Lessons Learned: Saturated color

Not many brightly, sun-over-my-shoulder, "correctly lit" images in this gallery, are there? Part of the reason for that, of course, is the gallery theme (quiet moments), which leans more toward the moody, softly lit images you see here.

Another consideration, however, is color saturation. Particularly in Maine when shooting foliage, I observed that a bright sunny day created bright highlights (white, or a light shade of the leaves colors), and deep shadows (black or dark blue/green), which displaced the fluorescent leaf colors I wanted. On the other hand, an overcast day or predawn light reduced the contrast between highlight and shadow, allowing the true fall foliage colors to shine through.

This coastline image is like that. Even the sky, which often requires special consideration to prevent its being washed out in a white or very pale blue (a gradated neutral density filter helps in situations like that, by the way) There are no bright highlights in this picture created by bright sunlight. The only part of this image that's white is the surf, which actually is white, and even so, there's plenty of detail in it.

So, when you're planning a photo shoot and wake up to an overcast day, don't despair. Instead, adjust your thinking and go on a search for saturated color!