(image credit: idg)
Clouds are great for adding that extra impact into your landscape shots, but the type and amount of cloud you include can make or break a nice capture; too much cloud cover and the scene looks dull, or just the right amount of nice fluffy clouds and bobs your uncle.
Photographing merely involves seeing through the lens of a camera. Seeing has many different dimensions. There is generalized seeing with very little focus of attention to that being seen.
In this case the Near Sky is like visual Musk, seen but not seen. The clouds have always been there and you pay little attention to them.
If you’re into landscape photography then you will almost certainly know that clouds can have a massive impact on the atmosphere and beauty of a shot. Whether they are wispy and light cirrus clouds or thick and smoky cumulus, a cloudy day is often the perfect time to pull out the camera. But how do you photograph clouds to get the perfect result? Let’s take a look at some methods you will want to learn these tips to grape the attention of photo viewers easily,
Capture motion
(image credit: Philip Schexnayder)
Motion in any image can look amazing when done right, and capturing movement in the clouds can do just that. When moving clouds are contrasted with a static landscape the effect can really add to an image, so try to extend your shutter speed accordingly by using a Neutral density filter.
Use a polarizing filter
(image credit: Polarizing Filter)
Using this filter increases the contrast between clouds, particularly in the cumulus family, and the background sky, thus enhancing the cloud image. Polarized light maximizes at 90 degrees to the solar beam, as you will find by pointing the camera to various parts of the sky.
Most point and shoot cameras will not accommodate screw -on filters. However, all is not lost. It is not difficult to hold a filter in front of the lens, rotating it to produce the desired effect and taking care not to allow the stray finger to impinge on the incoming light.
Cloudless skies
(image credit:MikeJones )
Sometimes shooting a cloudless sky can be all you want in an image; including a vast amount of blue sky can give an image a minimal, open feel, and can be great for abstract and architectural shots when clean lines and limited colors are important.
Try using a polarize to deepen the blue sky color.
Play the waiting game
(image credit: Photo of Clouds )
Clouds move, its science. Use this to your benefit. If you are out shooting at a location and compose a shot with a boring blue sky, take note of moving clouds in the area.
If some nice puffy clouds are nearby, wait a few minutes and get them in the shot when they move through. There’s usually little reason to rush a shot. Good things come to those who wait.
Go dramatic
(image credit: Robert Postma )
Including dark brooding clouds in a scene can create a landscape with a moody atmosphere, perfect for captures of cemeteries (if that’s your thing), derelict buildings and spooky forests.
Try using a slightly darker Graduated Neutral Density filter to help darken clouds, and add that special spookiness to your image. A similar effect can be achieved by using a gradient on the sky in Photoshop.
Sense of scale
(image credit: Farming In Iceland)
Bringing your audience into the scene and sharing what you saw and felt is part of the reason why we shoot beautiful landscapes. A great way to share the sense of scale you experienced at a location is by utilizing the clouds above.
Try a shot where clouds dominate the frame. This can often cause for a compelling scene that will impact the viewer because it translates the vastness or size of a landscape into an image.
Build a Cloud Library
(image credit: Library of Clouds )
Some may consider it cheating, but the weather is not very predictable and not always on your side, so when you do come across the perfect clouds for an image, but not the perfect scene, take a picture anyway and add it to your digital library of skies and clouds, that way when the scene is perfect and the sky isn’t, you can easily transplant a suitable one from your library to create the image you had in mind.
Try taking pictures of the sky from different angles and different times of the day so you’ve got a range of skies to choose from when you need to.
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