Living in the North East of England, dull days, especially in the winter can be pretty much the norm. That gives me two options, scurry back under the bed covers and wait for sunshine, or get out and embrace the dull light.
But what can you shoot when the skies are relentlessly grey? Quite a lot actually. As newcomers, we are kind of conditioned to shooting in nice light. Blue skies, fluffy clouds, lots of shadows. Shooting in dull light requires a different mindset, and so today I am going to suggest some ideas on how to embrace the grey.
A Few Technical Matters
There are one or two technical issues you might encounter when shooting grey skies. Let’s take a look at them.
The first is exposure. Grey skies can often lead to your camera underexposing the shots. This is especially so if you are including a significant proportion of the grey sky in the shot. Keep an eye on your histogram and add a little exposure compensation to counter this.
Another area that can be affected is white balance. The light from an overcast sky can be particularly blue. Whilst modern colour metering often sees this, it’s worth being aware of. If you shoot RAW, you can correct it in post, however it’s still useful to be aware of the colour temperature of your scene, when shooting.
Grey skies mean lower light, so always keep an eye on your exposure. If your shutter speed is getting a little too low, then be prepared to bump up the ISO. Be prepared to use a tripod as well.
A polarizing filter will be a useful addition even in dull conditions. They are extremely useful for helping punch colour out of landscapes under sullen skies. So with the technical considerations complete, what can we shoot?
Colourful Landscapes
Might seem an odd one to start with however, landscapes can look amazing in dull, grey light. Keen composition will be the key to success, but you are also looking for a landscape that has different areas of colour. Perhaps areas of gorse interspersed with dry grass or pine trees and a blue lake.
The grey flat light will make the colours of your landscape punch out even more than on a sunny day. This is where the polarizer will come in very useful – it reduces reflections from foliage and makes those colours punch even more.
Try including some of that grey sky in your composition, this will make those colours punch even more.
Outdoor Portraits.
The soft, even light afforded by grey skies can be ideal for shooting outdoor portraits. These can be particularly enhanced if your model is wearing subtle, muted colours.
The subtle shadows from the light can be extremely flattering. Look for locations that are not full of bright colours to make your model stand out. Gritty streets, rooftops or car parks are locations that can be an interesting counterpoint to your model.
Using a small flash can help add light to your model’s eyes without sacrificing the soft light of the sky.
Urban Documentary
If there is one photographic genre that is ideally suited to relentlessly grey skies, it is urban documentary. In particular recording the grittier parts of towns and cities.
The grey skies enhance the somber mood of those urban surroundings, helping convey the sense of pessimism of the location.
Locations with muted colours such as brickwork and fading signs work particularly well in this type of light. Whilst it might seem black and white would be the ways to go in these types of shots, colour can work equally well. Desaturating the images slightly in post production can really add some mood to them. Speaking of black and white.
Black and White Photography.
Dull overcast skies can lend some great black and white images. However, it’s not easy. Black and white works on form, light, shade and texture. The flat overcast light can seriously reduce the light and shade element. However, shapes and colours are great compositional elements for black and white images.
Look for contrast between colours, these will record as significantly different shades in black and white. With shapes, find shapes that complement or alternatively juxtapose each other.
Keep an eye on exposure – Black and white really needs good pure whites, to work well. Keep the histogram to the right, without clipping the highlights, and pull down the blacks in post production for contrast.
The Blue Hour
Another genre of photography well suited on overcast days is the blue hour. Whilst tradition might suggest we are looking for a clear sky to go deep blue, in fact overcast skies also will go a deep blue as the sun drops below the horizon.
In cities you will also find that the city lights will reflect off of low lying cloud adding subtle colour variations to the sky and making for a more interesting image.
If shooting long exposure blue hour shots, grey skies often take on an ethereal look as the clouds move through the frame. Speaking of which.
Long Exposure Images
Long exposures are ideally suited to the lower light levels of a dull town. Not only do we need to use less or no ND filters, but the lack of hard shadows can make our long exposures look subtle and engaging.
Like I mentioned in the blue hour section, a long exposure with low cloud can give us ethereal looking skies that draw leading lines to our subject. Combine this with fast moving water juxtaposed against a solid permanent subject to get amazing looking images. A tripod will be essential to maintain image sharpness.
So there you have it. Next time the weather looks overcast and dull on your planned photography trip, don’t head back to bed, get out there and embrace the grey.
Low, grey clouds might not seem so inviting as a photographer, however with the suggestions above and your own creativity, you may well find yourself coming home with some real winners.
