You’ve probably noticed that direct sunlight is not very flattering. It creates harsh shadows and most people can’t keep their eyes open when looking into the sun. The time-honoured ‘advice’, to place the photographer’s back to the sun, often produces mediocre results. In practice, if you can’t find a place in the shade, I suggest you try the opposite: Place the subject’s back to the sun, force your camera’s flash on, or use the other techniques outlined in ‘backlighting’. You may also want to experiment with commercially available or improvised reflectors, such as a large sheet of white cardboard.