How To Photograph In Boring Light
When it comes to photography, light really is one of the most important aspects. Be it blue hour, golden hour or even midday, having good light really can make a photo. However what do you do when the light is rubbish?
I am from the UK, therefore I am all too familiar with the grey, dreary and dull light that we have on overcast days. Although I try to only shoot on sunny days, sometimes it is simply not possible and you have to make do with uninspiring light. Also when you are travelling and only have a certain amount of time in a city, you don’t have the luxury of choosing the best light.
In this blog I will share with you some tips for how you can improve your boring light photography and walk away with images that you’re pleased with.
Exposure
Let’s start with the most basic yet useful tip. Overexpose your shots. You don’t need to have everything perfectly exposed. I always have it just a touch before any clipping and honestly I think this looks the best. By having the scene overexposed you’re making everything bright which automatically lifts the whole mood of the image. Personally I like to overexpose by 0.3 or even 0.6 in camera and then further adjust as needed when I am editing.
Contrast
Seek out naturally high contrast environments. This is usually done by shooting from a darker place into a brighter place. A source of light does not always need to be the sun. Simply having a large brighter area flood a smaller darker area, you can create natural contrast. Then shoot either 90 degrees to the brighter area or straight into it. In editing, you can increase the contrast a little but be careful, it is very easy to overcook it. Better get as much natural contrast in camera as possible and fine tune it later in post.
Over Expose The Sky
If you are a “properly exposed” histogram enthusiast, then you might want to skip this section as it might hurt your feelings. Actually the first tip would have already given you the shakes. Anyway. There is nothing wrong with having the sky blown out when the light is dull. Why? Because unless you find various shades of grey arousing, I’m not judging, then having an exposed flat grey sky will just make your image look and feel somewhat miserable. Of course if there are crazy clouds, that’s a different ballgame. However that doesn’t happen often. Also when I say over exposed, I don’t mean fully blown out and 100% white. Maybe just a smidge from being fully blown out or simply off-white.
Colour
When everything is dull and grey, seek out colour. Find colourful subjects, backgrounds and foregrounds. Don’t overdo it however as having too many colourful elements can lead to visual confusion. Instead opt for one or two bright colourful items to brighten up the entire shot. If the colours happen to work well together, even better.
Simplicity & Lens Choice
The absence of strong good light can make all the small details within your image become more visible and distracting. Try to simplify your scene as much as you can and have a clear subject. Maybe use foreground elements to hide part of the frame, or maybe you find areas of natural contrast and hide some of the mess in the dark shadows. However you go about it, always try to keep the scene simple. One of the ways to achieve the previous point is to use a longer lens. I am talking about 50mm, 85mm and even 135mm. By using a longer lens, you make it easier to compose and remove the distractions.
Rain
If you want to add another element or layer to your images, try shooting in the rain. Not only will you get reflections and an overall softer image but the colours will pop more too. You will also get people with umbrellas, people running, hiding and covering. So plenty more subjects to shoot. Of course photography in the rain comes with its own set of challenges and risks. The obvious one being keeping you and your camera dry. This is a topic for another blog though.
Black and White
The last tip is to shoot black and white. Chances are on a grey day there is not much colour so why not just remove it out of the equation and focus on exposure and tonality. By shooting black and white you will find that the scene is no longer as dull as it seemed when shooting in colour. This will hopefully give you some confidence and results in some good shots too. Also this now means your focus is more on composition and lighting. Finally the same tips for exposure and contrast also apply here.
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If you're planning to visit London or you’re a local and want to know some of the best locations for photography, this guide is for you.
What you need to know:
- 170 Page PDF document (94mb)
- 50+ Locations
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- Clickable maps
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How will this guide help you:
- Save you time and give you a clear checklist of where to go
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This guide is a result of years spent living and photographing London in all conditions and seasons. I have only recommended locations that have consistently delivered good photos that I have been happy with. This guide does not cover every spot, that would be impossible and a lifetimes work. This guide is there to put luck in your favour when visiting the capital.
Please note that due to the nature of digital products, refunds are generally not accepted. However, if you experience any issues, feel free to contact me and I’ll review your situation individually. You are welcome to use this product for personal or commercial projects, but you may not copy, distribute, or resell the files in their original or modified form.
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What on earth is this and why is this so expensive?!?!
A zine is a self-published body of work and serves the following purposes:
It showcases all photos from a given trip or period of time. Think of this as a digital contact sheet. I only share about 50% of the final photos online. This has them all.
It can act as a source of inspiration.
It can act as a visual planning tool for your travels. It will show you the types of photos one can get at said location.
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So what is a lifetime zine?
One payment gives you access to all current and future zines. You can download to store them offline, and even print them if you fancy.
As it stands, there are 39 zines published, and my first milestone is 100.
The price you pay today gives you full access for life, even if the price increases in the future.
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Ewww, digital… really?!
I can’t even imagine the logistical nightmare to print these and ship them to every corner of the globe.
Saves wasting resources.
Works out MUCH cheaper for you. Imagine buying 100 zines…
Formatted for tablets, phones, and laptops.
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Between 100 and 350 photos.
Only the images, no writing.
Each zine focuses on a specific trip, location, or period of time.
When purchased, you will get a PDF document. In the document is a link where you can access all the zines. Each zine can be up to 200mb although I try to keep them closer to 100mb. This allows you to zoom in and see the images up close. However, due to this higher resolution, some older devices might take longer to load the images. For the best viewing experience, I suggest viewing on a device with a big screen, and if you have a choice between scrolling or swiping to change pages, I suggest scrolling for the best experience.
Please note that due to the nature of digital products, refunds are generally not accepted. However, if you experience any issues, feel free to contact me and I’ll review your situation individually. You are welcome to use this product for personal or commercial projects, but you may not copy, distribute, or resell the files in their original or modified form.
Finally, I want to say another massive thank you for supporting me. This is the most direct way you can support my work.
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This Fujifilm XT5 set-up guide is designed to save you time and get your camera set up and working just like I do. You will learn what the major features do and why I chose to set them in a certain way. I will show you how to assign the buttons and custom menus in order to have the most important features at your fingertips. Finally, I will walk you through how I expose and focus.
This guide is not a replacement for your user manual and does not cover 100% of the features. It covers the features that, in my experience, 90% of the people use 90% of the time. This is based on years of personal experience.
This guide is best suited for those who want to be up and running quickly with a tried-and-tested set-up.
This is a digital download and not a physical product. The download is around 25mb.
Please note that due to the nature of digital products, refunds are generally not accepted. However, if you experience any issues, feel free to contact me and I’ll review your situation individually. You are welcome to use this product for personal or commercial projects, but you may not copy, distribute, or resell the files in their original or modified form.
Finally, I want to say a massive thank you for supporting me. Buying this guide is the most direct way you can support my work, thus allowing me to make more videos, photos, and tutorials for you.
Thank you for your support!
This Fujifilm XT4 set-up guide is designed to save you time and get your camera set up and working just like I do. You will learn what the major features do and why I chose to set them in a certain way. I will show you how to assign the buttons and custom menus in order to have the most important features at your fingertips. Finally, I will walk you through how I expose and focus.
This guide is not a replacement for your user manual and does not cover 100% of the features. It covers the features that, in my experience, 90% of the people use 90% of the time. This is based on years of personal experience.
This guide is best suited for those who want to be up and running quickly with a tried-and-tested set-up.
This is a digital download and not a physical product. The download is around 21mb.
Please note that due to the nature of digital products, refunds are generally not accepted. However, if you experience any issues, feel free to contact me and I’ll review your situation individually. You are welcome to use this product for personal or commercial projects, but you may not copy, distribute, or resell the files in their original or modified form.
Finally, I want to say a massive thank you for supporting me. Buying this guide is the most direct way you can support my work, thus allowing me to make more videos, photos, and tutorials for you.
Thank you for your support!
This Fujifilm X100V set-up guide is designed to save you time and get your camera set up and working just like I do. You will learn what the major features do and why I chose to set them in a certain way. I will show you how to assign the buttons and custom menus in order to have the most important features at your fingertips. Finally, I will walk you through how I expose and focus.
This guide is not a replacement for your user manual and does not cover 100% of the features. It covers the features that, in my experience, 90% of the people use 90% of the time. This is based on years of personal experience.
This guide is best suited for those who want to be up and running quickly with a tried-and-tested set-up.
This is a digital download and not a physical product. The download is around 16mb.
Please note that due to the nature of digital products, refunds are generally not accepted. However, if you experience any issues, feel free to contact me and I’ll review your situation individually. You are welcome to use this product for personal or commercial projects, but you may not copy, distribute, or resell the files in their original or modified form.
Finally, I want to say a massive thank you for supporting me. Buying this guide is the most direct way you can support my work, thus allowing me to make more videos, photos, and tutorials for you.
Thank you for your support!