Dealing with overcast skies on the Isle of Mull

Ever since spending a day in Tobermory back in July I have wanted to return to Mull and discover what else the island has to offer. Having been delighted by the town's colourful houses and vibrant harbour I have been itching to re visit with my camera and get down to some serious landscape photography.

Returning at Christmas I was hoping for some great winter light and abundant photographic opportunities. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas. We arrived to howling winds and heavy rain which eventually gave way to grey overcast skies, pretty much setting the scene for the whole week.

There is a theory in landscape photography that there is no such thing as bad weather only different kinds of lighting and it is up to the photographer to make the most of the available conditions. Sunshine and bright skies create high contrast images where as grey overcast skies produce much more subtle effects. Colours tend to be pastel tones rather than vibrant hues. These can work really well to create calm, muted images which evoke a sense of tranquility.

Grey overcast skies can also form an effective background to man made colour. In this image of Tobermory the muted colours of the sky and water help the coloured houses to stand out from the background.

Landscape photography on a grey day is all about dealing with the available light and thinking creatively to produce compelling images.

My top 5 tips for creating good images on an overcast day are:

1. Learn to see the landscape in pastel tones, if there really is no colour then practice thinking in black and white and convert your images to monotone during post processing.

2. Think about the available light which is likely to be significantly reduced in overcast conditions. A tripod is essential, shoot in Aperture priority and choose a large F number to achieve a good depth of field.

3. Think about your white balance. Try switching your cameras metering system to cloudy which should warm up your image and make it visually more appealing.

4. Grey skies can produce flat underexposed images so I tend to use a circular polariser to enhance the texture and colour in the sky. Remember that a polariser will also stop some of the available light; roughly 2 stops, so again a tripod is essential for good depth of field. Check your histogram regularly and dial in exposure compensation if necessary. You may also find it necessary to use an ND filter to balance out the exposure between the sky and the land.

5. Think about your composition and avoid large areas of sky if it is lacking in detail. Try to find interesting foreground detail with plenty of texture or tonal contrast to add interest to your image.