Blue sky ... wanted!

hussey

Hi guys,
I've just started photography and I'm a novice.
(I've learnt and experimented with aperture/shutter/iso etc. but it doesn't come natural yet )
I want to get a blue sky like this one
http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/dynoGallDetail.asp?photoID=905352&catID=

But I'm curious as to how?
Should I underexpose (if so 1 f-stop too much?)
or should I try to read the lighting from the sky?

basically, medium detail from subject and a nice rich blue colour

Thanks

rymus

wait until June? Or move to Spain maybe? We only get blue sky like that about 3 times a year for 5 minutes at a time.

hussey

I'm in Oz

mathias

At a wild guess I would say that picture was taken with an Nd grad filter , one of those would give you nice deep blue skys instead of the washed out pale colours you tend to get without one.

http://www.bryanhansel.com/articles/ndgrad.htm

rymus

hussey wrote: »

I'm in Oz

Way to depress me

Thirdfox

Use a circular polariser

Rymus: we get *plenty* of blue skies >_> <_<



The above picture may be a bit too dark of a blue for your tastes...you can adjust the CPL to find the right balance of blue for you. I was testing out the effects of the CPL with this shot.

rymus

Thirdfox wrote: »

Rymus: we get *plenty* of blue skies >_> <_<

Ah I know.. shur looking outside now I have a wonderful blue sky. It's as cold as ****, but at least the sky is blue.

ShakeyBlakey

hussey wrote: »

Hi guys,
I've just started photography and I'm a novice.
(I've learnt and experimented with aperture/shutter/iso etc. but it doesn't come natural yet )
I want to get a blue sky like this one
http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/dynoGallDetail.asp?photoID=905352&catID=

But I'm curious as to how?
Should I underexpose (if so 1 f-stop too much?)
or should I try to read the lighting from the sky?

basically, medium detail from subject and a nice rich blue colour

Thanks

Hi
Firstly u didnt mention wheather you use digital of film!!
There are a number of ways to get such a sky, as previous posters said ie a polorising filter, circular for an auto focus, linear for a manual focus, or a grey graduated filter(ND) which darkens the sky and leaves the bottom untouched, but in this case it will also darken the top of the subject.
Looking at that photo, id say he used a polariser.
If your using a digital camera, well thats a different story, set ur camera on a tripod and take multiple shots at same apature, different speeds, choose 2 pics, the best sky and the best subject, get them into photoshop as 2 layers, place the sky layer under the subject layer, use the magicwand tool to select the washed out sky, use the eraser tool to erase it !, merge layers...presto

hussey

I have a 400D with lens kit .. nothing more, and won't any add-ons for a while!
thanks for tip

Dades

Does what you do not depend on what you're trying to capture in the foreground?

I have a real fetish for getting blue skies into shots.

PixelTrawler

hussey wrote: »

I have a 400D with lens kit .. nothing more, and won't any add-ons for a while!
thanks for tip

Get a Hama polaroid filter for the kit lens - shouldnt cost too much at all and will give you nicer blues

Thirdfox

Mine cost 12 euro in spectra photo

Conn's was selling them in the bargain basement for 5 euro some time ago.

Fenster

I'm in the next state over from Utah and I'm happy to say that we get skies like that all the time. :cool:

Fionn

you could also, as was mentioned use your photo editing software to deepen the blue tone of the photograph, but the best way is with a polarising filter i guess

snickerpuss

So is there a more specific filter for trying to accentuate the blues or will a polarizing one do the job?
(I'm off to Venice next month!)