If you just happen to set out photographing in nature in the middle of the day, then you may have a more difficult time finding light that has the direction or the quality you’d like. The sun rests high in the sky for a good portion of the day, beaming straight down on your subjects in a way that’s most likely unflattering.

Fear not, though, because a well-equipped photographer with knowledge of key shifting (techniques designed to alter the direction, quality, and intensity of your natural key light source) can create beautiful macro and close-up images at any time of day.

Magnifying subjects through macro and close-up photography causes a loss of light to occur, increasing your exposure times, ISO ratings, or aperture size. Because the middle of the day is typically the brightest portion of the day, capturing images with the exposure settings of your choice should never be a problem (unless you’re photographing in a dark, shadowy area).

Also, because shadows aren’t as long in the middle of the day as they are at the beginning and end, you should easily be able to find areas with bright conditions to work with.

Another advantage to midday shooting is that the light tends to remain consistent for longer periods of time. In the beginning and end of the day, light color, quality, and direction change rapidly as the sun rises or sets. Once the sun reaches a higher point in the sky, it produces a consistent color, quality, and intensity (assuming it’s a clear day).

Learn some techniques for enhancing the light when shooting macro and close-up subjects at this time of day. Doing so helps you create fairly consistent lighting for your images for hours, depending on the weather. This way, if you find a lighting style that you’re interested in working with, you can practice it on various subjects as you go about your day.