Contacts for the Young Americanos Project

When you are taking photos outdoors learn how to use sunlight. If you are taking pictures on a sunny day, try to keep the sun either behind you or to the side when you are photographing something.

It is not a good idea to take a photograph with the sun directly in front of you (or shining in your eyes). This is because most cameras have a instrument inside which measures light called an exposure meter.

This meter measures the amount of light on your subject (the thing you are taking a picture of). The meter also tells the camera how much light there is available for your photo. With the sun in front of you, the exposure meter will measure the light from the sun and not the light on your subject - you will end up with a bad picture!