Can nature have a mood? When dark clouds and lightning are coming at you how does it feel? Does it feel a little frightening? Have you ever stayed out in a bad thunder storm or have you always run away for the shelter of modern conveniences. Oh, you probably don’t know what it’s like to be stuck with nowhere to go in a big storm but some people do know. For them, seeing those clouds stirs memories of terror, of cold wind lashing their bodies with rain, and loud crashing thunder.
Technique #1: Accurately expose dark scenes.
The most common way to kill any kind of mood in photos is to overexpose. When the clouds look dark try letting them be dark, try letting shadows look like shadows. It’s almost like people are trying to reassure themselves that there’s nothing lurking in the shadows. Well, whatever is lurking there isn’t visible to your eyes anyway so best not to even think about it. ;-)
In the pictures above the scene was dark so I kept my exposure dark. Not every image has to be totally brightened up in every shadow. Sometimes the demands of the emotional experience outweigh other concerns. Letting shadows be shadows can also change the texture of a landscape or even a portrait for that matter. It can reveal details that are normally hidden by the light.
Technique #2: Let the scene develop.
Some locations are prone to dynamic weather changes whether it’s clouds, rain, wind, etc. One minute it’ll be totally grey and in the next the sun will be blazing in a clear sky. Don’t get impatient just because it’s cloudy the first minute you arrive at a location. Maybe it won’t clear up for a week, maybe it’ll clear up in 5 minutes, you don’t know. The point is weather is dynamic and it can change. Things can happen that you might not even think are possible, and the moment for the perfect photo might be as narrow as a few minutes. Being a bit of an amateur weatherman can be helpful if you’re trying to predict how a scene will change. Use logic, if clouds are moving the scene could change minute by minute.
Technique #3: Underexpose bright scenes.
With a camera you can control how much light is the scene. So, you don’t necessarily have to wait for “moody” conditions to create a mood in our photos. You can just underexpose and voila, bright white clouds now look heavy and dark… The green forest has become a dark sillhouette with only the ghostly white branches of dead pine trees shining through.
There are many other tips for photographers that I can share when it comes to controlling the mood in your photos. If you feel like learning more, sign up for the LPS Photography Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
