Grey Sky Versus Sunny Day: I've read and been told that you can get your best pictures when the sky is grey. As I understand, image detail is better and colors more pronounced. I...

Moose Loc: North Carolina

I've read and been told that you can get your best pictures when the sky is grey. As I understand, image detail is better and colors more pronounced. I haven't found this to be true, but then again I may not be as critical of my images that I should be. I do not like any image where the sky is grey. By that I mean where the sky is part of the image.

I don't know how you would do this, but a comparison of an image on a grey sky day versus sunny might show the difference.

Appreciate your comments.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Moose wrote:

I've read and been told that you can get your best... (show quote)

It's what you call "flat lighting" - nothing severe. Think of noon on a sunny day at the beach. It's tough to get a good shot under those conditions. Others will offer better answers and some examples.

Armadillo Loc: Ventura, CA

An image with a predominantly gray sky is rather dull in appearance. However, if the sky is not predominate in the image the cloudy sky shades the harsh sunlight and allows for much softer lighting.

With direct sunlight you have very harsh lighting, hard shadows, and a lot of missing detail in the image. Your camera is only capable of recording a specific range of exposure ranges, hard lighting goes way beyond the average exposure range of most cameras.

If you make an exposure on a cloudy day, and the contrast and colors seem weak, you can enhance these in Post Processing, and retain hte softer lighting.

Michael G

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

Think of sky as lighting - you don't always show studio lighting in shot so why add a boring sky. If the sky is grey it adds colour to yellows and greens if blue sky it adds a cleanness to white (also washes it out)red sky adds warmth black sky adds mystery.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

To re-iterate the folks before me: it's not the gray sky you want to be shooting, it's the person or flower or scene that is benefiting from the soft, even lighting conditions without harsh shadows or glare of bright sun.

Moose Loc: North Carolina

Thank you all. Definitely will try to eliminate a grey sky. It is really boring as mentioned.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Linda From Maine wrote:

To re-iterate the folks before me: it's not the gray sky you want to be shooting, it's the person or flower or scene that is benefiting from the soft, even lighting conditions without harsh shadows or glare of bright sun.

Sometimes, all you want in the frame is a gray sky - checking the sensor for spots, for example. :D

Moose Loc: North Carolina

Thank you Linda. I usually take flower pictures on a sunny or partly cloudy day and they seem to be fine. I'm aware of the noon time sun and stay away from that. I'll try to do some comparison shots as I go to our arboretum and can get the same image on different days.

Linda From Maine wrote:

To re-iterate the folks before me: it's not the gray sky you want to be shooting, it's the person or flower or scene that is benefiting from the soft, even lighting conditions without harsh shadows or glare of bright sun.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Moose wrote:

Thank you Linda. I usually take flower pictures on a sunny or partly cloudy day and they seem to be fine. I'm aware of the noon time sun and stay away from that. I'll try to do some comparison shots as I go to our arboretum and can get the same image on different days.

On the OTHER hand...:) I prefer to take strong-lighting photos, as long as the sun is lower in sky, such as backlit, silhouettes, shadows etc.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

jerryc41 wrote:

Sometimes, all you want in the frame is a gray sky - checking the sensor for spots, for example. :D

:thumbup:

Weddingguy Loc: British Columbia - Canada

Moose wrote:

I've read and been told that you can get your best... (show quote)

I would guess that what they are talking about is taking pictures of people, or other subjects that require softer, less harsh, less contrasty light, to capture all the detail in both the shadow and highlight areas. This is done best out of direct sun.

Landscape photography on the other hand, is better done in bright sunlight, because when the sun is positioned correctly, there is much more color saturation than on a cloudy day. As you mentioned, grey sky is not very attractive.

As a portrait photographer of many decades, and with a large part of my shoots now being away from the studio, out of doors, I encounter many cloudy days. Cloudy days produce overly soft light with little or no direction of light and under these conditions I add my own "sun" with flash. Even on sunny days I get my subject into the shade and then add my own "sunlight". Here are some examples:

Cloudy day
Cloudy day...

Sunny day in the shade of trees

Sunny day in shadow of house
Sunny day in shadow of house...

Armadillo Loc: Ventura, CA

Weddingguy wrote:

I would guess that what they are talking about is ... (show quote)

Weddingguy,

This is because you take the best advantage of the available light, and add your own to enhance the capture.

Michael G

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Moose wrote:

I've read and been told that you can get your best pictures when the sky is grey. As I understand, image detail is better and colors more pronounced.

Not true.

On a cloudy day, the light is flat, (no harsh shadows) but because the light is flat, colors are less "poppy" too.

Image detail isn't better either.

Quote:

I haven't found this to be true, but then again I may not be as critical of my images that I should be. I do not like any image where the sky is grey. By that I mean where the sky is part of the image.

Neither do I unless there are nice looking thunder clouds but a flat grey sky is boring.

Quote:

I don't know how you would do this, but a comparison of an image on a grey sky day versus sunny might show the difference.

Appreciate your comments.

I don't have any to compare that I know of but a grey dull day makes grey dull images.

Even on a grey dull day you have to provide SOME side lighting, either by reflector or other means, otherwise it's really boring light overall.

Moose Loc: North Carolina

Thank you all again for your comments. I feel like I'm on the right track sticking with a sunny or partly sunny day. Interesting timing as I'm to be at a shoot in a Rose Garden and it will be all in the shade at the time I'm there. I think I'll use the flash to help with the lighting.

Moose Loc: North Carolina

Great shots and thanks for you explanation.

Weddingguy wrote:

I would guess that what they are talking about is taking pictures of people, or other subjects that require softer, less harsh, less contrasty light, to capture all the detail in both the shadow and highlight areas. This is done best out of direct sun.

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