Overcast/Cloudy Methods?

[Josh220]

What's the best ways help take focused shots outside when it is cloudy with poor lighting?

Higher ISO, White balance, tripod, am i missing anything other than faster glass? Would an external flash help with anything other than close-up shots like portraits?

Thanks

 

[KmH]

Yes, flash and/or relectors, and it works superbly for close up portraits if done properly.

 

[Overread]

Yep good flash use and good reflector use can give you a lot more light to work with. If you balance the light well and don't let the flash dominate too much (and diffuse the light as well) you don't even get the "Flash was used" look to the shots.
For portrait work you have it easy since you can use these additional light sources - so you might not even need to raise your ISO that high nor use as wide an aperture.

 

[Josh220]

Thanks!

I have been looking at better tripods and a flash lately. I am thinking about getting an SB-600 for now. The D60's aren't able to use an off-camera mode though right? So I can only shoot with it connected to the camera body, or am I mistaken? I plan to get a D300 eventually, but I am waiting until later this summer or after Fall semester starts, because I want to be sure I am very serious about this before I drop that kind of cash on a body.

How well does the slide-down diffuser work on the 600's?

 

[farmerj]

Cloudy overcast days I tend to use my whibal card a lot more for better color.

 

[johngpt]

Cloudy, overcast days lend themselves to close, detailed shooting. For example, that tree you've been eyeing whose bark or grain is so intricate and absorbing.

The clouds create a giant softbox for the sun's light, dispersing it very evenly. You don't get the often difficult to deal with range of light to dark that digital (film too) cameras find hard to capture.

It's easier to grab the entire range from 255 to 0, without blowing out the highlights or losing shadow detail.

When attempting to find the right exposure, our choices are determined by the effect we'd like. Do I need to stop action? Or, do I want shallow depth of field.

Having a tripod is better than not when one is needed. This way you can keep the ISO down for less grain, and shoot at slower shutter speeds.

When one isn't handy, bumping the ISO can be useful. And stabilisation from either lens or camera body helps if the shutter speed gets pretty low, and you're shooting hand held.