Blue Skys....nothing but blue skys

Hello. I am new to this forum and am learning tons. I was wondering when I am shooting outside with blue skys and big white clouds, do I need a filter to get the sky really blue in my picture or can this be achieved with iso, aperture, shutter speed, etc..??

I have never used a filter and can get ' over blue ' skies if I want in my shots. Its not to do with any of the above its more to do with your landscape setting on the camera or your levels to bring out certain colors. A filter can help but if you know your way around your camera it can also be achieved without them.

It is all about correct exposure. Once you learn about exposure, getting the skies correct becomes very easy.

I don't use the preset picture styles to get the colours right, I shoot in neutral and if needed tweak in post (this one didnt need any at all! - linky )

Nice, blue skies come mostly from the correct exposure and a good sun angle. Shooting too much into the sun makes it very difficult.

If the sun angle and exposure are good, a polarizing filter can intensify the blue sky.

Welcome to POTN dlee975.

Since you are new to POTN I am going to assume, based also on your question, that you are also new to photography so getting the exposure correct is paramount.

There is a circular polarizing filter that will help a lot under the right conditions to bring out more separation between the blue sky and white clouds. However, one should only consider this after having a firm grasp of proper exposure.

When you do decide to go with a CP filter don't be cheap. In fact, do not be cheap on anything you purchase in photography our you'll regret the image quality. You do get what you pay for.

Looking forward to seeing some of your work posted up. We're all here to learn.

Thanks everyone for the input, esp Naturalist for your encouragement. I am very new to photography but I find it fascinating and can't wait to get better.