How to Improve Flower Photos on a Cloudy Day
The weather forecast promised sun, but Hanegi Park only had cloudy day flowers to offer me in February 2024. My heart sank. How could I capture the delicate beauty of the plum blossoms under flat, dreary light? The answer was easy: my flash.
The trip to the park
I caught the Keio-Inokashira Line train to Higashi-Matsubara Station. Then, it was a ten-minute walk to the park. Door-to-door, it took me less than thirty minutes to get there.
My hero was missing!
That was annoying, but something truly disappointed me. Once again, I couldn’t see Mount Fuji from the park. The last time I saw it was in 2017. Well, that was okay because I was there to see the flowers. Not all were in full bloom, but enough were.
Why flash photography?
As I mentioned already, it was overcast. The clouds were a problem. They blocked the sun, so everything looked dull. The flat light was doing the flowers no justice. I knew I needed to create my own light. That’s when I turned to the flash. Flash photography was the panacea for a day like this, and here’s why:
- A flash of light and shadows disappear.
- The background was dark. That was okay because the flower was the subject of the photo. The flash separated the two.
- You can use much smaller apertures since you have more light. That gives you more flexibility. Is bokeh important? Or do you like everything in focus?
The Hanegi Park plum blossoms experience
It was good even though I was out of practice with the flash. The last time I used it was for cherry blossoms in 2023. But that was a small problem.
My biggest challenge, however, wasn’t the light—it was the crowd. The park’s paths were narrow, so I constantly had to move to let someone pass me. It was hard to find a rhythm. Should I have gone on a weekday? I could have, but the weather forecast predicted rain.
I must admit I got lucky. While I was at Hanegi Park, a few patches of blue sky drifted through. They didn’t last long, but I made good use of them.
Flash photography gave me the results I wanted. It made the flowers pop and separated them from the background. A single pulse of light banished the drab greyness, instantly revealing the rich pinks and delicate textures of the petals.
My photography gear for this shoot
- Camera body: Fujifilm X-T3
- Lens: Fujifilm XF 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
- Flash: Godox V860II
Did flash photography fix cloudy day flowers?
Clouds threatened to ruin my day. But flash photography gave me a way to overcome my problems. It banished shadows and accentuated the vibrancy of the blossoms against darker backgrounds. The results were magnificent. Each photo had life.
That experience at Hanegi Park (official website) set the tone for the rest of 2024. The flash is an indispensable tool for many types of flower photography. I especially like it for plum blossoms and chrysanthemums. It proves that even a grey day can’t stand in the way of a great photo. I’ll try the technique again at Hamarikyu Gardens when I go for my next visit.
Are you ready to see the blossoms for yourself? Read my [A Guide to the Setagaya Ume Matsuri at Hanegi Park] which has all the information you need to know about the event.
