Sunset with clouds - first try - cc please

[memily]

Hi all,

This was my first attempt at sunset pictures. I was hoping for a more clear sunset but got a ton of clouds and fog instead--but I think it made for a more interesting sky. Last week I received advice on here that for sunsets I should look into getting a polarizing filter or a graduated ND filter and I ended up purchasing both and experimenting with both. I was also told I should research HDR. I'm definitely a fan of HDR and want to experiment with it but I didn't get a chance to learn more about before hand (my 11 month old keeps me busy!) As always, it was a learning experience.

My questions:
1) I'm assuming it's OK to have blown highlights on clouds from the sun but I could be wrong? Should I try to burn in those areas or is it OK for these kinds of pics?
2) I sort of just winged it with my settings as I desperately tried to recall information from the Understanding Exposure book, but I may have set them up wrong so advice on that is welcomed (ISO 400, f/22, and messed around with various shutter speeds)

Please let me know how I did...

Thanks!

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

 

[Chriss]

In the first four, the sky looks great, but the foreground is quite underexposed. I remember there was a member on here that had a few tutorials in his signature and one of them explained (quite well) how to get that same sky along with a properly exposed foreground using photoshop. Anyone know who I'm talkin about?

 

[memily]

In the first four, the sky looks great, but the foreground is quite underexposed. I remember there was a member on here that had a few tutorials in his signature and one of them explained (quite well) how to get that same sky along with a properly exposed foreground using photoshop. Anyone know who I'm talkin about?

Oh I actually did that purposely...for a silhouette type of look. I even darkened the foreground and upped the blacks to make it more of a silhouette. Is it better to not do that?

I would like to read those tutorials though. Always trying to learn all I can.

 

[Chriss]

Oh, if it was purposeful, thats absolutely fine. There's not a right or wrong. Although for me, I would darken the silhouette's a little bit then at the point where they are pitch black, but thats just my opinion.

 

[memily]

OK, thanks for your thoughts. I wasn't sure if I should try to leave SOME detail or if I should make it pitch black. Thanks for taking the time to check these out--I appreciate it.

 

[Matt24138]

Something you can try when the sky gets cloudy and foggy set the lighting to tungsten it gives a really cool blue moon light effect. Justa an idea. I like 1+2

 

[memily]

OK I'll give that a try, thanks for the tip!

 

[matt hkd]

I really like #2, silhouettes look really cool to me. In 1, its almost too much lost in the dark background, so I think its distracting. number 3 is good too, but I prefer 2 personally.

 

[memily]

Thanks Matt!

 

[Freelander]

I love #2! Those sun rays coming down from the sky are killer.

 

[memily]

Thanks Freelander

 

[RichardsTPF]

did you shoot at shutter mode? Your aperture might be too small. I would use f/11 and iso200. I am a newbie in learning process. I am wondering if this will make the pic sharper and less noise. Please advise.

 

[jgooz]

i like #2

 

[memily]

did you shoot at shutter mode? Your aperture might be too small. I would use f/11 and iso200. I am a newbie in learning process. I am wondering if this will make the pic sharper and less noise. Please advise.

No, manual mode. I chose f/22 because I thought I remembered from the Understanding Exposure book that to get everything in focus from a few feet in front of you to infinity that f/22 was a good choice. But I could be wrong on what I remember, and I also questioned whether or not that was a good choice for this scene in particular, but just went with it. Noise might be from me setting the ISO at 400? I just figured since it was darker out I should go 400 but that might not be right for this particular set up. Also, I think the fog may have contributed to the noise....plus once I uploaded the pics I feel like it added some too. I'm very new to this so I don't know.

i like #2

Thanks!

 

[RichardsTPF]

I like #1 and #2. There is nothing wrong with your pics. I just take this chance to learn more. From what I read so far, I think f/11-f/18 should be enough for landscape, and I was told to keep iso as low as possible. But ISO400 should not be a problem. Please advise.