Okay – maybe not really in two dimensions. The apparent difference is even more so with our camera sensors because they don’t possess the vast dynamic range of our eyes. Therefore, when a material such as wood isn’t reflecting as much light, your eye picks up a greater amount of detail in that material. That’s why there are all sorts of Tupperware-shaped doohickeys to purchase for your flash and ginormous umbrella thingies to fasten to your light stands. Photography doesn’t record absorption, but opaque surfaces tend reflect as intensely or cast definite shadows when the originating light source has wider dispersion. If you want to further expose the sky above the horizon more than the earth below it, then use a graduated neutral density filter.Īs just mentioned, all materials have varying properties of reflecting and absorbing light. This allows a blank canvas to create wide expanses of negative space you would might not have otherwise. The second in order to overexpose the entire image, particularly the sky. First, is a 45-second exposure during a cloudy and windy day in Atlanta, I used stacked neutral density filters to slow down the shutter speed for two different effects. It’s in my personal library and effectively explains the effect of light on objects and materials in a digestible graphic and verbal manner.īy the way – forgot to pack the neutral density filter or polarizer in your camera bag? A cloudy day will help negate blown highlights and reduce the impact of light poking through the top of foliage at slower shutter speeds.īut if you DID remember your neutral density filter or polarizer… Also check out the book Light Science & Magic. For a scientific explanation, here’s a good summary about the physics of color on Wikipedia. I won’t pretend I understand all of the physics, but the reason colors seem more vivid stems from the same reason we see color in the first place – a combination of reflected and absorbed light by a material. That makes it great for subject matter such as portraits, still-life, and waterfalls. Sure, we see in color and our digital camera sensors are recording in color, but the soft-balanced light, combined with less light bouncing from non-reflective surfaces can have quite an effect traditional black and white photography.Įver shoot flowers or other foliage on a bright day versus a cloudy day? Diffuse light creates lower contrast and makes colors pop than if the subject matter was reflecting bright sunlight. It essentially turn the sky into the world’s largest softbox. 1995!) is that cloudy days provide excellent opportunities for black and white photos. One of the few things that actually sunk in from college professor during a B&W film photography course (g.o.y. The impact of time of day on your photography varies according to how light or murky the atmosphere above is. However, you’ll get the maximum amount of diffuse light in relation to your shutter speed at “high noon”. It allows opportunities for your greatest dramatic contrast between a dark sky with colors or highlights contained within your photo. Early in the morning and evening tend to possess much less light, so pending your camera’s ability, you’ll need to increase your ISO, slow your shutter speed down, and/or widen your aperture. My personal favorite time to photograph when cloudy is opposite to how I consider a clear day. The nice thing is you don’t have to worry so much about taking pictures outdoors during a “poor light” time of day. Like a sunny day, shoot anytime it just depends what you choose to photograph and your artistic preference. What’s the best time to shoot on an overcast day? If you’re a professional real-estate photographer wondering what to do on cloudy days, make sure you check out the last section of this blog. Though I’m not a huge fan of cloudy days, I’d never qualify using my camera then as inherently better or worse than a sunny day – just different. I always try to bear that in mind when shooting. Whether it’s the effect of light from a specific source, reflected off a surface, or non-visible light such as ultraviolet or infrared, that is IT. Remember that as complex as photography gets, it boils down to one very simple overarching idea. How many times have you ever thought to yourself, “It’s cloudy and looks like it’s about to rain, I’m not going to shoot today.”
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