Creating A Brilliant Blue Evening Sky
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As a portrait photographer, one of my goals is to give my clients a gallery with a nice variety of images. To do this, always have a few different poses in mind, I encourage them to bring outfit changes, and we make the most of our locations, sometimes even traveling to multiple locations. Shooting with a variety of lighting, especially towards the end of a shoot in the evening, can also create unique looks. In the span of just a few minutes, I’ll use natural light, off camera flash, and sometimes an alternate light source.
I have a super easy trick I want to share with you today. Creating a brilliant blue sky in camera. It’s a super easy process that creates a completely different look. Clients love it because it’s unique and has a bit of a wow factor. You’ll love it because it’s quick, easy, and doesn’t require a lot of fancy gear!
The secret to getting the brilliant blue sky is using a tungsten light source or filter. I primarily use the Lowell GL-1 hot light to achieve this effect, which I love, but let’s face it, that’s considered fancy gear. You can create the same effect using an inexpensive CTO filter (orange) on your speed light. Once you have a tungsten light source, you need to switch your white balance to either tungsten (the lightbulb preset) or a Kelvin temperature in the range of about 2800K to 3200K.
And voila! Nice warm subject and brilliant blue sky.
Give this technique a try the next time you’re shooting OCF, and then come share your images on the forum or on our Facebook page.
Kim Gasper
Kim Gasper lives in Bellingham, Washington with her husband and two kids. She is both an elementary school teacher and a professional photographer, specializing in seniors and weddings. When she’s not working, Kim can be found watching The Bachelor or reading teen lit.
000Tags: balancing background and subject, cobalt blue sky, creating brilliant blue sky, how to not blow out the sky, OCF, photography tutorial
Categorized in: From the team, Tips & Tricks
4 Comments
Awesome tip Kim!
Wow I’ve never thought of using the gel for enhancing the background!! Instead of matching! I so am going to try this…when I get a willing subject. Why do you like the “fancy” gear one better than your OCF? Can you hand hold and still shoot with the camera? Or do you have an assistant?
Great tips Kim!
I have seriously never considered that! Wow!