Getting the best from an overcast day

James306

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I am due to be taking a photo for a press release tomorrow, it's not vital for the image to be anything amazing, but I wanted to know peoples thoughts on getting the best from a dull/overcast day.

I will be using my 580 EX II, but wanted to know what peoples thoughts were on making the best out of the dull background.

Thoughts/ideas?
 
Will you be using it off camera at all?

Maybe try a 1/4 or 1/2 CTO gel to warm up the subject and give a little separation from the dull background.

via TP Forums for iPhone
 
I don't have an ETTL cable so was intending on using it on camera, set the exposure to the subjects and go from there, I am concerned this would give me a dull background as the background will be Portsmouth harbour so dull sky and dull water as a consequence.

I also don't have any coloured gels so can't really do that either. I could always brighten up the background in Photoshop, but my skills are extremely limited in p/p.
 
Tricky, I don't feel qualified for this one as I've never been in that situation.

Hopefully your subject will be wearing something colourful!

But if you're faced with a dull BG, maybe it being darker isn't such a bad thing, it might make the subject pop a little bit... like exposure comp set to -1 and flash Exp comp set to +1, take it from there. If its subtle it might look cool. Costs nothing to try!

Thats my idea anyway. Maybe someone else will have better tips :)

via TP Forums for iPhone
 
Thanks for the tips, every piece of knowledge is valuble, and you have reading into CTO and other coloured gels and their various uses :)
 
Tricky. Do you have a reflector? You could set the exposure a stop and a half under to bring some interest into the sky and then angle the flash to bounce off a reflector to the side. You'll need someone to hold it though.
 
Unfortunately I don't have a reflector, I am building a list of kit to invest in/experiment with though!

Also checked the weather and heavy rain is forcast for tomorrow, not ideal for the photo so could end up being shot indoors yet.
 
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