Clouds!

[Emma Ciarrocca]

I've always been fascinated by the way clouds are almost 3d like ....how do i do this?

[James Blonde]

I'm guessing you're meaning how the light catches a nice billowy cumulus-type cloud in a morning or evening?

If so, it really is all about the light I think, which will emphasise the texture and layers, and therefore give the clouds a sense of depth. Do you have any examples of photos which show the effect you're looking for? If so, try to figure out where the light is coming from. Often it'll be light relatively low on the horizon which will give the best effect

[Emma Ciarrocca]

Yeah! Sorry I'm new and should try and get some technique words to be more specific!

[James Blonde]

Unfortunately I'm a weatherman, so I know clouds...!

[matt wilson]

emma .if you mean how do you capture them photographically get a circular polarising filterto enhance them

[Emma Ciarrocca]

Just been reading up on this and if i'm correct I must bracket exposures to get a dramatic sky?

[OldBoy]

You mean something like this.



You don't need to bracket the shot, as the one above wasn't. Just check your Histogram after taking the shot, and if it's too bright then dial in some exposure compensation.

[ap4a]

If you want both the sky and what's beneath it to be evenly exposed then bracketing, HDR or using a graduated filter is generally required as there are usually (though not always) several stops of difference between the sky and ground during the daytime, as shown in OB's pic above.

If you want to enhance the contrast between the light and dark shades within the clouds, and between the clouds and blue sky, then a polariser is beneficial as already recommended.

[chris-p]

I'd only add one thing. You can make white clouds stand out over a blue sky really easily in photoshop.

Add a gradient adjustment layer which is black at the top and empty at the bottom. Change the layer to overlay or soft light and you're done. Really makes white clouds pop.

I don't have an example to hand at the moment but I will sort one out later tonight so you can see it.

[chris-p]

OK, here is a very quick example.

The first image is the RAW file, the second has a "foreground to transparent" gradient set to black at the top of the shot with the layer blending mode set to overlay...