[geofftelforduk]

Guys,

Just wondering what would be the best settings/mode etc to use when shooting on a very bright day (on a 20D with a Sigma 28-135mm)!! I am in London at the mo and what to get a couple of shots of the Houses of Parliament from the other side of the Thames! Previous attempts have blown the highlights in the sky and left the HoP rather darkish if you know what I mean!! How can I get good definition but still get the blue sky in the background! Do I need to change my metering mode or anything!!

Thanks for the advice!

[seany]

A tough one that Geoff to expose for the sky and landscapes ect. You could do with a filter, or the other thing you could do is take two shots, one for the sky and one for your subject and merge the two. http://www.fredmiranda.com/article_2/

[geofftelforduk]

Yeah, I think I will prob have to do that! i have played in photoshop with a previous shot and set the blending mode of the top layer to multiple!

Theres bound to be a camera setting or combination of settings on the 20D to allow you to get a reasonable out of camera shot of this situation!!!

[seany]

Originally Posted by geofftelforduk

Yeah, I think I will prob have to do that! i have played in photoshop with a previous shot and set the blending mode of the top layer to multiple!

Theres bound to be a camera setting or combination of settings on the 20D to allow you to get a reasonable out of camera shot of this situation!!!

It's a filter you need Geoff, that option's a make do one if you're without a filter. You close down the aperture for the sky, the forground will be under exposed, you open up the aperture for the forground the sky ends up over exposed. Does depend on how the sky is and how the way the forground is lit to

[geofftelforduk]

Yeah, I presume a polariser is the best option!?

[seany]

http://www.2filter.com/faq/filterfaq.html

[geofftelforduk]

Cheers m8

[Zone]

Originally Posted by geofftelforduk

Yeah, I presume a polariser is the best option!?

ND Grads are what you'll need.

Suggest you use a tripod for that 2 shot technique, else it wont work. (Though you could try "bracketed" exposure setting)

Best time for taking photos is 2 hours after sunrise and 2 hours before. That should give a chance for an exposure within the range of the CCD.

Or try the "Contrast Masking" technique. With this you expose for the highlights of course.

[seany]

As i said before, if the forground is well lit, it's not not such a problem as this shot i took in Edinburgh shows. But if that house was in shadow i'd have had trouble

[ASH1]

Ok this is what works for me most of the time. I do sometimes use a polariser, but if you don't have one try this. Focus on the building and take a reading, then do the same with the sky. Now set you aperture between the two readings and take the shot.

You can then make any adjustments in PS later. It's not foolproof but it works for me most of the time. Or you can just expose for the highlights as you can always recover the shadows in PS, but not the other way round.

[dave_bass5]

If you shoot raw then you can adjust the exposure when you convert to jpg or tif. that way you can do one overexposing to lighten the shadows and one underexposed to set detail in the highlights. then you can combine the 2 as stated adbove is PS.
being in london you have a good chance of it raining anyway ;-)
dave.