I got so many good photos the other day when my son was outside playing in the puddle that I had to post more than one.  And I thought it might be a good time to say something about taking photos on an overcast day. 

    When I was young, someone told me that the photographer should put her back to the sun to take a portrait.  I have no idea who told me this, but for years I did this until I “matured” in my photographic abilities and realized that this is a horrible way to take a photo.  Bright sunlight during the mid-day is too harsh for photos and can make faces look flat and overexposed.  The best light is either early in the morning or late afternoon, and if you position the sun to hit the side of your subject’s face, you will get a much more flattering portrait.  (Of course, there are beautiful photos with the light source coming from other angles, but this is a good, general guideline.)                                        

    In addition, overcast days offer soft, diffused light, and I think there is no better light to take a photo in than this.  As you can see from my photos, the color is rich.  I added the third photo here so that you can see my son’s beautiful face and how it has no harsh shadows on it.  The light is evenly distributed!

    The bottom photo is a sooc image and a sneak peek at my three boys, and I hope my husband forgives me for posting it. (He had just gone running.)  I want to show it to you because you can see the sky in the background.  Completely overcast.  But it’s not a dark, ominous sky either.

   

These were my camera’s settings for all three photos:

f/1.8

1/500

ISO 400

I used the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 lens

    In post-processing (specifically for top photo), I used Aperture, and I adjusted the black (.11) and gray (.56) levels a little bit.  I also cropped the top photo.

   

What do you think?  Please return to my blog and leave me a comment!  I love to hear your thoughts.