photo by Anna Kuperberg

I am a self-taught photographer and every once in a while I get a little insecure about the fact that I don't know much about F-stops and shutter speeds. I'd love to be able to walk into any situation and instantly know how to set my camera for the perfect exposure. But alas, digital came around just in time! and now I get to simply play and experiment and know just enough to get what I want but not too much to lose my sense of play. And then there's that handy little screen that shows you what you're getting. Thank god for the little screen!

One "rule" someone told me many moons ago and I had never questioned was this: Do not, I repeat, DO NOT shoot directly into the sun!! Your subjects will turn out dark, you might have lens flare, the picture will be terrible and you will look like a total hack. Did any of you out there believe this too? Are you blinding your friends by having them look into the sun like me?

When I fell in love with Anna Kuperberg's photos I noticed how brilliantly she used sunlight. And I want to highlight the word, used... she didn't just tolerate the sun or work around it like I did, she really uses it to her advantage and gets the most extraordinary images shooting straight into the sun. (The photo above is from my maternity portrait session with her)

This week's challenge is in two parts. First, I want to see your best shots shooting right into the sun (or having the subjects head just blocking it) Get some lens flair! Have some fun... I also want to hear your tips for getting great images this way. Do any of you know how to use the sun to your advantage? I would love to hear. (And if you are using flickr, please tag your photo with superhero photo challenge. Your shot will end up on this page.)