Making the most of dreary weather

Depending on where you live, it’s either spring or fall. Either way, chances are you’re bound to have a few days that the weather is just miserable and you really don’t feel like leaving the house and having a photography adventure.

But don’t let that bring you down. Why not make the most of the dreary weather and have an indoor photography adventure?

Grab some flowers

Assuming you don’t suffer from hay fever, grabbing some fresh flowers has several therapeutic benefits. They can elevate your mood, and positively influence your sense of smell, they can add a pop of color, and make you feel more in touch with nature. So why not buy yourself a bunch of fresh flowers? Once you’ve photographed them, you can enjoy them inside. And guys, this isn’t just for the ladies.

Set the scene

I set my scene near the window, there was some indirect natural light, but to be honest it wasn’t actually doing much. So I added a Godox AD200 and strip box to give a soft, diffused light to my scene.

I set up a little still life scene, with some neutral browns. I had a little box, some vintage books, some naturally tea-stained cheesecloth and of course my ranunculus in a glass vase. Tip, for aesthetics, fill your glass vase 3/4 full with water and then wipe off drips and fingerprints with some paper towel.

Camera gear

Apart from my Godox speedlight (1/32 power), I also used a Godox X1 trigger on my Sony a7R III. I used my Tamron 28-75mm lens at f/2.8 for the wider shots and then switched over to my Sony 90mm macro for some close-ups. Because if you’ve gone to all the trouble to stage a scene, you may as well catch all the details.

Not into still life? Then stick with your macro lens, perhaps grab a spray bottle and capture some water drops. Or play with some stacking or even fractal prisms (if you have some).

Share the love

So now you have snapped your flowers, now what? Well, why not pop them on social media and brighten everyone else’s day? Make a collage, or perhaps a short video reel for IG or TikTok, and add some music or a poem.

Perhaps you learned something to share with a photography group. Our Photofocus community is a fantastic place to share your images.