Sheepdip - advice required please

I took this pic a few days ago.

Late afternoon, no flash, handheld, 1/30th of a sec, 10mm, f5.6, iso 400, exposure bias 0/3EV, pattern metering.

I'm please about exposing and exposing the foreground, but am struggling at the top left of the tree canopy - the white clouds only adding to the burn out. I've captured some blue sky through the canopy - but what would you advise on reducing the burn out through the canopy?

For what its worth all I would do is crop out from the tree line upwards. Most of the detail and interest is the trees in the background-field and stream with fence something like this. Saves all that post editing stuff to try and get rid of the burnout



Then add the borders if you want.

Hope you don't mind the pic edit

bazza

I've seen some really well exposed shots - but I don't know how they do it (sorry!).

Multiple exposures perhaps?

Possibly use a graduated ND filter?

Sorry JW I have no idea - as far as I am concerned I would be very happy to have taken that shot as it is. Think my eye is still in need of a lot of training if training the eye is possible, may just have to fall back on what I like and I like it.

i had the same problem and this is the advice KK had given me

"To prevent the sky blowing out while keeping everything else exposed, your need a graduated ND filter. Its dark at the top going clear 1/3rd of the way down. It takes the skies exposure down around 2/3 stops"

http://www.yophotographer.com/page.p...ighlight=woods

Thanks Claire! That saves me a post! LOL

Failing that, as Azz says, try multiple exposure. First of all expose for the sky, then expose for the forground and merge together in whatever software you use

Thanks all - I would have taken bracketed exposure shots, except that I wasn't using the tripod at the time.

Grad filter is the way I would go.

It would help retain some detail in the brightest areas at the top of the picture and whilst it may also darken some of the higher canopy - it's possible to 'dodge' light back in to dark areas.


Another option would be to expose the whole shot with the sky in mind then lighten what would be your overly dark areas. This can be done as a duplicate layer. Remember you can always lighten things but you can't recover detail by darkening areas that have been completely blown out (white).


Multiple exposures are obviously another soloution but it may not be possible for any number of reasons, no tripod, branches moving or grass swaying on a windy day etc.