The sky during the day?

[Bismuthrainbow]

So newb question but how can I get better view of the sky in my photos, because usually when I take landscape or any photos that contain the sky the sun tends to bleach out the sky.

 

[Gary A.]

There are a few ways. You can bracket the photo then merge the images into one image. You can use a gradient neutral density filter to even out the lighting, you can darken the blown out areas in post processing, in manual you can meter off the foreground/subject ... meter off the sky and split the difference.

 

[TCampbell]

If you don't over-expose the sky (check your histogram when you shoot the image to make sure it isn't clipped on the right side -- which would indicate over-exposure) then you can adjust it in post-processing. Lightroom allows you to apply a gradient tint ... typically to bring down the sky.

The traditional way to tame over-exposure in the sky at the time of shooting is to use those "gradient neutral density" filters (GND) that Gary just mentioned.

This is a rectangular shaped filter which is clear on one half, but tinted on the other half. You can get them in various density strengths (1 stop, 2 stops, 3 stops, etc) and you can also get them in "hard edge" or "soft edge" versions. The filters are nearly identical but a "soft edge" filter has a very gradual change from light to dark whereas the "hard edge" makes the transition occur much faster.

For a landscape with a straight and well-defined horizon, typically a hard-edge filter would be selected. But for shots with no distinct "horizon" line (or lots of things projecting through the horizon line - buildings, trees, etc.) you can use a soft-edge filter to make it more difficult to tell where the transition occurs.

This shot that I posted in the landscape forum a few days ago was shot with a 2-stop soft-edge GND filter.


Spring Wildflowers by Tim Campbell, on Flickr

I did this because there is no flat horizon line and I didn't want the tree trunks to make a sudden change in brightness. The soft-edge grad makes it very difficult to tell that I used a grad at all. But without the grad, the trees would have been noticeably brighter than the flowers.

You can find numerous videos explaining how to use these videos. Here's one by Lee Filters (they are one of the makers of such filters).

 

[Skyehammer]

A polarizer can also be used to darken a bright sky but can cast a darker shade of blue at the top sometimes , using an ND Graduated filter is your best bet if you don't possess Lightroom .

 

[smoke665]

A polarizer can also be used to darken a bright sky but can cast a darker shade of blue at the top sometimes , using an ND Graduated filter is your best bet if you don't possess Lightroom .

Not necessarily. First of all a polarizing filter is dependent on the relationship to the sun. Capable of its maximum effect when one's line of sight is perpendicular to the direction of the sun, and decrease the effect as you move away from that. Saturation is generally increased, though not always uniformly. While they can "decrease" the amount of light reaching the sensor by 2-3 stops, that decrease is across the board. A GND is the only way to "limit" the amount of light from a specific section of the image.

Also, it is true that you can use software post processing to make adjustments to the image. but if you've blown the sky (highlights) there's nothing there to adjust.

 

[TME]

I put the sun to my back and it works.

 

[DGMPhotography]

Make sure you're shooting in raw. And part of it depends on your camera. A better camera will have a higher dynamic range and be able to pull more details out of highlights and shadows. Just underexpose your shot a little bit and bring it up in raw.

Or like the others said, use a GND, or bracketing/HDR.

Oh, and very cool shoot, TCampbell!