How to make dull day shots

ab2012

ab2012

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alan
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more interesting, especially landscapes.You know the kind of weather lately, grey,dull.In what ways can one give landscapes more life or vibrancy? (not including post processing colour editing)....Filters? How?:|
 
On a dull day b&w is the only thing that can save me as its almost impossible to get colour/vibrancy out of rain and clouds.
 
Three bracketed shots for HDR - I know you said no post processing but I don't know of any other way.
 
An Neutral Density (ND) graduated filter is probably the easiest way to inject a bit of additional drama into a crappy, lifeless sky. Also, helps you bring the exposure down, which can be a problem when the sky is many stops brighter than the foreground.

Shooting in mono (or converting in software afterwards) is also a good way to look at things differently, especially for creating high contrast and silhouettes. That's another option...

Personally, I use ND filters or where I can (on my 14mm for example which doesn't accept them) I add them in in LR3 to at least give the sky a bit of punch. It's a bit of a folly to rule out processing because it can help so much.

I actually like the muted tones you get from overcast skies and more often than not, the light is fantastic for outside portraiture and details shots because it's so diffused. Add a bit of off-camera flash or a reflector (especially a gold one) and you can create some stunning stuff. I also find that those conditions lend themselves to long lens landscapery because you you get different densities of haze that can help create some really graphic images.
 
Interesting.I'd better find out about these ND filters/I also like the idea of b & w, which can lend itself to dramatic shots.
 
B&W and HDr as suggested are your best bets, but, tbh, the only real option is to shoot something else and wait for decent light.
 
specialman said:
I actually like the muted tones you get from overcast skies and more often than not, the light is fantastic for outside portraiture and details shots because it's so diffused. Add a bit of off-camera flash or a reflector (especially a gold one) and you can create some stunning stuff.
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I generally stick to this ^ on dull days, sometimes the trick is knowing when not to bother with certain things.
 
artyman said:
I'd forget the 'large' scene and focus in on closer more textural stuff.
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Excatly, don't stop shooting, change what you shoot! You may also find that if shooting landscape an ND grad will bring out some texture in the clouds.
 
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