Sunrise went wrong

[musicreator]

Hello all, I took this picture few days back. I am not quite happy with the outcome. The sun fits in my idea but i wanted more of the blue. And again like many of my morning time photos, this one looks foggy and whitish. There was fog and clouds but many people manage to take good pictures anyhow. I want to know how I could bring out the colors, reduce the foggy look and improve the composition.



Exif:
Camera Model Canon EOS 550D
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/200
Av( Aperture Value ) 22.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
ISO Speed 100
Lens EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Focal Length 18.0mm
Image Size 5184x3456
Image Quality RAW
Flash Off
White Balance Mode Daylight
AF Mode Manual focusing
Picture Style Standard
Color Space sRGB

[Photologyst]

I am wondering why you used Manual mode? Next time try Aperture or Shutter mode and let the camera do the rest. If you want nice silhouettes with colour try ISO 400 or so.

I took the liberty of adjusting your photo.





Adjusted exposure in LR down the modules, upped the blues, intensity, saturation, luminance of yellows, orange and blues; then to PS for cloning out the lens flare and introduction of the star “filter.” Sharpened lightly.

Naturally, your original is not going to pixelate as this one has at 85K.

These may help: 12 Tips for Photographing Stunning Sunsets

Photographing sunrises & sunsets

[musicreator]

Thank you so much for the info and reference image. Looks much better with PP. It looks more vibrant and the sky tone is perfect! I am going through those links now. Thanks again for taking the time.

[Photologyst]

Originally Posted by musicreator

Thank you so much for the info and reference image. Looks much better with PP. It looks more vibrant and the sky tone is perfect! I am going through those links now. Thanks again for taking the time.

You are welcome, MC.

Be sure to post your photo once you get it adjusted.

[musicreator]

Sad that I cant click it again, its from a far away trip. But I will click some sunset pictures after studying that article and post it here.

[davidsaffir]

Hi -

the biggest reason you image looks foggy and whitish is that the sunlight is coming directly into your lens. Direct lens on the lens can kill contrast and color saturation. This is the reason that lenses are sold with a lens shade.

You could try a couple of things - bracket your shot - in this case by at least 2-3 stops - and combine the frames during image editing.

Or, you could shoot one image of the scene before the sun comes up, and another after it rises high enough for your purposes, and again combine them during image editing.

Last option: shoot with a graduated neutral density filter. This will reduce exposure in the sky, and allow normal light through in your foreground. You'll need a filter holder, which screws into your lens threads, plus the filter, which is rectangular. Worth a look!

You might also want to try cropping the bottom of the image a bit, so that your horizon line is not so close to the center of the image.

David Saffir
GuruShots Photo Critique

[Photologyst]

Originally Posted by musicreator

Sad that I cant click it again, its from a far away trip. But I will click some sunset pictures after studying that article and post it here.

Great, but do adjust the original photo and post that too.

[Michael_2010]

Underexposing the shot is the secret to getting a colorful sunrise/sunset picture. Since you shot in RAW, you should be able to decrease exposure, change white balance and change from standard style to landscape.