How to shoot clouds?

[zbo2408]

I am looking for some advice on shooting clouds... There have been numerous times in the early morning and late evening where there are wispy light looking clouds glowing a beautiful pink or orange and I have never been able to make them look interesting...

When a cloud is straight up over head and there is nothing else you can get in the frame other than sky how do you make a cloud photo look pleasing?


Thanks!

 

[Big Mike]

Try under exposing from what the camera's meter is giving you. This will make everything darker, which should give you more contrast against the sky and bring out the shadow details in the clouds.

 

[zbo2408]

Actually I was more of asking for advice on composition... I can get the colors and detail to show up good but I just can never seem to make an interesting composition.

 

[Jeremy Lim]

Try using things on the ground to draw attention up to the clouds. Lines reaching up to the points of interest, or even a fading (or rising) sun can help you balance out the shot. Give trees, buildings or even roads (if the lens and landscape permit) a shot.

 

[Photog]

From the sounds of it, the OP wants to shoot directly up, so a normal foreground is not possible. You're right, you do need something other than the clouds in the shot, I'd try using the side of a building, if there's an interesting one anywhere near.

 

[Turnerea]

It's a bit cliche I think, but I'm still not tired of silhouetting things against really cool skies. Took this one in Malibu the other day, hope you don't mind me throwing a picture up on your post, but maybe this will get your juices going.

 

[zbo2408]

From the sounds of it, the OP wants to shoot directly up, so a normal foreground is not possible. You're right, you do need something other than the clouds in the shot, I'd try using the side of a building, if there's an interesting one anywhere near.

Yes you understood my question and thanks for the post. Buildings are a good idea I will have to try framing a cloud shot up with a building in there.

It's a bit cliche I think, but I'm still not tired of silhouetting things against really cool skies. Took this one in Malibu the other day, hope you don't mind me throwing a picture up on your post, but maybe this will get your juices going.

I was actually hoping people would post some pics in reference to this post and I really like your shot thanks for the post!

 

[inTempus]

I love getting clouds in my shots. They add a great dimension to the image.

In this shot I exposed for the sky and strobed the subject to get a proper balance:

In this one I just used natural light: