How to predict photography friendly weather?

[Farhan T]

usually weather prediction tell you max min temperature sun set sunrise time and pressure. I want to know about weather even to a slight degree of accuracy or maybe just an intuition if the weather would be friendly for photography.

by photography friendly i mean
1) i want to know the visibility and fog?
2) I want to know if the sunset would be colorful like a red twilight "in my city lausanne Switzerland its very rare"
3) when is it best time to photograph a lake that reflects the mountain image in it. maybe sometime during the year or sometime during the day when the chances are greater. wind usually causes alot of problem I've spent a lot of money and strength hiking to one of these lakes and I never catch calm reflecting waters.

 

[Louise]

It's pretty much impossible to 'predict' by weather reports, but you can gauge an average idea. If it is a localised thing, and easy to get to, you should aim to examine your location at different times of the day over a season. Personal experience just can't be beaten.

The most important thing for outdoors/nature photography (what you seem to be interested in) is light. A sunny, clear day isn't going to produce the best results necessarily. You want to get a day where the sky has some tonal change. The time of the day will effect shadow position (depending on where you live).

It will be relatively visible most of the time, just watch out for overcast days. These have a tendency to 'wash out' you photos with bland, grey skies. Fog is something you'd be better at answering, as I don't know your area. In colder seasons, it is more likely to fog in early mornings, so make sure you allow your camera an appropriate time to adjust to the temperature.

Colourful sunsets (and sunrises) usually result from certain particles in the air and their refraction through light. Check a local meteorological station, or try to find an online site. These are one of your more accurate bets in determining the perfect day. These will also tell you about wind speeds and direction, so you will be able to determine the best thing for your lake photos.

You may also want to try and find out about the lake's history. If it does have a lot of movement, there may be another. It's movement should decrease if there has been a lack of rainfall and wind. Try walking around to different sections of the lake to position your tripod.

It is actually that most weathers do make for good photography, as they enhance it by adding invaluable natural effects. Going back to light, clouds can diffuse the sun for even lighting, the sun can poke through the clouds for spotlight effects, etc. Shadows on the other hand can isolate a subject, or frame it.

You can play upon the fog if visibility isn't good, by making a softer, mystical atmosphere eg. http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1046/1402386527_80fc2515be_o.jpg Clouds, fog and sunbeams can easily create dimension in your photographs, so whilst you can try to work against bad conditions, it can be more effective to experiment with what is there.

It's hard to find a perfect answer to this, because it is mainly about experimentation. It's hard to get it right, but you'll find the process rewarding. Hope to see the results!