sky pics

tjcphotos · 10-17-2018, 08:20 AM

any suggestions as how to photograph a bird in a bright sky

**Kerrowdown** · 10-17-2018, 08:28 AM

Originally posted by tjcphotos

sky pics

First all welcome to the forum.

A long lens, the longer probably the better and spot meter directly off the bird so that the sky doesn't affect you exposure.

HoutHans · 10-17-2018, 12:15 PM

And shoot RAW, as that offers more leeway to compensate for the underexposure that the camera probably will.choose. Enjoy.

Hans

pschlute · 10-17-2018, 02:39 PM

As Kerrowdown said take a spot meter reading while in Manual mode. Then you dont need to change the exposure settings and can concentrate of focus and framing for your subsequent shots.

ps use the histogram to preview your iniitial exposures

**tduell** · 10-17-2018, 08:33 PM

Even with spot metering I often find the bird is underexposed and +2/3 to +1 EV can be used.
Overexposure of the sky is rarely an issue unless it is cloudy.
Best to experiment.

Cheers,
Terry

**mikesbike** · 10-17-2018, 09:42 PM

You don't mention which Pentax DSLR camera you use. Most have a green button which can be used in the Manual mode to achieve an instant metered exposure, and adjust from there. This is an exclusive feature with Pentax. It is called "Hyper Manual". It is great for spot-metering a scene. Metering is a tricky thing, and experience will teach you how the camera's meter "thinks" so eventually you will know how to compensate in advance when facing certain lighting conditions, along with the reflectivity of the subject.

**GUB** · 10-18-2018, 12:23 AM

The underside of the bird will be shady so in M mode select an area of shaded midtone around you and green button meter on it. (Or take shots or digital previews until the histogram is nicely in the middle.) Unless absolutely necessary have the Iso at 100. For every stop you allow the Iso to increase you lose a stop of dynamic range. The sky burning out and cutting into the birds profile is a result of low dynamic range. If burnout is still a problem then progressively underexpose and pull the bird up in editing holding back the highlights. Of course Raw is a given for this to work..

10-17-2018, 08:20 AM	#1
tjcphotos New Member Join Date: Sep 2018 Posts: 1	sky pics any suggestions as how to photograph a bird in a bright sky

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10-17-2018, 08:28 AM	#2
Kerrowdown PEG Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Highlands of Scotland... "Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand" - William Blake Photos: Gallery Posts: 57,815	Originally posted by tjcphotos sky pics First all welcome to the forum. A long lens, the longer probably the better and spot meter directly off the bird so that the sky doesn't affect you exposure.

10-17-2018, 12:15 PM	#3
HoutHans Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Appingedam Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,117	And shoot RAW, as that offers more leeway to compensate for the underexposure that the camera probably will.choose. Enjoy. Hans

10-17-2018, 02:39 PM	#4
pschlute Moderator Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Surrey, UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,197	As Kerrowdown said take a spot meter reading while in Manual mode. Then you dont need to change the exposure settings and can concentrate of focus and framing for your subsequent shots. ps use the histogram to preview your iniitial exposures

10-17-2018, 08:33 PM	#5
tduell Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,513	Even with spot metering I often find the bird is underexposed and +2/3 to +1 EV can be used. Overexposure of the sky is rarely an issue unless it is cloudy. Best to experiment. Cheers, Terry

10-17-2018, 09:42 PM	#6
mikesbike Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Southeastern Michigan Posts: 4,549	You don't mention which Pentax DSLR camera you use. Most have a green button which can be used in the Manual mode to achieve an instant metered exposure, and adjust from there. This is an exclusive feature with Pentax. It is called "Hyper Manual". It is great for spot-metering a scene. Metering is a tricky thing, and experience will teach you how the camera's meter "thinks" so eventually you will know how to compensate in advance when facing certain lighting conditions, along with the reflectivity of the subject.

10-18-2018, 12:23 AM	#7
GUB Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Wanganui Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,757	The underside of the bird will be shady so in M mode select an area of shaded midtone around you and green button meter on it. (Or take shots or digital previews until the histogram is nicely in the middle.) Unless absolutely necessary have the Iso at 100. For every stop you allow the Iso to increase you lose a stop of dynamic range. The sky burning out and cutting into the birds profile is a result of low dynamic range. If burnout is still a problem then progressively underexpose and pull the bird up in editing holding back the highlights. Of course Raw is a given for this to work..

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