Shooting clouds
Jul 15, 2018 13:07:33 #
rgrenaderphoto wrote:
Put your camera in Manual mode and experiment with the Sunny 16 "rule." This was a Kodak insert back in the day.
Get yourself a circular polarizer and always use a lens hood. Play around, pixels are free.
Get yourself a circular polarizer and always use a lens hood. Play around, pixels are free.
Jul 15, 2018 18:11:09 #
AirWalter
Loc: Tipp City, Ohio
streetglide12 wrote:
I am fairly new at shooting in different mode other than auto. I took a college class on the other modes and have a good start on my Nikon 5600. I however am finding it hard to shooting clouds and getting the dynamics of the photo. Any help on lens to use and tips are greatly appreciated.
Get a good B&W Polarizer! They are amazing with clouds and sky' I use mine on a D750. Love it.
Jul 15, 2018 20:57:08 #
mikegreenwald
Loc: Illinois
The discussions above are correct, and the corrections suggested are essential.
That being said, no-one guesses right every time. The right approach is to make your best estimate of the needed correction, and to bracket.
I tend to bracket plus and minus 2 EV most of the time, using a total of three exposures. Occasionally if I'm very uncertain of the correction, I'll use -4, -2, 0, +2, +4, for a total of 5 exposures.
Most mid range and up cameras can be set to do the bracketing automatically.
That being said, no-one guesses right every time. The right approach is to make your best estimate of the needed correction, and to bracket.
I tend to bracket plus and minus 2 EV most of the time, using a total of three exposures. Occasionally if I'm very uncertain of the correction, I'll use -4, -2, 0, +2, +4, for a total of 5 exposures.
Most mid range and up cameras can be set to do the bracketing automatically.
Jul 16, 2018 17:47:15 #
photoman022
Loc: Manchester CT USA
I shoot in RAW. When I'm shooting in this type of situation I will expose for the clouds (leaving the rest of the photo in shadows of some sort); using the one RAW file, I will process the photo for the clouds; I will save that photo as a JPEG; I will then go and reopen the original RAW file and process for the shadows (you will be surprised by how much detail there is in the shadows). If the photo is fairly simple, I will combine the images and add a layer mask. I will then have a good representation of the dynamic range of the original scene.
If the scene is a bit more complicated (lots of little details that I don't have the patience to work with), I will make two or more images, starting with the clouds exposure and opening up the shadows; I will blend these photos together for a "faux" HDR.
Of the two, I prefer using the layer mask, but that is sometimes impossible so I go the HDR route. HDR got a bad rap because people used it for all sorts of things. I use it to present the actual dynamic range of a photo.
If the scene is a bit more complicated (lots of little details that I don't have the patience to work with), I will make two or more images, starting with the clouds exposure and opening up the shadows; I will blend these photos together for a "faux" HDR.
Of the two, I prefer using the layer mask, but that is sometimes impossible so I go the HDR route. HDR got a bad rap because people used it for all sorts of things. I use it to present the actual dynamic range of a photo.
Mar 26, 2019 20:46:05 #
Thank you all for your usable advice on clouds. I will incorporate it and play around with the suggested filters.Thank you again.
Mar 27, 2019 00:32:09 #
rgrenaderphoto wrote:
Put your camera in Manual mode and experiment with the Sunny 16 "rule." This was a Kodak insert back in the day.
Get yourself a circular polarizer and always use a lens hood. Play around, pixels are free.
Get yourself a circular polarizer and always use a lens hood. Play around, pixels are free.
That is a very appropriate response. Fortunately, digital cameras give you the opportunity to "chimp," that is by looking at the photo taken in the display. The old Kodak insert was excellent and under the majority cases word extremely well. In today's world it still works in the vast majority cases, BUT chipping can also help in very tough conditions.
Long live the Sunny 16 rule!
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