Exposing sky properly in portrait?

SuzukiGS750EZ · May 14, 2017

I'm wondering how I would expose a blue sky to show clouds and such while exposing the person in the photo properly as well, without flash.

john.margetts · May 14, 2017

HDR? That doesn't have to be the garish product that is often seen.

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Derrel · May 14, 2017

Depends on the actual scene and the lighting. If the person is front-lighted or mostly side-lit by the sky, then no worries, easy. if the person is back-lighted, and their face is in shadow, then reflector fill is the easiest weay to get their face exposed well; the reflector can be a photo reflector, a white bedsheet, a large section of sidealk or concrete, beach sand, or a large building or car that reflects light. Working close to buildings is a great way to get shadow fill-in and thus bring the exposure for the sky closer to the person's expoisure level.

A second way is to use Shadow Fill-in controls in software! Digital Fill Light was introduced in the early to mid 2000's, as a software method that was/still is incredibly useful! At one time, we had to individually mask such areas, but nowadays "fill light"sliders allow pretty amazing fill-in on darker areas.

But, for no-flash fill-in lighting, I think that reflector fill is the easiest and best method for on-scene lighting adjustment. And again...consider that a large building can provide a huge amount of shadow fill-in lighting!

SuzukiGS750EZ · May 14, 2017

And then meter for the sky while using the reflector? I had planned on bumping the shadow slider the way I took the photo but didn't know if there was an easier way. The sun was to their back

table1349 · May 14, 2017

SuzukiGS750EZ said:
I'm wondering how I would expose a blue sky to show clouds and such while exposing the person in the photo properly as well, without flash.

You decide what the main subject/emphasis is in the photo and expose for it. You can also bracket your shots and correct in post. The easiest was though is with adding light. Photography is all about light and it is rarely perfect, you usually need to add or subtract light somewhere or live with what you got.

tirediron · May 14, 2017

Why without flash?

SuzukiGS750EZ · May 14, 2017

tirediron said:
Why without flash?

I don't own one [emoji23]

Derrel · May 14, 2017

If you have ever used a door-sized reflector panel outdoors, you'll realize that it is a super-valuable tool. When the sun is at the back of the people (menaing, they are back-lighted), then reflector fill-in lighting is super handy, and does not limnit you to flash sync issues. And, it is truly WYSIWYG.

With modern, EXMOR-generation Sony-made sensors, it's become a trivial matter to expose for the highlights, and then using software to brighten uop the shadows in post processing; this is something that came out in the late 2010's decade, in Nikon and Pentax cameras that used sensors Sony made. THese sensors can do 4-stop and 5-stop brightening-up operations with amazingly good results, free of the banding and shadow nosie that "other brands" of cameras suffer through.

Compare a Canon 5D Mark III shot that was under-exposed by 5 full f/stops, and a Nikon D750 shot that was under-exposed 5 full f/stops; this is a basic exposing/technique difference that the Sony-sensor-camera users have as a huge advantage. The Sony-made sensors in Pentax and Nikon and Sony-branded cameras allow for HUGE shadow-brightening in post, without the awful banding and noise that older-technology sensors tend to have.