I have a friend whose daughter calls puffy white clouds against a blue sky “fairytale clouds.” It’s the perfect description, isn’t it?! Clouds have an amazing way of pulling at our heart strings. Think of storm clouds, an approaching storm fills the sky with dark, terrifying clouds which make us feel frightened, but as the storm passes it leaves behind feelings of calmness.

The next time that you think “Ugh, the weather is terrible, I can’t shoot today!” grab your camera and head straight out into the elements. Instead of hiding from it, use weather to create emotion in your photograph. Rainy weather can evoke feelings of sadness, fog can suggest loneliness, snow makes us feel peaceful. Every weather pattern stirs up some feelings in the viewer, use the objects that you include in your photograph to further entice that emotion.

The sun is all around us. It feeds the plants, lights the earth, and creates heat for us to live. Sunlight also conjures up many feelings in the viewer’s mind. It can create feelings of happiness, warmth, and excitement. By including the sun’s rays in your photograph you can further enhance those feelings.

Life is chaos. We are constantly running around like chickens with our heads cut off. Our houses need to be cleaned, our cars need to be serviced, our to-do lists need to be done. We are constantly striving for some calm. Some peace. Some quiet time alone. By simplifying our photographs, we can tap into the viewer’s desire for peace. For just a few moments, while they view our images, we can make them feel calm.

Over time, our minds have been trained to believe that colors have certain meanings. Red symbolizes power. Orange shows warmth. Pink is feminine. White signifies purity. Green implies growth. Black provokes mystery. There are many emotions and moods that are implied by colors which you can use to communicate a desired emotion to your viewer.