Outdoor Dynamic Range - How to Shoot?

H

Homunculus

Carbonite Member
Hi guys. I thought it was only me not knowing how to properly shoot this yet but I see it in the footage of others shooting outdoors with GH1 ...

How do you shoot a scene let's say in an open field or meadow in the middle of the afternoon, giant blue sky with sparse clouds floating here and there. How do you shoot so that you get your talent well exposed AND can see the sky, the blue of it and the detail in the clouds? Is this type of shot completely impossible with GH1 or all DSLR's? Can anyone show me footage of this being done?

If you adjust settings (iso, shutter, aperture, etc) you can get the blueness and detail of the sky but then everything underneath it, i.e. the ground and your talent is completely dark and underexposed. Then if you adjust it to expose your talent well, the entire sky is a blown out white haze. Is there ANYWAY to make these shots work and give some detail/exposure to both the sky and your talent or is it pretty much impossible with limited dynamic range of DSLR and/or GH1?

The only way I've done it somewhat so far is putting everything on intelligent auto mode and focusing on the talent exposes them then when you pan up and refocus on the sky it'll expose it accurately but will mess up all the talent and I hate shooting in auto as I'm mastering how to shoot all manual.

Anyone have tips or videos .......?

Thanks
 
Bounce boards or external light. It's really the only way.

For wide shots, generally a good way to cheat it is to expose the shot correctly without blowing out the sky or underexposing your talent too much. When you go in for the medium to closeup shots, bring in the fill with either a bounce or light source.

That's the way to go when you're going no budget. Big budget, on the other hand, get big HMI's :)
 
Shoot manual for sure.

Use ND filters. Maybe try gradient/fading ND filters.

Use Polarizing filters.

Do NOT blow out the whites.

Shoot in Nostalgic mode with all the settings fully negative.

Color correct in post.
 
PaPa said:
Bounce boards or external light. It's really the only way.

For wide shots, generally a good way to cheat it is to expose the shot correctly without blowing out the sky or underexposing your talent too much. When you go in for the medium to closeup shots, bring in the fill with either a bounce or light source.

That's the way to go when you're going no budget. Big budget, on the other hand, get big HMI's :)
Click to expand...
would you recommend it best for the camera to have its back to the sun or to basically do a 2/3rds sort of setup like a 3 point lighting setup with sun acting as key and the bounce or hmi's or whatever acting as fill light? I figure facing into the sun would be the worst I just haven't experimented too much yet with different positioning
 
Svart said:
Shoot manual for sure.

Use ND filters. Maybe try gradient/fading ND filters.

Use Polarizing filters.

Do NOT blow out the whites.

Shoot in Nostalgic mode with all the settings fully negative.

Color correct in post.
Click to expand...

thanks ...I already shoot with pretty much everything on -2 in nostalgic .....not sure what polarizing filters are yet but I shall research them now thanks for the input
 
p.s. how do ND filters work, I mean what type do I get for the GH1 ...do they fit on all lenses or is there a particular type or brand for GH1's or what? thanks
 
ND's will help you cut down the amount of light entering the lens without adjusting shutter or iso. This means you can open your lens to the desired f stop, but you won't get any more dynamic range from using them. A Circular Polariser might help a little on the sky for the situation you are talking about. As pointed out above, for this situation you really need to light your subject with bounce boards and/or extra lighting.
 
Like previously stated, a gradient filter would work great on the wide shots. The close ups you can cheat a lot more in terms of bringing in more light or framing the sky out.
 
or, if bouncing or extra lights are not possible or practicable you could consider blowing the sky out intentionally to get a good matte for a sky replacement in post.
 
I just did this two weekends ago I used two 4x4" gradient ND filters in a mattebox so I could accurately position them to knock down the sky
 
If you don't want blown-out sky but blue sky, you are correct in that you dont' want to shoot towards the sun. Try to shoot at a time of day where the sun is not directly overhead, then position your actors so the sun is not at their backs. If you're using the sun as sort of a sidelight, or you have to shoot with the sun directly overhead, consider using some reflectors to fill in the shadow side. Reflectors are great because they need no electricity, and since they reflect the sun, are very bright. They are also rugged and cheap. Put one on a C-stand, sandbag it, aim the reflector to hit your talent, and you're good to go.
 
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