Some help with shooting the sky

[russkny]

I went out shooting for practice/pleasure purposes today since I just recently bought a dSLR and encountered some challenges while taking pictures of the sky and trees. I've read some information here and elsewhere on the web about exposure, but still have a very difficult time properly exposing a tree line with the sky as background. Most of the pictures I took today have the sky more or less properly exposed (since I used the histogram to avoid any blown highlights), but the trees and foliage are barely distinguishable.

Is it alright for some parts of the sky and clouds to be blown out so the trees are not underexposed that badly? Is there anything I can do to achieve a balanced exposure without resorting to HDR or the use of filters?
Perhaps there is a better time of day or location of the sun in relation to the scene that will let me expose the trees and sky more or less properly?
Should I just hold off with shooting pictures of this type until I gain more experience?

Thanks in advance for the help!

P.S Here are a few pictures I took today. The ones that have no sky in it turned out fine, but the ones with the sky are just terrible. I tried adjusting the exposure in DPP, but when I adjust it for the trees, the sky details pretty much disappear.

http://djremidi.iddx.net/photo/DPP_0001.JPG

http://djremidi.iddx.net/photo/DPP_0002.JPG

http://djremidi.iddx.net/photo/DPP_0003.JPG

http://djremidi.iddx.net/photo/DPP_0004.JPG

http://djremidi.iddx.net/photo/DPP_0006.JPG

[FlyingPhotog]

All but the last have similar Dynamic Range (DR). The last has a DR that is beyond what your camera can capture in one image.

You could:
- Shoot two images (one exposed for the sky and one for the trees) and combine them in some fashion in post processing.
- Shoot three or more images encompassing the entire DR and make an HDR image (HDR = High Dynamic Range)
- Use a split Neutral Density filter that would essentially hold back the sky so it's not so many stops from shadow to light.

[mike_d]

Also be sure to shoot in raw to get as much DR in each shot as possible. You could then try setting your exposure to blow out the sky a little, then use recovery and fill light in the computer to make it look better. That'll help somewhat if you really want to stick to one exposure and not use a ND filter.

[jra]

Another option is to shoot either early or late in the day with the rising or setting sun to your back.

[tzalman]

I looked for a shot of mine that is similar to your last image, just to show you a rough and hurried approximation of what can be done in DPP alone.

[Tixeon]

Russkny; Turn on Image Editing OK & maybe some here will show you some post proc. examples for the sky/trees photo.

[JCH77Yanks]

A technique that I used with some success recently is to underexpose the sky about 1/3 to 2/3 of a stop. I then raised the exposure a touch and added a slight amount of fill to the shadow areas in post.

[russkny]

Thanks for all the advice everyone.
I turned on "Image Editing OK" so if any of you want to do some PP on that last image and share some tips I would be very grateful.

It seems though that I would either have to look into HDR or invest in a GND filter to get good results. I'll also try shooting early or late in the day with the sun behind me as suggested by Jra.

Thanks again all!

[Tixeon]

Or, in a pinch, you could post process & add fill flash (Paint Shop Pro) & some USM to bring out the details of the trees.

Hope this helps, & good luck............................tw
.

[neilwood32]

Original
390988

Very simple curves adjustment and some sharpening applied ( altogether 2 mins work)

390989

[tzalman]

Another version, Soft Light blended with a negative grey scale copy.

[hughes_57]

Thanks for all the advice everyone.
I turned on "Image Editing OK" so if any of you want to do some PP on that last image and share some tips I would be very grateful.

It seems though that I would either have to look into HDR or invest in a GND filter to get good results. I'll also try shooting early or late in the day with the sun behind me as suggested by Jra.

Thanks again all!

I had the same problem the above mentioned options are exactly the ones I chose and the results have been great, I used the Cokin system for the ND filters cheap and fits all of my lenses all I needed was a 10.00 adapter ring for each lens.

[Tixeon]

Another version, Soft Light blended with a negative grey scale copy.

Excellent correction.

[russkny]

Another version, Soft Light blended with a negative grey scale copy.

Wow, that looks fantastic! Looks like I have a LOT to learn about post processing.

I'm going to play around with Aperture and see if I can match the quality of these corrected images.

Thanks all!