BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: New Answers

Cindy L. Ferguson

how do i get that blue sky behind subjects?

I am attaching a photo I took last week. I was shooting with my canon10d, manual,(metered on the scene)using my 550ex flash for fill, with a diffuser. Look at the sky. It was a beautiful blue that day, but not in the pic. Any suggestions?

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July 18, 2005

Brian A. Wolter

You need to use a polarizing filter to help you get the deep blue skies.

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July 18, 2005

Nobu Nagase

Tips on using polarizer,
look here.

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July 18, 2005

Bob Cammarata

Without seeing the picture, I can only guess that the sun was in front if you.
If you metered the scene (in the foreground), the nice blue sky would of course wash out and over-expose.
An ND filter would have been a more practical solution than a polarizer.

Ideally, when the sky is deep blue, put the sun at your back and meter the sky. Your foreground elements will be illuminated by the sun and require an exposure setting pretty close to the meter reading off the distant sky.

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July 18, 2005

David A. Bliss

Bob is probably right (without seeing the picture). My graduated neutral density filters are probably my most used filters. If you go with a Cokin type setup, you only need 1 filter for most (maybe all) of your lenses (you would need a seperate ring for each).

I shoot a lot of sunrises and sunsets. When the sun comes up, the sky (and tops of the mountains, in some of my shots) are lit up, while the foreground is still not in direct sun. The GND allows me to bring the lit up areas into the same exposure as the foreground, by darkening it by x number of stops (you can get different levels of GND).

Even during the day, I have found that a GND can be very useful. Very often, you still will have an exposure latitude that your film or sensor cannot quite deal with. I find that I can get a lot more contrast in my clouds by using the GND, while still keeping the foreground in proper exposure. I much prefer this too using a fill flash (I have never really liked flash in landscape photos, even with a diffuser, but that is just me!!)

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July 18, 2005

Bob Cammarata

Thanks David for posting your response. You made me realize my typo,...that I was of course referring to a "Graduated"-ND filter. (I guess I typed too fast.) :(

My advice for metering the sky opposite the sun works best though. You won't need filters or fill-flash.

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July 18, 2005

David A. Bliss

Bob, I really like your advice for metering. I am going to try this the next time I am shooting in a situation with a very blue sky. I don't get the opportunity very often, because by the time the sky gets blue, I am usually done shooting ;-)

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July 18, 2005

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