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What is Photography Weather? |
You may be asked: "Is this photography weather?" Get used to responding "YES." Using your creativity and skill can result in fantastic photographs being taken in all kinds of weather.
With that said, certain weather conditions do lend themselves to easier and better photographic opportunities...
- Sunny days are simple
- Cloudy days are actually better
- Tropical storms are challenging, but doable
- Monsoons require a large umbrella, unless taken from inside
- Lightening makes phenomenal pictures, as long as you take the shots from inside the safety of a building and not wearing a pointed metal helmet
- Snow storms are wonderfully dramatic, as long as your lens stays dry
- The Fall is magnificent photography weather, but you knew that already
- Rolling sand dunes can be quite spectacular
- Bleak and heavily overcast skies can be best for mood shots
- And, do I need to say anything about sunsets or the break of dawn?
Fire and Ice
Weather extremes should bring out your photographer's "Caution Flag." As mentioned before, let’s assume that most people don't read their camera owner’s manual.I would like to strongly suggest that you check out the "specifications" page that talks about "Safe Operating Temperatures." Bottom Line, if you use your digital camera in photography weather when it's too cold or too hot, you could ruin your camera!
Now that I have your attention, let me point out some things that probably are not in your manual. If you leave your camera in the car for over 30 minutes, keep it out of direct sunlight. Even if your camera is placed in the trunk and out of direct sunlight, by remaining in the trunk for a long time on a very hot day is unnecesary gambling. To get more specifics, please check with your camera's manufacturer.
Finally, imagine a very cold day (not what most folks consider good photography weather). You have your digital baby safely tucked away in its camera bag, complete with fully charged batteries.
You're off to grandmother's house 2 hours away. You gleefully unpack and prepare your camera to begin capturing spectacular portraits that you've learned about in best-family-photography-tips.com. (No, this is NOT a shameless plug - it's on my own site.)
You turn the camera on, take one shot, and get a "low battery" warning. What gives? You had fully charged both the primary and the spare batteries before you left!
What happened was the cold weather drained the power in your batteries faster than beer at a fraternity kegger party.
Solution: If your camera is going to be in a "cold" car (however your manufacturer defines cold), keep it inside the car with you. And to be extra cautious, keep the batteries nice and warm in your pocket or coat, and take the battery charger with you.
High Noon
Most folks consider nice sunny days as prime photography weather. Generally they're right, however by observing some tips, your sunny day photographs will look a lot better than other folk's.
On sunny days, use a lens hood if you have one (it's like a visor for your camera to reduce flare and direct sunlight from entering the lens and ruining your picture).
If your camera doesn't have a lens hood, use a piece of cardboard or your hand, positioned between the sun and the front of your lens.
Experiment with different posing angles relative to the sun, until you get a feel for the different results. If the sun is directly overhead (or anywhere close to it) it will cast a shadow.
If your subjects are wearing hats, stand close to them and use a fill flash so their faces are not in shadows. Notice what happened in this picture where a flash was not used.
Observe the difference between the faces of the
The Rain
Rain is definitely photography weather, in spite of our "instinctive tendency" to stay indoors, lest we melt.
Once we get through dealing with the potential family resistance of going outside, we become exposed to a whole new dimension of photography opportunities that rain supplies.
Here are just a few of the unique rainy day photography weather "bonuses" to watch for:
- Overcast skies and foggy conditions can produce very ethereal and artistic looking results
- Drops of water on plants
- Rainy photography weather produces the most rainbows
- Darkly overcast skies are an optimum time to take black and white portraits
- Rain produces a glistening effect to almost everything it touches
- Consider taking close up portraits with flowers or plants that have rain or dew on them. Be prepared for a "more vivid than expected" result
- A truly breathtaking time to take pictures is when the storm is over and the sun begins to peek through an opening in the storm clouds.
If particularly lucky, you can capture a "tube of light" extending from the sky to the ground, as though a searchlight was shining down to the earth. (After capturing a few of these masterpieces, rain may actually become your favorite photography weather of all!)
Follow the before mentioned tips in making the most of these photography weather conditions. Pay particular attention to your metering mode, and being able to set the F-Stop, shutter speed, and ISO to avoid needing a flash. Using your trusty tripod should also help.
No tripod?!? Not to worry. To search for the best prices on tripods, memory, batteries, or anything else...
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