Sunny day image reference
Quickly glance at this collection for ideas and inspiration for you imagery, or maybe just check it out if it’s raining outside!
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- Aerial view of New York City and Empire State Building
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- Aerial View Sea Point
Top ten attributes for a sunny day image
Observations from nature.
Strong contrast ratio
A large tonal range of bright highlights and deep shadows creates visual interest.
There is opportunity to create depth by placing strong dark areas in the foreground. Good framing opportunities, create compositions with light.
Patches of light through the space enhance the sense of depth.
Blue colour cast
Scattered blue light in the upper atmosphere is the dominant hue. The blue cast is prominent in shadow and ambient light areas. The colour temperature is 6500 Kelvin. Choose 65k to compensate for the blue cast. It distinguishes a mid day shot from other times of day.
Patches of light through the space enhance the sense of depth.
Pale yellow Sun
Direct light from the sun is a pale yellow colour. At Midday, The Sun is roughly perpendicular to the Earth’s surface. The Sun’s light has to travel through the least amount of atmosphere. More of the high frequency wavelength colours make it to the surface. This is as close to the actual colour of sunlight we see on Earth.
Atmospheric haze
Distant landscape and objects appear lighter, have less contrast and adopt the colour of the atmosphere – typically blue in a daylight scenario. This “haze” is caused by scattering of light within airborne water vapour, light illuminates water vapour and causes a volumetric effect. It usually burns off by mid to late morning
Layers and volume
Just like light and shade can create depth in an image, the volumetrics of haze can really help to distinguish foreground, midground and background.
Dappled light and lensing
The shape of the sun is actually visible as sun light travels through gaps between leaves. The gaps act as lenses, creating overlapping circular spots. This is the same process as a pinhole camera. It is a subtle effect, but one that enhances realism in your imagery. This happens on sunny days where the sun is at it’s smallest, and not diffused by haze
Specular reflections
Specular reflections can bring an extra layer of finesse to an image. It adds realism and a great finishing touch, like white gouache specs on a marker rendering. Specular reflections are the reflection of a light source in a material.
Heat Haze & Mirage
When you really want to feel the heat.. head for the heat haze! Distortion and ripple effects created by hot air rising and refracting light, coupled with a reflective mirage on the surface. Even better when animated!
