Blown Out Highlights

When shooting in harsh light, at around two or three in the afternoon, the bright areas in my photos go completely white. How do I avoid this?
Hormuz Ranji, Mumbai, via email

This story was originally published in August 2014.

Underexpose the image. This may cause the shadows to go much darker, but it is easier to retrieve details from shadows in post, if you are using a digital camera. Alternatively, you can set the exposure such that the highlights don’t blow out, and then pop up the camera’s flash, such that the shadows get illuminated as well.