5 Pitfalls of Clouds for Pictures
“You can shoot anywhere when it’s cloudy!”
Nope. That’s not true.
I hear this all the time. While Cloud Covered Light Quality is definitely less limiting than Full Sun Light Quality, there are limitations. It’s not a total walk in the park.
Here are 5 pitfalls to a cloudy day for pictures:
Mood
Let’s face it, when it’s dark and cloudy, we go into “I just want to curl up on the couch and read a book” mode. Knowing this, you’ve gotta bring it with smiles and energy to combat this for whoever you are photographing. Us humans are fitted with, what are called, mirror neurons. Mirror neurons help us relate to each other and communicate more effectively. Basically, when someone makes eye contact with you and smiles, it is virtually impossible for you to not smile back because of the mirror neurons you were born with. When someone says a person has a contagious smile, the little secret is that we all do. Use this to your advantage to get those genuine smiles even when it is dark and dreary outside.
2. Limited Lens Choices
If you normally shoot with a kit lens or a long variable length (zoom) lens, like a 70-200mm, on your DSLR “big camera” you will find yourself at the limits of what these lenses can achieve when it is darker outside. Without being able to widen your aperture past 4.0 or even 2.8, you may need to bump up your ISO higher than you want it or even unable to achieve a bright enough photo without using flash. This leads us into the next pitfall.
3. Grainy Photos
The higher you raise your ISO, the grainier your photos will be. When shooting with a cell phone, your phone camera will either use its flash on a darker day or, if you turn the flash off to shoot with natural light only, it will automatically bump up the ISO. The higher the ISO, the grainier the photos will be. A grainy photo looks pixilated and is less ideal.
4. Colder Temps in the Winter
Where I live in Pennsylvania, winters are cold. Maybe not as cold as some places but it’s certainly cold enough to make winter shoots uncomfortable on most days without layers, coats and hats. A little bit of sunshine can warm even the coldest of days and when we are presented with Covered Light Quality instead, it just plain cold.
5. Early Sunset
When it’s cloudy, it gets darker earlier. So, if you plan to take pictures until the sunset, you may want to move your session up an hour or two so it’s not cut short. Depending on how thick the cloud cover is, you are likely to lose the light 30 minutes to an hour earlier.
Just like everything in life, there are positives and negatives to every light quality. The key is knowing what to do in each of the 6 qualities of light to use it’s positive attributes to your advantage.
What would you say if I told you there are a few simple rules you can follow for each light quality to get consistently beautiful photos no matter what the weather is?
Many photographers see backgrounds and camera settings. I see light. And, I’m excited to share that I wrote an ebook course outlining just how I see the light so that you can see and photograph it exactly how I do. It’s set to launch April 1, 2021!
I’m so excited to share this innovative and simple approach to photography for anyone shooting with any type of camera…even a cell phone. Get those bright, clean, sharp photos in any situation.
Because you are here on this journey with me, you are the first to know about it and will be the first to have access to it when it launches, complete with “family first” discounts and bonuses.
If you know me at all, you know I get overly excited about everything so you can only imagine how I feel about this new adventure.
Thank you for being here with me. You are what made this possible and I won’t forget those who were here with me from the beginning.
More information to come.
Click this link to let me know if you are as excited as I am about this ebook!!!
Have a great week.