Bright clouds on fully overcast day - bleed/overexposure

ote1 · 3 Jun 2015 at 17:09

Hey guys,

Started off taking photos as a hobby some 12 months ago (with a D60 on loan) and I'm having some trouble with bright white clouds in taking photos. Basically, when taking photos on a bright day that's completely overcast I find that the sky looks really overexposed (i.e. blank) and bleeds onto the landscape. When I try to counteract that I get a really dark scene with relatively detailed clouds. I mostly use my 10-24mm Nikon lens on my D5500. I don't use a tripod. In these conditions I tend to use a Hoya Pro1 CPL.

This isn't a problem on clear or partially cloudy days as the blue sky is a gentler contrast to the landscape.

Some google searches haven't been too fruitful so personal advice or references to some websites would be very helpful.

Raymond Lin · 3 Jun 2015 at 17:19

Graduated filter or under exposed and push dark area in LR.

Or double exposure and blend.

ote1 · 3 Jun 2015 at 17:41

I don't do any editing or have any software at present. Any good free/low cost software? On a bit of strict budget as I'm about to go back to university for 4 years. I will look into a graduated filter.

Sh4rkie · 3 Jun 2015 at 17:57

ote1 said:
I don't do any editing or have any software at present. Any good free/low cost software? On a bit of strict budget as I'm about to go back to university for 4 years. I will look into a graduated filter.

Free - gimp
Cheap(ish) - get the student edition (e.g. discounted price) of Adobe Lightroom or the Adobe Photography subscription which also includes LR & Photoshop

ote1 · 3 Jun 2015 at 19:47

I'm quite prepared to pay £60 to get the student edition. That is for version 5, is that okay? I can only find 6 on subscription which I'm not too keen on.

gary996 · 3 Jun 2015 at 20:20

Expose for the hilights

Sh4rkie · 3 Jun 2015 at 21:17

ote1 said:
I'm quite prepared to pay £60 to get the student edition. That is for version 5, is that okay? I can only find 6 on subscription which I'm not too keen on.

v6 isn't available as a student / teacher edition sadly, they are pushing people towards the subscription model with that release so only available standalone versions are as an upgrade or full fat version. Nothing wrong with 5 though, it does lack some of the features of 6 but none that i would personally call a 'killer' feature but has the potential to get better (gpu acceleration is in it's infancy in LR6).

Try gimp it'll cost nothing if it works great, if not grab the 30 day trial of LR5 and see if that works for you before parting with money.

a1ex2001 · 4 Jun 2015 at 10:55

Sh4rkie said:
v6 isn't available as a student / teacher edition sadly, they are pushing people towards the subscription model with that release so only available standalone versions are as an upgrade or full fat version. Nothing wrong with 5 though, it does lack some of the features of 6 but none that i would personally call a 'killer' feature but has the potential to get better (gpu acceleration is in it's infancy in LR6).

Try gimp it'll cost nothing if it works great, if not grab the 30 day trial of LR5 and see if that works for you before parting with money.

Gimp is great if a little confusing at times and ometime lacking in features compared to paid for software, I've found it to be able to do pretty much everything i need from a processing perspective but I try to go with a pretty light touch.

Also don't underestimate the software that comes with the camera, I'm not a Nikon user but I have used DPP that comes with Canon cameras for RAW processing on and off over the years and while it is nothing like as powerful as lightroom it is simple and quick and a good way to learn without all the options. The latest versions of lightroom can be quite overwhelming to the newbie.

D.P. · 4 Jun 2015 at 12:31

ote1 said:
Hey guys,

Started off taking photos as a hobby some 12 months ago (with a D60 on loan) and I'm having some trouble with bright white clouds in taking photos. Basically, when taking photos on a bright day that's completely overcast I find that the sky looks really overexposed (i.e. blank) and bleeds onto the landscape. When I try to counteract that I get a really dark scene with relatively detailed clouds. I mostly use my 10-24mm Nikon lens on my D5500. I don't use a tripod. In these conditions I tend to use a Hoya Pro1 CPL.

This isn't a problem on clear or partially cloudy days as the blue sky is a gentler contrast to the landscape.

Some google searches haven't been too fruitful so personal advice or references to some websites would be very helpful.

Wait for a non overcast day, preferably scattered clouds and take the photo at sunrise.

If there is full cloud cover, but th clouds have a decent texture and contrast then an ND-grad filter will help. But if the you have a boring sky then there is nothing you can do.

One thing to note is that composition should help here. In general the sky line should only be about 1/5th of the vertical height, nothing like the 1/3rd or 1/2 begginers think. If 1/5th if the frame is a blown white then It will just act as framing.

a1ex2001 · 4 Jun 2015 at 12:58

D.P. said:
One thing to note is that composition should help here. In general the sky line should only be about 1/5th of the vertical height, nothing like the 1/3rd or 1/2 begginers think. If 1/5th if the frame is a blown white then It will just act as framing.

This interests me as surely it depends entirely on the actual shot and the sky in question? and setting a 'rule' of 1/5th is no different to sticking to the rule of thirds?

Smeghead · 4 Jun 2015 at 13:03

gary996 said:
Expose for the highlights

This. It's far easier on modern sensors to pull detail from the shadows than it is from highlights.

Terminal_Boy · 4 Jun 2015 at 13:07

ote1 said:
Hey guys,

Started off taking photos as a hobby some 12 months ago (with a D60 on loan) and I'm having some trouble with bright white clouds in taking photos. Basically, when taking photos on a bright day that's completely overcast I find that the sky looks really overexposed (i.e. blank) and bleeds onto the landscape. When I try to counteract that I get a really dark scene with relatively detailed clouds. I mostly use my 10-24mm Nikon lens on my D5500. I don't use a tripod. In these conditions I tend to use a Hoya Pro1 CPL.

This isn't a problem on clear or partially cloudy days as the blue sky is a gentler contrast to the landscape.

Some google searches haven't been too fruitful so personal advice or references to some websites would be very helpful.

Are you using Auto White Balance?

Have you tried any of the cloudy/overcast settings?

D.P. · 7 Jun 2015 at 02:21

a1ex2001 said:
This interests me as surely it depends entirely on the actual shot and the sky in question? and setting a 'rule' of 1/5th is no different to sticking to the rule of thirds?

I didn't state a rule but a suggestion for improved composition. And sure, it depends on the actual scene which is exactly why I made caveats and alternative suggestions. At the end of the day if the sky is boring and flat then there is nothing you can do about it so you are best minimizing it.

Theropod that complain about compositional rules of thumb are normally those with the worst compositions in my experience. Nothing wrong with learning about classically compositional techniques and applying centuries of artistic exploration and research to your own work.