Blown skies...Help?

[mrshaleyberg]

I did a shoot the other day. It was overcast, but towards the end of the day, it wasn't bad (around sunset). It seems like every picture has a blown sky. What would help with this? I know with some it's a big pet peeve. I would rather have the pretty sky instead of a bland all white one..

Sooo...Any tips? Is this a situation where my flash would help? Still not using my flash since I'm still learning how to even use the darn thing.

Here's an example.

 

[oldmacman]

Flash will definitely help. Meter the background to get the sky you want then use those settings to help set your flash exposure. Here's a good video that explains it:

 

[jamesdavidboro]

Have you though about useing a graduated filter? Just thinking for that shot there it would work quite well.

 

[mrshaleyberg]

No, I've never even thought about buying one. All I have on my camera right now is a UV filter. Thank you for the video though!

 

[kundalini]

Have you considered to compose your shot so that the sky is not in frame?

Other than that, flash (or reflector) is the other option. Again, meter for the background.

 

[Big Mike]

It was overcast

If it was overcast, how are you expecting to get "the pretty sky instead of a bland all white one"?

Firstly, you must understand the problem. A overcast sky is going to be fairly bright, probably a lot brighter than your subjects. Secondly, you much understand that a camera can only capture a range of tones in a single photo...this is called the dynamic range. So when you have a scene where the brightness exceeds the range of your camera, you must choose. In this case, you should probably choose your subjects...but this leaves the sky blown out white. If you choose to expose for the sky, so that it's not bright white, then your subjects will likely be very dark.

The easy solution is to compose your shots so that the sky is not in the frame. Get up on something and shoot down. Overcast skies can be a great light source and many photographers like to shoot under them.

Another solution is to try to even out the exposure somehow. As mentioned, you could try a gradient filter to just darken the sky, or you could expose for the sky and use another light source (flash) to light up your subjects. The more you do this, the more dramatic it can get, but you may need a very powerful flash to compete with the bright sky.
HERE is a thread where I posted some images that illustrate this. The sky was mostly overcast but I underexposed the sky and used a powerful flash to light up the subject.

 

[eric-holmes]

or you could do like this photog and have an apparent thriving business and never have anything but a blown sky...

alex michéle photography's Albums | Facebook

 

[ababysean]

+1 ^^^

If you put the images together in a set, if they are edited right, they will work together.