Lighting Help for Sun and Shade

The sun spot didn't seem very bright at the time, but it ruined this photo. Is there something I can do to minimize these effects, or do I just need to avoid these conditions altogether?

Canon SX200 IS
Scene Mode: Foliage
Shutter: 1/20 (Auto)
Aperture: 4.0 (Auto)
ISO: 80 (Auto)
Focal Length: 7.5 mm
White Balance: Auto


Thanks

i think the blur has a bigger negative impact than the bright sunlight.

i would have the camera set to TV mode (manual shutter speed control), and depending on how fast that guy was moving i'd have the shutter set between 1/100 and 1/200. you would probably have to bump the ISO up to 200 or 400 though.

the sx200 probably has a few options for exposure. it should outline them in the manual. one would probably judge the exposure based on the light in the whole scene, another would only look at the light in the center of the frame and base it's exposure off of that.

sometimes (like in this photo) it's hard to get around having certain areas being way too bright. if you wanted the bright spot of sun to be darker and not blown out, you would have to drop the exposure. but doing this would make the whole background (and most of the shot) pretty dark. you just have to decide what's more important, the highlights of sunlight, or the rest of the shot which is pretty much all shaded. or just try to avoid areas with lighting like that.

but i think the main thing is using a faster shutter speed to help with the blur.

You shutter speed is to slow to stop the action, and you can see camera movement. To stop the action you need shutter speed faster than 1/100 of a section. To get the shutter speed up you need to set the ISO higher, or open the lens (lower F stop).

Now the sun spot, to get the correct exposure you need to meter on the sunspot, in enclosed areas you can use fill flash but that doesn't work out in the great out doors.

Due to the large dynamic range of lighting in the photo you will not get good exposure of sun spots or the shadows.