Direct sunlight is where most photographers start their careers. Kodak’s little piece of paper that came with each roll of film suggests an exposure for direct sunlight falling on your subject. This is where the “sunny 16” rule comes from or also known as basic daylight exposure. What that says is, if direct sunlight is falling on your subject, the exposure will be f16 at 1/iso of the film or sensor. So if your film has an iso of 100, the exposure will be f16 at 1/100 of a second. This theory works with every speed of film or sensor. Later photographers begin to add in light modifiers. Scrims, fill lights, reflectors etc. Most of the time, that is exactly what I do, modify light to make my images. But every once in a while, I find direct sunlight to be the perfect source for my subject. This image is made using direct sunlight. There are some modifiers around in the form of snow, surrounding my subject and myself, so there are reflections filling the shadows. That’s what we call available light.