Hi,

everybody will know the difficulties of shooting a model in bright sunlight. Working with the model aimed at the sun will get you peeping eyes, working with the sun in the back will get you dark faces, unless flashed. Most fashion/model shooters use reflector screens to overcome this problem. Model with the sun behind, light reflected towards her/him to light up the model. Most famous make is Sunbounce. A decent reflector will make your purse at least 200 euros lighter, similar size as the one described here.
I’ve made a diy reflector last week. Cost to me: 0 Euros, because all re-used materials. Cost if materials bought new, probably below 10 euros. Time to make it: 15 minutes.
1. Take a insulating board, styrodur, (polystyrene) or similar, in a handy size. Mine is 60 cm x 125 cm. (approx 25 x 50 Inch) Make sure it is rigid, not styrofoam, since this will more prone to breaking.
2. Use some dots of silicone/adhesive, spread all over the board, slightly more concentrated on the edges to ensure a good fix. Rather use dots than lines
3. Cut a length of radiator reflector foil (the kind of foil you fix behind a radiator, to prevent the heat from entering the wall in stead of heating your room) , slightly longer than your insulating board.
4. Spread it nicely over the insulator board, reflecting side outwards 😉 . Press gently all over the surface, to make sure the silicone or similar gets well spread.
5. Trim the edges of the reflector foil to match the size of your board. Let stiffen the silicone.
6. Done.

I’ve been using it in my last shoot, works very well. Can’t compare to the real thing however because I don’t have one, but I saw my model peeping eyes when I came too close with it.