Bad weather and photography

Hello and welcome to my blog. This is just a short one this time.

Here in Ireland we've just experienced a long, hot and mostly dry period but it's coming to an end. This shouldn't finish your photography. All you need do is change what you photograph and how.

The obvious one is to shoot more indoor portraits. Low light levels may require the use of flash but unless you have the means of shooting off camera, try and avoid this. Window light should work for a while more, as the sun is still high in the sky. 

North facing windows are often recommended for indoor portraits. This is a good idea when the sun is strong but on a rainy day, with lots of clouds in the sky, any window will do. The clouds will act like the baffle in front of a soft box and soften the light, by spreading it widely.

When you photograph in direct light, the light comes directly at your subject, with most of it hitting the subject on the bright side and causing strong shadows on the other side. When light passes through clouds or a baffle it bounces off the particles in the cloud and goes in all directions, landing on your subject from many directions and the shadows are not as strong.

This shot of Cathy was taken using light coming through a glass door and nothing else. To achieve the shot I had to use ISO 1250 to get a shutter speed I could hand hold, without camera shake (1/100 second). Avoiding camera shake is vital and it's one mistake you can't correct in your editing programme. I explain more about this in other blogs, here  http://www.eddieguiry.com/blog/low-light-situations and here http://www.eddieguiry.com/blog/shutter-speeds.
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​The weather itself can also prove to be a great subject. 

Once again, high ISO ratings are necessary to avoid slow shutter speeds and camera shake. In shots like this you should also underexpose a little to avoid the bright areas burning out and losing details. Use the +/- button and select -0.3 or -0.7 but experiment to get the best level and one that's to your taste.

You could also decide to take images of your hobby, house decorations and plants, toys and much more. Bright sunlight is not necessary for photography nor are wide open areas.

So, keep shooting and enjoy your hobby regardless of the weather.

Until next time, take good care of yourselves and those you love.