Should I use a gel filter to shoot on cloudy days?

Should I use a gel filter to shoot on cloudy days?

I already set the 7D on cloudy days setting but it still doesn't look bright.

How do I get the clouds to look blue ?

I always thought clouds were white, sky was blue. If it's a sunny day with blue skies and white fluffy clouds then you might want to look in to a circular polarizer. Under the right conditions it will accentuate the contrast between the clouds and the sky, make the sky bluer, and the clouds whiter.

Clouds shouldnt look blue!

You can alter the colour of some things but unless you are going for a completely unreal look, I wouldn't suggest the use of a filter.

As CRN suggests, a polariser will possibly increase contrast thereby improving the shot.

oops. I meant the sky doesn't look blue. hehehe

I approach all color control with camera settings and software in post. I use no filters for influencing color except for a polarizing filter which does things I can't manage to do any other way.

Shoot RAW, set or tweak color temperature in post.

picard wrote in post #10197475
Should I use a gel filter to shoot on cloudy days?

I already set the 7D on cloudy days setting but it still doesn't look bright.

How do I get the clouds to look blue ?

You can use the tools in your camera to set up a Custom White Balance or you can tweak colors in post-processing (more easily done if you shoot in RAW mode). You do NOT need to use filters on the lens.

If you are using flash to supplement sunlight (or artificial continuous lighting), you might want to gel the flash to match the color of the continuous lighting.