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CLOUDY DAY

About a cloudy weather (cloud cover 50-100%) is often said that the photos would be boring. The light is more or less evenly, and the shadows are small or even completely disappeared.
Scene s, where the depth is important (landscapes) seem flatter, unshaded by the scattered light. This type of light is meanwhile ideal for portraits!

Another effect of a (thin) overcast is that it is very clear, free of texture and white. The entire sky functions as a reflector. If the white sky is a large part of the composition, it would be usually overexposed (entirely white) or the subject would be too dark.
This high contrast is difficult to solve in one picture, and in most cases even impossible. A simple solution is to make your subject as big as possible to eliminate the white sky.

In some circumstances it is necessary to change the white balance (setting cloudy or custom). It is difficult to determine what circumstances these are. Colors that can be identified by everyone (color of skin, snow) should look correct.
Check the results always critically at the LCD screen and make sure that the colors match the reality. .........................................................................................................
CLOUDS AS A SUBJECT

Sometimes the cloud exhibits interesting textures and can function as a subject itself. Let in this case the landscape as much as possible out of the composition or use it as a silhouette.

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Last solution: you can take black and white pictures in cloudy weather. It is very effective, because the strong contrast seems toe be less between light and dark parts.

Note: light subjects (e.g. snow) would be usually too dark (underexposed). You can check the results by using the histogram if it is available. You can always check if the picture was made as expected. Learn to use this feature!

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