A small guide to overcast light

Look down before looking up

A bright, flat sky can occupy a lot of a picture without adding much. Start with surfaces below the horizon: foliage, damp stone, painted doors or reflections. The cloud cover often makes small colour differences easier to notice.

Watch the highlights

Soft light is not the same as low contrast everywhere. A pale sky or wet reflection can still be much brighter than the subject. Tap to meter on the important surface, then check whether the brightest areas retain the detail you want.

Let colour carry the frame

Try placing a small warm colour inside a cooler scene, or several shades of one colour together. Keep the composition simple enough for those differences to be visible. If every part of the picture demands attention, change your position before changing the edit.

Keep a reference

Photograph the same subject from two angles. One may reflect the sky while the other reveals the underlying colour. Save both and note the direction you faced. This is more useful than treating cloudy weather as one fixed lighting condition.