Shooting in All Types of Weather: A Photographer’s Guide to Embracing the Elements

Weather has a way of shaping photography more than most people realize. Light, mood, color, and texture all shift depending on what the sky is doing. After years behind the camera, chasing storms, waiting out snow squalls, and watching clouds rumble across the plains, I’ve come to appreciate how every kind of weather opens up new creative possibilities.

Whether you’re heading out for landscapes, wildlife, or even just a simple sunrise, learning how to work with the weather instead of against it can take your images to the next level. Let’s walk through the main types of weather conditions you’ll encounter and talk about how to shoot in each of them with confidence.

Starting with the “classics”, sunny days are the most common and, for many folks, the easiest to work with. You’ve got all the light you could ask for, which opens up a ton of creative flexibility with your settings. It’s a great time to play around with different shutter speeds and apertures. Wildlife tends to be more active too, especially in the morning and late afternoon.

But that much light comes with tradeoffs. Harsh shadows, blown-out highlights, and flat midday skies can really dull the impact of your scene. Plus, if you’re shooting in a popular location, odds are high that you’ll be sharing it with quite a few other photographers and hikers.

To make the most of what I would consider suboptimal conditions, aim to adjust your timing. Shoot during blue hour, sunrise, or sunset when the light is softer and more directional. A circular polarizer (CPL) can cut glare and deepen the color of skies and foliage. Neutral density filters are also helpful if you’re trying to shoot long exposures in full daylight.

Overcast skies, on the other hand, are extremely underrated. The light is softer and more balanced, which makes it easier to expose both your highlights and shadows without blowing anything out. You’ll often find that colors in the landscape pop a tad more, and reflections on water are much gentler. It’s also a great time to photograph wildlife because the diffused light brings out more natural tones in fur and feathers (and the color green overall).

Of course, cloudy days still have their own quirks. Scenes can sometimes feel a bit flat, especially if there’s not much contrast in your composition. I like to start my exposures at -0.3 EV in these conditions, especially if the sky is bright but featureless. Bracketing your shots can help give you more flexibility in post, which brings me to the recommendation of a good tripod. Still shots are crucial for bracketing, and with landscapes, I’ve found Epoch’s aluminum build and four way head to be perfect for keeping things stable.

Forecasting movement in the lower levels of the atmosphere is useful if you want to catch a break in the clouds or line up a potential sunset. But even if the skies remain gray, the opportunity for mood and atmosphere is still there, you just have to look for it.

Rainy days are some of the most rewarding to shoot in, as long as you’re prepared. The greens become richer, blues deepen, and everything takes on a certain moodiness that’s hard to replicate in other conditions. These conditions also bring dynamic skies and shifting light that can lead to tremendously dramatic compositions. If you time it right, a rain shower dissipating at sunset can give you the best light you can possibly see. Who knows, maybe you’ll even score a rainbow…

Preparation is everything for rain, though. You’ll want to pack rain covers and ponchos for your camera and bag, and carry extra microfiber cloths to keep your lens clear. Did I mention protection filters? Don’t skip out on those, either. Fog lovers, this is for you: look for locations that involve water or elevation. Streams, waterfalls, or hilltop overlooks tend to shine when the atmosphere is thick with moisture.

The biggest challenge, aside from staying dry, is gear safety. Moisture and electronics rarely mix, so keep backups safe and make sure everything is sealed and stashed during heavier downpours. Mercifully, Rugged SD cards can withstand these conditions without any second guess. Cold and wind often tag along with rain too, so bring layers and be smart about when and where you shoot. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is wait for fifteen minutes and let the storm pass.

Storms are where things get wild. The drama, the energy, the impossibly unique skies are the reasons I fell in love with photography in the first place. There’s something about seeing a supercell building on the horizon or watching lightning strike in the distance that makes you feel excitement in all the best ways.

That said, storm chasing/photography is not for the unprepared. It’s dangerous, fast-moving, and wildly unpredictable. Safety is your number one priority – I can’t stress that enough. Knowing how to read radar and being familiar with the terrain around you is just as important as having the right lens on your camera. If you’re interested in learning more about storm chasing, check out my recent blog about Capturing Chaotic Light.

With that said, stormy weather offers some of the most surreal photos you’ll ever take. The clouds alone can look like oil paintings, rainbows show up more often than you’d expect, and even if you don’t capture lightning, the mood alone is worth the chase. When I shoot storms, I always have my tripod handy so I can slow down and focus on composition. Patience is key - the moments you’re waiting for don’t come on your schedule. It's strictly on Mother Nature’s.

Snow changes everything. It mutes sound, floods the scene with light, and covers even the most familiar trails in unique textures. Wildlife stands out against everything, and the contrast between cold tones and natural shapes is striking. But let’s be real: Shooting in snow can be, and is, a grind. Getting to your location may take longer, and the cold can wreck batteries and sap your energy. One word: bring spare batteries. A lot.

To make the most of snowy days, start by dressing smart. I keep a pair of photo gloves in my kit so I don’t lose dexterity while adjusting settings. A slight underexposure, around -0.3 EV, helps preserve detail in all that bright snow, especially since you can always lift shadows later. Blown-out snow is harder to recover than other terrain elements, so keep that in mind when watching your histogram.

Snowy scenes also challenge you to find contrast. If everything in your frame is white, your image might fall flat. Look for pops of color, shapes, or leading lines that help your subject stand out, and don’t be afraid to embrace simplicity. A lone tree or animal in a field of fresh snow can be just as powerful as a full mountain range.

Golden hours are when most photographers find their rhythm. Sunrise has a special magic to it with the colors and rapid change in vibrancy over a short period of time, but it’s also a gamble. There’s no guarantee the sky will do something spectacular, and some locations don’t open early enough to catch those first rays. I would highly recommend checking local Facebook groups, NPS pages, and also asking locals if you’re traveling. Word of mouth is often the best way to get the inside scoop on the best locations.

Sunset, on the other hand, is usually easier to forecast. Blue hour after sunset often brings soft gradients and pastel tones that work beautifully for subtle compositions. The challenge is that the light changes fast, so your settings may need to shift every few minutes. At popular locations, expect some crowding, especially on weekends.

Either time of day or condition, tripods are a great tool for slowing things down. A CPL or ND filter helps you manage exposure as the light fades, and if you’re into sun bursts, try shooting at f/11 or higher. Underexposing slightly can help you retain color in the brightest parts of the sky while still letting the scene breathe and remain balanced.

No matter what the forecast says, there’s always something worth photographing. The trick is to stay flexible and work with what the sky gives you. Bring the right gear, scout preemptively, but above all, stay safe. Weather is unpredictable, which makes it frustrating at times but also quite rewarding. Some of my favorite images came from days when everything went “wrong.” Be patient. Trust your instincts. Let the weather tell its own story, and do your best to capture those moments. That’s when the magic happens.