Grey sky blown out

[Guest Chris Grosso]

I've run into situations where I need to shoot a face/body on a overcast day. I expose for the face and typically the sky is blown out so I lose detail (in the sky). These are on shoots where we are not using HMI's to increase level on the actor's. Is there a setting (knee?) that I should be adjusting for shots like this? I've used ND grads but in some shots they dont work as well because they cut off the subject. Any help is appreciated.

[Ash Greyson]

I've run into situations where I need to shoot a face/body on a overcast day. I expose for the face and typically the sky is blown out so I lose detail (in the sky). These are on shoots where we are not using HMI's to increase level on the actor's. Is there a setting (knee?) that I should be adjusting for shots like this? I've used ND grads but in some shots they dont work as well because they cut off the subject. Any help is appreciated.

 

 

You can expose for the sky and turn up the pedestal until you can see the subject. It will get really milky but it can be easily fixed in post.

 

 

 

ash =o)

[Guest Chris Grosso]

I'll try that as a test, I would be worried to try that on a real shoot. Thanks!

[Tim J Durham]

You can expose for the sky and turn up the pedestal until you can see the subject. It will get really milky but it can be easily fixed in post.

ash =o)

 

You should not have to mess with the ped. That camera has incredible dynamic range if you set it up properly.

I've done many outdoor shoots in all kinds of weather and it is very forgiving. If you expose for an overcast sky, there should be plenty of subject detail to work with.

[Ash Greyson]

You should not have to mess with the ped. That camera has incredible dynamic range if you set it up properly.

I've done many outdoor shoots in all kinds of weather and it is very forgiving. If you expose for an overcast sky, there should be plenty of subject detail to work with.

 

 

While I have found this true in general, I have also found times of the day and angles where the sky will blow out if you expose a subject properly. I assume the original poster is talking of one of these special circumstances. The pedestal trick is one I use when shoot 1/3" CCD stuff which blows out the sky very easy in most situations.

 

 

ash =o)

[Michael Nash]

You can adjust both the knee function and master gamma to get a smoother midtone-to-highlight response. Try bringing the knee "point" and "slope" down a little lower and raising the gamma (I think that's a lower number, actually; like .35 instead of .45). Then adjust exposure accordingly to get the best balance between subject and sky.

 

It does take a little finessing to get the right look, but it's generally easier to bring up the mid tones (gamma) and shadows (black stretch - NOT pedestal) than it is to reign in excessive highlights in camera