CloudCast · Cloud Layer Scoring
Is Cloud Cover Good for Photography Today?
LightCast CloudCast breaks down low, mid, and high cloud layers separately and scores them for your shooting target — golden hour, landscape, portrait, or astrophotography.
iOS app: $2.99/mo · 7-day free trial · Cancel anytime
App exclusive tool
CloudCast — iOS App Only
The Same Sky Scores Differently Depending on What You're Shooting
A 60% cloud cover forecast tells you almost nothing useful. What matters is which layers are covered, how thick the cloud is, and what you're trying to shoot. Broken mid-level cloud at 60% is ideal for golden hour. Complete low stratus at 60% kills it. Full overcast is terrible for sunset but perfect for waterfalls and portraits. The single-number cloud forecast conflates all of these.
CloudCast, exclusive to the LightCast iOS app, checks low, mid, and high cloud layers separately, calculates light penetration and haze, and scores the sky specifically for your shooting target.
Score by shooting target
What Makes a Good Sky Depends on the Shot
🌅 Golden Hour
Best: 30–70% mid cloud, clear horizon. Worst: solid low stratus.
🌲 Landscape
Best: broken cloud with directional light. Worst: harsh midday clear sky.
🧍 Portrait
Best: full overcast — natural softbox. Worst: direct overhead sun.
🔭 Astrophotography
Best: all layers clear, zero cirrus. Worst: any cloud at any level.
🔔
Know before you leave the house
CloudCast scores cloud conditions for your specific shooting target and sends push notifications when the sky hits your threshold. Set it once for each tool. Never drive to a location to find out the cloud is wrong for what you wanted to shoot.
CloudCast also checks atmospheric haze separately from cloud cover. A clear sky with high humidity or smoke still scores lower for golden hour and landscape work — haze reduces colour saturation and contrast even when there's no cloud. Post-rain air scores highest because rain scrubs aerosols from the atmosphere, leaving the clearest, most vivid light quality of any week.
Common Questions
Is cloud cover good for photography?
It depends on what you're shooting.
Broken mid-level cloud is ideal for golden hour. Full overcast is excellent for portraits, waterfalls, and forest photography. Any cloud at all is bad for astrophotography. CloudCast scores the same sky differently depending on your target — available in the
LightCast iOS app.
What percentage of cloud cover is best for sunset photography?
30 to 70 percent at mid altitude (altocumulus or altostratus), with a clear band near the horizon. The cloud catches direct light from below the horizon and reflects it across the sky. Zero percent gives clean golden light but no sky drama. Above 80% low cloud usually blocks all direct light.
Does overcast weather ruin photography?
Not for all subjects. Overcast is actually ideal for waterfalls, forests, and portraits — it eliminates harsh shadows and provides even, directionless light. For golden hour and Milky Way photography it's bad. CloudCast tells you what the current sky is actually good for rather than giving a single good/bad verdict.
What is LightCast CloudCast?
CloudCast breaks down cloud cover by altitude layer (low, mid, high), factors in atmospheric haze and light penetration, and scores conditions specifically for your shooting target. Exclusive to the
LightCast iOS app. $2.99/month after a 7-day free trial.
