Open shade - what is it?

[markrichardson]

This might seem like a stupid question, but I've heard a few people recently refer to open shade while describing very different things (including one entirely indoors).

So now I'm confused as to how people would understand the phrase...though TP was the kind of place that would think unanimously!

 

[Vulkan75]

Its anywhere that takes away the harsh shadows of direct sunlight but not overly influenced by its own levels of low light.

So for example a lone tree in the middle of a field on a blazing summers day will help control the shadows but still have the ambient light effected by the strong light...out of shade.

Take the same tree and put it in a forest enviroment and you have control over the shadows but the ambient light levels become more difficult to work with.

So in effect its shade that doesnt effect ambient light levels to greatly.....at least thats how I understand it

 

[MadMacro]

Its anywhere that takes away the harsh shadows of direct sunlight but not overly influenced by its own levels of low light.

So for example a lone tree in the middle of a field on a blazing summers day will help control the shadows but still have the ambient light effected by the strong light...out of shade.

Take the same tree and put it in a forest enviroment and you have control over the shadows but the ambient light levels become more difficult to work with.

So in effect its shade that doesnt effect ambient light levels to greatly.....at least thats how I understand it

Me too. It's strong but not direct light.

I make my own open shade, when shooting smaller subjects outside on a sunny day, by using a large golf brolly. Or a big brolly borrowed from my patio!

 

[tdodd]

Open shade is where you have clear (open) sky above your subject and no direct light source hitting the subject. A typical example would be standing in the shadow of a building, wall or tree. Your subject will be illuminated by the blue sky rather than direct sunlight.

I would not class standing under a tree, awning, bridge as open shade, but it could be equally effective at controlling contrast and avoiding hotspots etc..

The point of the "shade", whether open or not, is to prevent direct, contrasty light sources from striking your subject and creating hotspots and unwanted shadows.

 

[Chappers]

Be careful if the light is coming from a clear blue sky. The colour temperature of that light will be very high, giving very blue results. Ideally you need some clouds that will reflect some soft sunlight making the light much warmer. You need to keep an eye on your white balance