On sunny days, have your subject face away from the sun. You avoid all the disadvantages of having the sunlight on their face. As an added plus you have the possibility of really nice backlight. In this image I especially like the sunlight shining through Tiana’s hair.
The sunlight also looks nice shining through a faux fur hood.
I was photographing family at a birthday party in Texas. To avoid harsh sunlight on Stacy and Dawn’s faces, I simply had them face away from the sun.
Links
Portraits 2 – Sunlight Can Be Really Bad Portrait Light
Portraits 3 – Shoot On Cloudy Bright Days
Portraits 4 – On Sunny Days Use Open Shade
Portraits 5 – On Sunny Days Use the Sun as Backlight (this article)