Photography on Blue Sky Days with Harsh Light Can Be Great
The Problem
If, like me, you primarily shoot landscapes and the outdoors then harsh light and blue skies are often problematic. There’s often little interest in the sky, the landscape is a wash with harsh contrast and the light is often difficult to deal with because it’s not the most flattering. This has lead to many landscape photographers disregarding conditions like these, favouring to shoot at golden hour or on cloudy days. I think this is a mistake. I believe blue sky days provide opportunity to explore other photography disciplines and are a great excuse to hone some fundamental photorgaphic skills that will pay dividends when more desirable conditions arise.
Mindset
I try not pigeon-hole myself into any one genre of photography. Yes, landscape photography is my passion but my Commercial photography work see’s me photographing all kinds of different subjects and i’ll take any opportunity to get outside with my camera because, for me, just taking photos is enjoyable enough and I love the variety.
Yes, I would 100% avoid traditional landscape photography on blue sky days, it’s going to be more hassle than its worth if my goal is to come away with a great image of a vista. But blue sky days in the landscape are wonderful - go hiking, and maybe just leave the camera at home.
Or, adopt a more abstract approach and think about your subject matter differently.
Street Photography
One of the most rewarding photography pursuits you can undertake on blue sky days with harsh light is Street Photography.
This is something I did this week because I had a day free to go and do some photography but the weather wasn’t optimal for landscape photography so I changed tact. I headed to the coast, somewhere I would enjoy visiting to do some landscape photography, but I avoided the traditional landscape scenes and instead focussed on the people, the day trippers, the vibrance and the colour.
Here in the UK we don’t get many sunny days, and when we do, people often flock to the coast so there’s always something going on, there are always things to photography - it’s a safe bet.
It’s all about setting your expectations and giving yourself opportunity to get good photos.
What to photograph on blue sky days
So let me give you an insight into what I was thinking during this little photowalk and give you some insight into the things I was looking out for. I believe all these points will relate to any genre of photography and will help you improve your general photography - they aren’t street photography specific.
Colour
1) Colour Contrast / Complimentary Colours
Blue skies are great if you can find another colour to compliment it. It’s not always about the light, it’s often about colour.
It’s worth looking into colour science and the colour wheel to understand what colours compliment each other to create a sense of harmony and balance.
As a rule of thumb, colours on opposite sides of the wheel compliment each other. For example, blue is complimented by orange as they are directly opposite one another. Yellow compliments purple, green compliments red etc etc.
Therefore, if you can find some warmer oranges or yellows to compliment the blue sky then you’re going to create a scene that feels balanced.
2) Primary Colours
During this walk I also explored the relationship between blue, red and yellow, also known as Primary Colours.
Finding scenes with two colours that compliment such as the oranges paired with the blue is a great starting point but we can take this further. On the beach, blue and yellow is easily taken care of by virtue of the blue sky, the sea and the yellow sand. So by adding the third primary colour, red, to the scene, you create a really strong colour palette that will always look great.
3) Keep Colours Simple
The most important thing when thinking about colour in your scene is making sure it’s intentional. Less is often more as simple photos are often more impactful than busy photos where you may have a number of different colours all competing for attention. This minimalist approach is something I really enjoyed and it’s something that will definitely benefit my landscape photography too. If you are including colour, be selective and choose the right colours that work well together.
the variety of colours present in the beach toys is counteracted by the guy on the bike who is dressed in blue, matching the other colours in the scene.
I really enjoyed the challenge of photographing this location in the middle of the day, thankfully sunny afternoons on the coast are often hotspots for tourism, day trippers and there’s always something to point a camera at. I knew a location like this would give me the best odds of coming away with some half decent photos and sometimes that’s the most important thing in challenging conditions - choose a location where the odds are in your favour.
And the final thing to say is just to lean into it, lean into the challenge and embrace it. Being pushed and challenged in your photography is never a bad thing and always leads to growth. This was a very different shooting experience for me, it taught me to be agile, ready to fire a shot at a seconds notice when the right scene presented itself. That forced me to really get fast at dialling in my settings and I felt very connected to my camera and it’s fair to say I became even more familiar with certain modes and settings that I maybe would ignore in other scenarios.
Thinking about colour, thinking about composition, practice the art of noticing, all of these skills will directly transfer to any genre of photography so I think an exercise like this is well worth pursuing.
So, if anything, I hope this gives you a few things to think about next time you’re out and about with your camera. And if there are blue skies, I hope it gives you some confidence to still go out with your camera - there are photos to be taken!
