Avoid white sky?

[Ikke_006]

Hi,

I know how bad weather can be a really good opportunity for photography, but here in Belgium, or even Europe, the weather is very often not spectacular, but really boring and grey. There isn't anything happening in the sky, the air is just a really light grey.

In such situations, there might be a good photo opportunity, but however the good the photo or the compostion might be, the sky spoils it all, because it's just plain white or light grey...

How can I make this white sky a bit more interesting or lively, colorful? Will a polarizer filter help? Or do you need some kind of warming filter or anything like that?

Thanks!

[windrider86]

why not just crop your photo to exlude most of the sky? make your subject below it stand out more.
Or you could replace the sky with something more exiting by copy paste and layers

[jarda.zakravsky]

I have very often the same problem. For example this weekend. After a long time I had a free two days at home and I was looking forward to go out to the nature with my camera and spend almost all the weekend there... Cloudy sky isn't so bad, but when it is only grey or white, withoud any visible clouds or other shapes, there aren't many things we can do.

When this comes true I usually try to make a few photos with different exposure from one point. Some of them must be highly under-exposed (-3.0 EV etc.), where the sky looks usually better, and than in PS I try to merge it with another one which is well exposed. I see this as the only chance to make good photos in this weather.

[Mr Guy]

A polarizing filter may add some benefit as well.

[MarcelLuettmann]

In those situations, b&w might be a good option. But not in-camera! I like the filtered b&w in Picasa, maybe with some more contrast applied. Worth a shot when the sky is boring grey.

Besides, just as mentioned above, exclude as much of the sky as possible. Use all the tele you've got, concentrate on details. Or on pictures that wouldn't be possible with hard sunlight giving too much contrast.

Bad weather can add some mood to the pictures. For that, a grey sky is even better. A little fog adds more, like in
.

But go for grey, not white.

Marcel

[Ikke_006]

thank you all for the tips.

I'll see the next 'boring sky' day as an opportunity to make the most of it
I guess it tests your imagination skills as a photographer... Everyone can make a nice picture of a impressive landscape scenery with a nice blue sky...

[kburkman]

I had a landscape assignment to do during a very grey, icy, nasty week. I avoided the sky and got as much of the land as I could. Everything looked grey, so I looked for things to add a bit of color, like a bridge. It helped, and I think you can make a very interesting composition. I agree with Marcel, got for details!

[mountaintreker]

On those kind days leave the sky out. If you must include the sky include very little of it at the top of your image. Give more emphasis to your subject with tighter cropping. Cloudless days can be a good time to focus on more tighter images of your scene instead of grand landscapes . Wait for better light or more interesting skies for those shots. Early and late in the day will most likely produce better light for your sky.

Mountaintreker

[homersapien]

In these situations I do one of two things:

1. Crop the sky out
2. Bracket exposures. It's often difficult to expose for the landscape without also blowing out the sky. So, I bracket shots and then combine them in Photoshop.

[kreenen]

The B&W option at times can be surprisingly good one. I find that if there are colors on or around a subject that detract from the picture, converting to B&W and bumping the contrast a bit can be desireable. Even with portraits, sometimes I get quicker and more desireable results by converting instead of trying to figure out what to do with a obscure skin tone or blemish in post processing. Your aren't fixing the problem really but in B&W I find less attentions is drawn to the area of concern making the picture more attractive.