video should encourage everyone to explore what golden hour has to offer.

You can find more helpful videos on the Manny Ortiz YouTube channel, and be sure to watch his tutorial we shared earlier on making great portraits under harsh midday sun.

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