Is it bad to take photographs on a cloudy day?

The past few days have been very overcast and rainy on and off. The weather made me think of the family photo session that almost got pushed off due to the weather, but I’m so glad it didn’t because the photo session ended up turning out well resulting in some amazing photos! Often I hear people say things like, “It’s not good to take pictures on a cloudy day”, but this may prove otherwise.

We were scheduled for the morning, but when morning came there was no sight of the sun. Just a chunk of thick grey clouds and impending rains. Not ones to give up so fast, since we knew the weather can always surprise us by changing from rain to sunshine, we kept watching and waiting *and hoping!) for some sunshine to break through the clouds. But the sun didn’t decide to peak through at all.

This ended up being a day that we learned that photographing on a cloudy day can be to an advantage. On a bright sunny you must be mindful of what time of day you are shooting, which is why many photographers choose early morning or late afternoon when the sun is not directly overhead. When the sun is shining directly on top of you, it tends to cast dark shadows over your subject’s eye, otherwise known as raccoon eyes. And that’s not so flattering. But with a cover of clouds in the sky, it creates soft, even light which is often nice, light, and you got it- soft! That’s of course, if that is the look you are going for. I like soft light in my photographs, and also often look for ways to make the light a bit directional to make it a bit interesting.

So anyways, back to the question of taking children and family photos on cloudy days :) ! This day was pretty cloudy, and the family was all dressed and excited about their photo shoot. By the time we met, there were some drizzles in the air. We ran for cover and waited a few minutes until it stopped drizzling, and then explored our surroundings.

It was a beautiful area, wood-like with lots of trees and bushes around us. I started near some of the bushes and had M check out the leaves. By having her turn slightly I was able to get some shadows across her face and get some dimension. Looking for some more ideas of how to gain shadows, we walked to the nearby gazebo. This would also help create shadow due to it’s structure of the “roof” and it’s “walls”. We played peek-a-boo through the bars. Wow- that got her to give a good laugh! Her personality was starting to emerge. And can you see the lovely dimension from the shadows cast by the bars?!

Meanwhile, big sister, R, came to join us under the gazebo. Here we got a beautiful portrait of her!

It drizzled on and off so the ground was slippery and wet. That eliminated the option of sitting or laying on the ground. I found a small bike in the corner of the gazebo so I had Mom place baby Y on its seat.

He seemed pretty comfortable here. Look those big beautiful eyes! All along big brother M was standing off on the side but now he came to see what the fuss was about.

I love watching siblings interact and tell secrets from the adults!! Big brother M was nearing his third birthday, as you can see his sister encouraging him to put on his yarmalke!

But boy, was he a shy little guy!

There he even let us see his face!

So there you have it! A family photo session on a very cloudy day, that resulted in lovely photos.

Here’s a photo of the family all together before I sign off!