Oh no, it’s overcast. Should we reschedule?

Let me answer that question straight away

No.

No, because these are actually perfect weather conditions for a photo session, as long as it doesn’t rain. Let me illustrate.

The advantages of cloudy weather

Soft and Diffused Light

Overcast weather acts as a natural diffuser, creating soft and even lighting conditions. The clouds act as a giant softbox, scattering sunlight and reducing harsh shadows. Whereas bright sun creates hard, unflattering contrasts, the soft light makes for even lighting and more flattering photos.

Vibrant Colors

As contradictory as it may sound, cloudy skies can enhance the saturation and richness of colors in a scene. The diffused light reduces the intensity of direct sunlight, resulting in deeper and more saturated hues.

More comfortable shooting conditions

Overcast weather provides a more comfortable shooting environment, which is especially convenient for photo sessions with small children. Direct sunlight makes people squint and children tend to be very sensible to the discomfort of bright light. In overcast conditions you can relax your eyes and face, allowing for a more natural and relaxed expression.

Bright sun often means elevated temperatures, resulting in sweaty conditions – also something you want to avoid in your photos.

Increased Flexibility

Overcast weather opens up opportunities for shooting locations that may not be ideal in bright sunlight. On a sunny day I will usually put you in the shade or carefully position you in the right direction towards the sun, but with overcast skies we can go anywhere and turn in any direction. (Also very convenient with children who tend to run in any direction anyways! 🙂 )

Extended Shooting Time

Overcast conditions provide more consistent lighting throughout the day compared to sunny weather. When shooting in direct sunlight, I will generally avoid harsh midday light which is very challenging to work with. With overcast skies, we have a longer window of time since the lighting remains relatively constant throughout the day.

A comparison

Bright sun

The couple is standing in the sun and you can tell they have trouble keeping their eyes open against the sun. The hars sun also creates strong contrasts under their eyes, nose and chin.

Under the shade of a tree

As a solution, I moved the couple to the shade where the light is softer. Their faces are more relaxed now and the light on their faces is way more flattering.

In the examples above, it was a bright and sunny day and since it was their wedding day, rescheduling was not option. No matter the weather, I have experience shooting in different lighting conditions and have solutions for almost every solution. For this couple it meant moving to the shade and some extra editing efforts from my side to even out the contrast between bright and shady areas. But as we were getting closer to noon, the shady areas were getting scarcer and our shooting options became more and more limited.

Overcast weather

This photo session took place on an overcast day. When you looked outside, you may have thought: “What a sad, grey day. I don’t want my photos to look dull. Shouldn’t we reschedule?”

Well, this is one of the many photos that resulted from the photo session. The colors are bright and colorful.

And as you can see, the light on their faces is very soft overall. During this session we also benefitted from plenty of flexibility: we were able to shoot anywhere and turn in every direction.

Ideal shooting conditions, I would say.

When rescheduling is not an option

Sometimes rescheduling is not an option. Because it’s your wedding day. Because you will only be in Brussels for one day. Because you want to make your pregnancy photos before giving birth. Etc…

Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered. After booking a photo session with me, you will receive my location guide containing my favorite shooting locations in Brussels, which also contains some sheltered, rain-proof options. And if it doesn’t rain too much, why not simply have some fun in the rain?