Having Trouble With Overexposed Skies

cosworth wrote in post #5181911
Blue sky = meter for sky +1 EV. A polarizer/ND grad is nice to have.

White overcast day = Either say screw it or meter for sky.

Welcome to metering and mastering it. This is the express reason I switched to shooting in M after working in the Caribbean.

Jason,

Is that Kotter in your avatar, or just someone pretending to be him?

DDWD10 wrote in post #5177729
It seems that roughly 60% of my outdoor shots have blown-out overexposed skies, the histogram confirms this by flashing the large overexposed region. I never had this problem when I shot with my Fuji. I have tried all three metering modes on my 10D and I usually shoot in P. If I use AE lock to correct this, the land is far too dark. Should I invest in a CPL? Here is a sample, the sky couldn't be more overexposed!

I doubt that the Fuji (or any other camera) could have consistentely rendered the sky any better, under the same lighting conditions, without the use of the various techniques mentioned (HDR, ND filter, etc)

It wouldn't hurt to get off Auto exposure mode, either. Try manual in those tough conditions. First set the f-stop & shutter speed you need. Then adjust the ISO. Need an exposure crutch?

Looks like him to me!

I'll try these techniques and pick up a CPL, thanks for the help everyone

The sample shot was from a very overcast day.

With blue skies, I don't face the problem as often:

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DDWD10 wrote in post #5182401
The sample shot was from a very overcast day.

With blue skies, I don't face the problem as often:

Well, this shot is a great starting point! You don't even need any HDR or GND treatment -- just some simple PP stuff like contrast and whatnot for the building. It looks like this exposure handled the sky very well!

I just thought of something. Try metering the sky (sky will be properly exposed while foreground will be under exposed). Use Photoshop CS Images > Adjustments > Shadows/Highlights. Play around with the sliders (there's only two) and see if you can get the foreground to properly exposed levels.

Xerox wrote in post #5183418
I just thought of something. Try metering the sky (sky will be properly exposed while foreground will be under exposed). Use Photoshop CS Images > Adjustments > Shadows/Highlights. Play around with the sliders (there's only two) and see if you can get the foreground to properly exposed levels.

Only if you don't care how the subject looks. Using shadows/highlights can sometimes result in a pretty flat/odd looking image.

IMO the best approach is to shoot at the right time of day and use a CPL or Grad ND filter.

DDWD10 wrote in post #5182401
The sample shot was from a very overcast day.

With blue skies, I don't face the problem as often:

...and you need to keep your horizons straight.

I find that in situations like these it's very difficult to get an overall satisfactory exposure. I have a stock of sky photographs for such situations, which I will use in photos where the sky is either uninteresting and/or just a uniform grey/white.

Like this.

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PhotosGuy wrote in post #5182186
It wouldn't hurt to get off Auto exposure mode, either. Try manual in those tough conditions. First set the f-stop & shutter speed you need. Then adjust the ISO. Need an exposure crutch?
Looks like him to me!

Yeah, that's the ticket... use PhotosGuys crutch

Often when I have blown highlights or black shadows, I use the Shadows/Highlights feature in Photoshop CS2. I'm not good at it (most of my pictures turn out with great exposure, but look like poorly done HDR) but I'm learning to use it lightly to control my mistakes and figure out what to do later to prevent the problem. I can post examples when I get home, files aren't with me at work. It's a quick fix for those shots you've already taken.

It's pretty good. Better is to blend two RAW conversions if you're thinking of making a big print. Or try a Layer Mask for easy local changes. Post #9:
Airport runway shoot

I do that too. Some links at the bottom of this thread may help:
Mustang & B-17 + PS

I would set to RAW and a low ISO, spot meter off the sky and then +2 or so EV. This will leave the sky slightly over exposed but you can bring detail back into it in PP. The foreground will be rather underexposed but again, you can bring the detail back. In ACR, exposure, fill light and recovery are your friends. In PS, shadow/highlight is you friend. Don't go overboard with them otherwise you'll end up with a slightly weird looking HDResque photo. Noise shouldn't be a problem if you shoot a low ISO.

This is exactly what HDR is for, capturing a dynamic range beyond what the camera is capable.