Our best friends in Delaware had a baby and YAY, I got to photograph her and help welcome her into the world! Of course, a storm decided to brew the very hour I was there to do this! I mean we are talking, I have never seen their house so dark and I have been there a million times. 😂 Luckily, Chloe is perfect and the photos turned out beautifully despite the overcast light pouring in. I don’t think you can tell whatsoever that it was dark and grey outside! So while I share these lifestyle newborn images, I will also share my best tips for cloudy indoor sessions! These tips are perfect for you if you have ever tried to take photos indoors and struggled with blurry, grainy, or just plain dark images! Let’s do this!
Turn off all indoor lights and screens
You might be thinking “What? if it is cloudy out, I need more light!” But the truth is, every type of light source and bulb has a unique color temperature, and when you start mixing those, you basically confuse your camera! Your camera needs to know what color temperature to record. If there are multiple available colors start to get recorded a little funky. (I.E. tungsten light bulbs and natural light from window). So anyways, turn off the lights, and open up all the windows and blinds. Take a good look at what windows are bringing in the most light, and how you can arrange yourself to get close to that light! Luckily clouds mean a diffused light, so you can get close to the windows without worrying too much about harsh shadows or folks squinting.
Face your subjects towards the light (window)
You want your subjects faces to be lit by the natural light coming in from the window. Ideally, they would be across from the window with even light hitting them. Be mindful of how much you are showing outside the window. You don’t want to see the big grey skies or you’ll give yourself away! 😅
So if you can’t get them across from the window, get them next to it perpendicularly (see images above!). Make sure there is enough space in front of them so the light can reach their face. (Hope that makes sense, see images for what I mean!). Don’t let the majority of the light fall behind their backs. The side lighting will make some more dramatic shadows on their faces but it can still be very flattering. These photos in Chloe’s nursery were created with one small window off to the right.
Use light colored surfaces, objects and walls to reflect light
Light colored walls, furniture, and floors are automatically going to make a space brighter, because the light coming in from the window can bounce around. Light kind of dies off on dark colors, or worse scenario, creates an undesirable color cast. If you don’t have the luxury of working in light colored spaces, try using foam reflectors and white or cream blankets to cover the dark stuff where possible! Especially if it is across from a window. If you don’t have those light colored things to add, try moving any dark pillows or furniture out of the frame.
Open your aperture, increase your ISO
As far as your settings go, there are a few things you can do to avoid the grain that is often associated with, “bad lighting.” Grain is created by your ISO setting. The higher your ISO, the more grain is created. That is because you basically tell your sensor to work extra hard to pick up any light it can find. I try not to exceed ISO 800 in client work. That way, if I take a slightly darker image in-camera, I have more flexibility editing without worrying about grain.
If a higher ISO still isn’t enough light, the next thing I suggest is opening your aperture up wider. Use an aperture around f/2.0-2.8 to keep your subjects in your focal plane but let in as much light as possible. Avoid your shutter speed dropping below 1/200 when working with people or you’ll be frustrated by blurry images. You can also throw in a tripod if you start to get worried about motion blur! (For more on blurry images, click here!). If none of that made any sense, try working in shutter priority mode and setting your shutter at around 1/250.
Use flash
For the purposes of this blog post, I did not end up needing my flash, though I could have certainly used it in Chloe’s nursery! If you still just do not have sufficient light, the easiest thing to do is take a flash and point it up and behind you, to bounce light around your ceiling and room. Ceilings are typically painted white and flash is often daylight color-balanced so it’s a pretty safe way to add in some light.
More tips for cloudy indoor sessions and other help with photography?
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