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 The Sky provides the best light, and some of the best backdrops, for photos. Even a pocket digital camera can get magnificent photos! Endless possibilities begin with the subjects put before such a grand canvas.
Natural light is best (and free), so you'll only need a flash if there are harsh shadows. If your subject is between you and a very bright sky, use your camera's "fill flash" setting and you'll bring out features that would ordinarily be lost to bright contrast.  Occasionally, you even get a great shot of something in the sky that you don't see every day. I wrote about this image (right) in the Photo Forum. I can only describe this image as an enormous leaf dropped through the clouds. As interesting as it is, this thumbnail doesn't do it justice because the formation was at least a half of a mile wide and was holding it's shape. The Time of Day can also change the "mood" of your photos when it comes to the sky. In the South Carolina Lowcountry, morning provides softer light that comes with the density of the ocean air. As soon as the sun breaks the horizon, the air begins to lighten and the same point of view can change photos dramatically from one minute to the next. The same holds true for evening photos, albeit without the "heavy" air. Instead, shots are clear and distinct, and filled with overtones of reds, oranges, and yellows. As with morning photos, you'll have about 25 minutes of "magic"to capture the richest colors. The major differences you'll see are the harsher shadows, but that's not always a bad thing if you are trying to capture that, specifically.  Camera Settings: This is a no-brainer, but I must point out that you need to turn off the camera flash. You'll never see any of the aforementioned colors if you spoil it with a flash. Second, in lower light, morning or night, you'll need either a steadier hand, or a tripod. Lower light photos need more light to enter the camera lens, so the camera shutter's exposure (time open) will be longer. A moving camera makes photos blurry, and (when it's not on purpose), it makes for bad images. Of course, when it *is* on purpose, the effect can be downright fancy (see photo, left, taken on North Market Street in Charleston).
Experiment with Light: If you have a newer dSLR camera, use the bracketing function to take successive photos at different aperture and exposure settings. Turning on successive shutter release will let you achieve this task without taking your finger off of the button. You'll be amazed at the difference a few degrees of aperture and exposure can make to the same shot within the same second. In that magic 25 minutes, every second counts. If you don't have a dSLR, don't sweat it. The logic in the auto-exposure can still give you some great shots, but remember about keeping a steady hand or using a tripod. ...and whatever you do, DON'T let your computer's photo program auto-correct the colors. You'll lose the very color richness that you were looking for. Even PhotoShop will turn oranges to blue if you use auto-correct. Take lots of pictures, and keep the best ones. Computer programs should only be used to resizing, or very minor corrections. There's only one thing left. Go take some pictures! - Chappy |
