HOW to achieve BLUER SKY ...

[n9nf]

I've been trying to achieve bluer sky in every landscape photos that I snapped.
The problem is, I can't.
Been trying to achieve this for so long and till now, it still doesn't
work for me.
Bought CP ( circular polarizer ) too. but fail.
I normally don't relay on PP.

can anyone here teach this noob :( how to achieve bluer sky ... thanks

[Prospero]

A circular polarizer should work, but it will be effective only at certain times of the day and when shooting in certain directions.
I think at about 10 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon the circular polarizer should work best, when the sun is at a right angle with the direction you shoot in.

[raven15]

An example picture would help, because circumstances change, but:

Use a graduated neutral density filter
Shoot with your back to the sun
Wait for days with low humidity and clean skies
Expose for the sky, which often means underexposing, then brighten the rest later.
Use fill flash to brighten the foreground, thus allowing a darker exposure
Yup, post process. You can often make the blues darker and more saturated pretty easily, especially from RAW

[tim11]

Prospero got it right on. So basically if you want bluer sky you have to time for early morning or late afternoon. How early or how late will be different depending where you locate on earth. For summer time in Sydney, even 9 am seem too bright for my liking.

Raven15, I think polariser will do better job than a ND filter. ND filter doesn't change the colour - it just cut down the lighr; whereas the Polorizer makes the sky bluer and tree greener and also cut down some light.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

What they're trying to say is the polariser varies with the angle of the sun.

You'll get a very different percentage of darkening as the angle moves. So with a low sun (eg 10am) try shooting north, northwest, west etc and notice how the sky changes relative to the ground.

Also how you rotate the polariser makes a difference. I find I like only a little darkening so my sky just looks a darker blue, if I turn the polariser to darken the sky too much I don't like the dull purplish colour I get.

You can always hold the polariser or polaroid sunglasses to your eye and rotate them to test etc.

[n9nf]

Timing should be < 10am and 4pm <.
And position of shooting, the sun is facing your back,
and somehow, sun angle plays apart too ... got it ...
how bout after the rain?

one more thing. Can CP and ND be put together?

[tim11]

I think CP works best when the sun is at right angle to you and the subject.
Rain? If there is rain there is no blue sky to worry about; is there? I don't get what you mean.
You can put CP and ND together but for what purpose? ND will cut by 1, 2, 4 stops.... depending which one you have. If you combine with CP it will cut down more light but that will not make the sky any bluer.

[toriaj]

Exposing for the sky often does result in a sky that looks bluer. Because when you expose for the foreground, the sky gets washed out and looks very pale or even white. Yes, you can use CP and ND together, just be aware you might get some flare or other loss of quality. Be sure you're not getting reflections ("ghosting") between the filters. But usually either one or the other is sufficient, assuming you have a strong ND.

What I usually do is to shoot in RAW, using CP and/or ND, make sure that the sky is not blown out, then raise the exposure of the foreground in PP.

edit: I was referring to graduated neutral density filters when I said ND. Make that GND.

[raven15]

Raven15, I think polariser will do better job than a ND filter. ND filter doesn't change the colour - it just cut down the lighr
A graduated neutral density filter changes the exposure in only part of the frame and is extremely useful in getting bluer skies (just clarifying, in case you didn't realize).
As for whether a grad ND is useful, it depends on whether the sky is white because of exposure or because that is the actual color (it is white even when it's sunny in some places, like where I am now). If you use grad NDs you can get a blue sky even if you are facing the sun.


Yes, you can use CP and ND together, just be aware you might get some flare or other loss of quality. Be sure you're not getting reflections ("ghosting") between the filters. But usually either one or the other is sufficient, assuming you have a strong ND.
I should note, you probably can't use two circular filters at the same time. Your graduated ND filters should be rectangular, otherwise you will include the edges of the filter in the frame with most lenses.


how bout after the rain?
Yes! After the rain is the best time for blue skies. Where I am now, China, the pollution is so bad that I literally have to wait until the day after heavy rain to get blue skies. But the same would be true to some extent anywhere.

Or do whatever toriaj says, she's an experienced landscape shooter ;).

Also shooting in drier climates and especially higher elevations helps a lot (that's my preferred solution).

[TheWengler]

Timing should be < 10am and 4pm <.
And position of shooting, the sun is facing your back,
and somehow, sun angle plays apart too ... got it ...
how bout after the rain?

one more thing. Can CP and ND be put together?

I don't think anyone said put your back to the sun. The CPL will have maximum effect at 90 degrees to the sun (rotate it) and minimum effect when you're facing towards or away from the sun. An ND will do nothing for your skies. An ND grad might do something for you depending on your issue. Since you haven't posted a sample of your problem it's hard to tell. You can stack filters but you risk vignetting.

[tim11]

ND filter? I never notice it does anything to colours. In fact, as the term suggest it is NATURAL.
From Wikipedia: "In photography and optics, a neutral density filter or ND filter is a "grey" filter. An ideal neutral density filter reduces light of all wavelengths or colors equally."

I use the ND filter when I need to use fill flash outdoors. That's when ND helps - so I don't get over exposures. Also ND will hep greatly if you want to take slow shutter shot of water wall; etc, under bright sunlight.
CPL definite affects the colours... but max. effect is 90°.

[tim11]

....Yes! After the rain is the best time for blue skies. Where I am now, China, the pollution is so bad that I literally have to wait until the day after heavy rain to get blue skies. ....
Rain is best time for blue sky? Well.... that will prove true providing there is some blue sky in the first place for you to work with. Don't get me wrong, I understand what you said perfectly but OP's comment is vague.

[mattdm]

ND filter? I never notice it does anything to colours. In fact, as the term suggest it is NATURAL.
From Wikipedia: "In photography and optics, a neutral density filter or ND filter is a "grey" filter. An ideal neutral density filter reduces light of all wavelengths or colors equally."

Check the other wikipedia page on the topic. :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graduated_neutral_density_filter

Basically: half shaded, half clear. This lets you keep the foreground exposed properly while not totally blowing out the sky. Obviously, only works on a limited subset of image compositions.

[tim11]

I see we are talking about different types of ND filters here. Basically, ND filter doesn't change the colours as the previous definition says but it darkens the exposure. With Cokon type filters you can use it to balance the exposure between foreground and the sky, I agree with that. BUT that's not to say it change or make the sky bluer. More properly exposed shot- definitely.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c2/Gradndfilter.jpg/180px-Gradndfilter.jpg

Other ND filters are screw-on type and they are for cutting down the light and will not be used for balancing the sky-foreground.
http://www.wetpixel.com/media/reviews/0605_berkndfilter/SplitFilter.jpg

[mattdm]

I see we are talking about different types of ND filters here. Basically, ND filter doesn't change the colours as the previous definition says but it darkens the exposure.

I'm not arguing, but I think you're getting into semantics here. A darker exposure for the (daytime!) sky generally makes it bluer.

[TheObiJuan]

Blue sky= expose for the sky or darken the sky with a graduated ND filter...period.

EDIT: Unless you are blending exposures. :)

[mattdm]

Blue sky= expose for the sky or darken the sky with a graduated ND filter...period.

EDIT: Unless you are blending exposures. :)

Or........

[TheObiJuan]

Hahaha! I nearly pissed myself!!

[n9nf]

Ayt. Okay heres the result of how on get bluer sky...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3357/3553526936_2644650e76_o.jpg

but seriously, this shot can't compete against the expert here.
please give me advise if there's still lack in something.

What I did was, I used ND4 and CP together ( screwed ).
As suggested by some reply's here, this photo was taken between 8:30 - 9:15 am
Yes! I've experiencing vignetting at all 4 corners cause of the 2 filters fused together.
And if I've successful achieving bluer sky, I may change to slide glass filters.
Have yet not to try using just the CP only. Will take some test, maybe tomorrow.
Rest of photos can be view in my flickr ... thanks for all tips and everything.
I still a new be here. Asking the experts, for some tips. On how to achieving bluer sky.

and to theWengler ... FYI


An example picture would help, because circumstances change, but:
Use a graduated neutral density filter
Shoot with your back to the sun

[tim11]

Blue sky= expose for the sky or darken the sky with a graduated ND filter...period.

If you have the slide-in Cokin filters that will work. A screw-in ND will darken the whole scene. A polariser is exactly for this purpose without the fuss. Anyway... whatever works for you stick to it but it's the polariser for me. period.

As for this...
http://www.dcresource.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=46490&stc=1&d=1242961439
What can I say?? :eek: :D

[TheWengler]

and to theWengler ... FYI

I guess I missed that. Shooting away from the sun will give you bluer skies than shooting towards the sun. Just to avoid confusion though, that advice is separate from CPL advice. Your CPL will do pretty much nothing with your back to the sun.

If that ND filter is solid then it's not doing anything for your shot here. Unless you're trying to show some motion blur or shoot with a large aperture in bright light then you don't need it.

[raven15]

1. facing into sun. Ouch!!!y wawa!
2. same day a few minutes later, back to sun. much better, though not award winning blue at all
3. the bluest I could get it by processing the RAW file
4. Facing into the sun a few minutes after that. Stacked circular polarizer and screw in (yes screw in) graduated neutral density filter, plus all the RAW processing I could bring down. Without the screw in grad ND there would be no blue here. If it had rained the day before that would have been much better.
5. Screw in grad ND only, it passes diagonally across the light half of the frame, you can see it if you know what to look for. With out this the sky would be much less blue.
6. CPL only, facing about 90 degrees to the sun, which is to the left. Obviously nothing makes a dark blue sky like clean dry air, in Death Valley in this case.

[raven15]

Ayt. Okay heres the result of how on get bluer sky...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3357/3553526936_2644650e76_o.jpg

but seriously, this shot can't compete against the expert here.
please give me advise if there's still lack in something.

What I did was, I used ND4 and CP together ( screwed ).
As suggested by some reply's here, this photo was taken between 8:30 - 9:15 am
Yes! I've experiencing vignetting at all 4 corners cause of the 2 filters fused together.
And if I've successful achieving bluer sky, I may change to slide glass filters.
Have yet not to try using just the CP only. Will take some test, maybe tomorrow.
Rest of photos can be view in my flickr ... thanks for all tips and everything.
I still a new be here. Asking the experts, for some tips. On how to achieving bluer sky.

It looks pretty blue to me. I don't think there's much else you can do given the atmospheric conditions. If you want a darker blue you'll need to go somewhere higher and drier, as far as I know. Or else change it on your computer.

[tim11]

A CPL will get you deeper blue like Raven 6th shot and with post processing you can even get bluer. However that will make it very unnatural, in my opinion.

[rewired]

polarisers suffer from one main issue
if you shoot WA, the effect can be uneven across the sky due to wide angle of view. And it doesnt need to be especially wide to have this affect, as the sun angle comes into play

ND Grad however offer consistent performance
and are available as Cokin types or spin on regular filters

you can also get blue grads to mask those grey skies