Photography on a Cloudy Day

A lot of people put away their cameras when it’s cloudy outside. After all, don’t you need bright sunlight to see beautiful colors and take great pictures? Actually, no. On a bright, sunny day, the sun creates very harsh light and deep shadows which often look very unattractive, especially if you are photographing people. On the other hand, clouds soften the harsh sunlight and create a beautiful outdoor light for taking photographs.

A couple of ideas for cloudy day photography. First, even when it is cloudy, there is still a “direction” to the light. Find that direction by looking for the brightest part of the sky. Second, use your flash! It will make your subject (a person, pet, or object) “pop” out from the background and look great.

So on a cloudy day, grab your camera and make some great images!

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