Learn to love cloudy days

A common misconception among photographers when shooting outdoors is that you’ll want a nice sunny, clear day to take pictures. If it’s not beautiful weather outside, you won’t get beautiful looking shots, right?

In fact, I find the opposite to be true, and you will too, once you try it out.

When you’re shooting outdoors in bright, sunny conditions, you’ll find it’s hard to control the lighting. Sunlight is harsh, and will create harsh shadows on your subject, not to mention a tough situation to balance out. There aren’t too many light sources which are brighter than direct sunlight.

Cloudy conditions filter the sunlight. The sky becomes like a giant softbox, and a little flash can suddenly accent your subject, giving you the ability to create focal points in your scene and light it more like you would in a studio.

Add to that the effect of having clouds above your subject, which are infinity more interesting to look at than a blank, clear sky.

Just remember to keep your gear dry and clean, and a fresh set of batteries in your flash, and then try shooting on those less-than-perfect days. Soon you’ll find that your outdoor shoots pop just that little bit more, and before you know it - you’ll be begging for cloud cover.