Need help portrait outdoors without blown out sky.

[michillebaker]

Hello everyone,

How would i take a photo of a person outside with out blowing out the sky. I would like to have the vibrant blue sky included in the portrait.

[k-style]

you will need to use an off camera flash or maybe even on camera....but i believe off its better, for fill light, what you do is expose for the sky and background and let your flash (strobe) expose the subject.

[michillebaker]

Thanks! I will try that. you will need to use an off camera flash or maybe even on camera....but i believe off its better, for fill light, what you do is expose for the sky and background and let your flash (strobe) expose the subject.

[egordon99]

Or go out on a sunny day at around 9 AM and shoot them facing the (still low in the sky) sun.

[whiteeye]

Or expose for the people and mask in, using PS, a better sky. Depending on trees and such, this can be a little tricky to get it to look natural. You have to be real carefully that you don't make the sky look too fake. I use this method all the time with Architectural photos of buildings.

[caught14]

Good tips from k-style, whiteeye and egordon99. If you are interested in yet another alternative, you can also bracket the shot and then combine them in PP.

You'll get the best quality and truest results by exposing for the sky and using an off-camera flash though. Another benefit is that this will require no PP and will give you a lot of dynamic range in your image.

[gonzogolf]

Keep in mind that it takes a powerful flash to do what you are suggesting in the middle of the day. Most hotshoe flashes cant do that at noon. Much easier in the morning or evening light.

[k-style]

here are some examples of shooting with an offcamera flash...not the best picture, it was more of a snapshot at the beach...but you get the point, i think this is what you are looking for....

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2422/3690966636_4699778376_b.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3422/3237648339_9a568ced13_b.jpg