Clouds

[AndCity]

It has been threatening a storm here for some days (might have something to do with it being Wimbledon fortnight?) and there have been some great cloud formations. I've been thinking of shooting them but think maybe they might look a bit boring on their own. So, should I try and get something in the foreground to give it some depth or just shoot the clouds on their own? What is the general consensus with this dilemma? I realise many will say it's up to the photographer but I was wondering what others thought?

[Geodar]

I vote for foreground interest, although interesting & dramatic to look at, I think with foreground it adds scale to the image.
Geoff

[dcclark]

Yup, get something interesting in the foreground -- a farmhouse, tree silhouettes, buildings, anything to add a bit of interest and scale.

Originally Posted by dcclark

Yup, get something interesting in the foreground -- a farmhouse, tree silhouettes, buildings, anything to add a bit of interest and scale.

thirded.

~Eric

[Chip]

Originally Posted by dcclark

Yup, get something interesting in the foreground -- a farmhouse, tree silhouettes, buildings, anything to add a bit of interest and scale.

That's a very good idea. But, if you want to go for a more abstract shot, IMHO there's nothing wrong with a shot of just things in the sky: only clouds, the sun peaking out behing some dark clouds, etc.

Maybe search flick for "clouds" to see if anything inspires you? Then take photos of whatever catches your eye.

My 2 cents.

[Taallyn]

There is no one correct answer. I find that clouds can be interesting subjects by themselves; particularly early or late in the day when their colors are more exaggerated. Storm clouds with interesting lighting on or through them can also be good subjects. Whether or not you put a foreground subject with clouds will depend on how interesting your choices of foregrounds are. If there isn't anything interesting in the foreground, then make the image just about the clouds. If there are good, interesting subjects available in the foreground then by all means include them. The image may even be predominately about them or the contrast between the clouds and the foreground.

I also take photographs for clouds for later use as texture layers in post processing. The randomness of clouds can be used to add an interesting effect to some photographs such as when you want to "antique" or "age" a photograph.

In the end, the photograph is all up to what you want out of it. Foreground, background, anything in the image should be there because you want it there. Anything not in it should be have been left out because it didn't contribute to your vision of the image.

[AndCity]

Damn! Clouds have gone - nothing but blue sky now!

[Quo Fan]

I think every photographer should have a selection of cloud shots in their digital toolbox for use when you get a great shot of something with a terrible sky.