How to take good photos of the sea of ​​clouds? What camera should I use to take photos of the sea of ​​clouds?

The sea of ​​clouds is a very spectacular natural landscape, which can be seen mainly in high mountains, such as Huangshan. Seeing such a beautiful landscape, it is natural to take pictures, and some people even bring special tools to take pictures. So how can you take good pictures of the sea of ​​clouds for the first time?

How to take good photos of the sea of ​​clouds

Composition

The sea of ​​clouds should be photographed from a bird's-eye view. The rule of thirds is the most ideal composition, with the sky occupying about 1/3 and the sea of ​​clouds occupying about 2/3. When framing, you cannot photograph the sea of ​​clouds alone, as this will make the picture too monotonous. You should also include elements such as mountains, forests, and sunrise into the picture. Also, use nearby branches, flowers, grass, rocks and other scenery as the foreground to enhance the picture's sense of spatial depth.

The foreground has the characteristics of larger image and darker color. If you consciously include it in the composition, it can form a contrast in size and depth with the large sea of ​​clouds and distant scenery. Visually, it is like having a vertical axis, which helps to highlight the spatial distance of the scenery.

Use light

You can use front light, side light, and back light to shoot. The front light after sunrise is soft, and if the weather conditions are suitable, the sunlight from behind will project the photographer's shadow onto the sea of ​​clouds, which may form a wonderful "Buddha light"; side light is good for depicting the layers of the sea of ​​clouds, making it more three-dimensional; and the back light at sunrise can make the sea of ​​clouds look beautiful.

Metering

Use average metering of the medium-bright area of ​​the sea of ​​clouds and increase the exposure compensation by 0.5EV to restore the sea of ​​clouds to their true white color; if underexposed, the sea of ​​clouds will easily appear gray.

What camera should I use to photograph the sea of ​​clouds?

There are no special requirements for the camera when photographing the sea of ​​clouds. Of course, a full-frame SLR is best. It is best to use a wide-angle zoom lens. It is advisable to use a 24-70MM zoom lens to photograph the sea of ​​clouds, so that the composition can be adjusted at any time. You can take pictures of magnificent scenes or of the sea of ​​clouds with special beauty. In order to obtain an image with a large depth of field, it is advisable to set the aperture value to f11.0-f16.0 in aperture priority mode; ISO sensitivity is 100, automatic white balance, and the image is saved in RAW format.

According to the principle of white plus black minus, it is best to increase the exposure by one or two stops when shooting the sea of ​​clouds. Shooting against the light or side-backlight will make the layers of the sea of ​​clouds richer and the colors more gorgeous.

You can use various filters when shooting. For example, you can use a polarizing filter, which can improve the color of the blue sky and enhance the color saturation of the scenery; if you are doing black and white photography, you can add a yellow filter to show the contrast effect of the blue sky and white clouds.

If the light is not too bright in the morning and evening, you can use a tripod to ensure clear images; you can also set a longer exposure time to show the flow effect of the sea of ​​clouds.

If the light ratio between the sea of ​​clouds and the sky is larger, a medium gray gradient filter can be used to reduce the light ratio and balance the brightness of the light and dark areas.

When photographing the sea of ​​clouds, cameras and other electronic products are easily affected by moisture, so they should be treated with moisture-proof measures in a timely manner after the shooting is completed.

How to show the sense of layering in photos

The first step is to decide on a subject.

The second step is to determine the elements that help highlight the theme: sometimes it is lines pointing to the theme, sometimes it is light and shadow that highlight the theme, and sometimes it is even different colors, etc.

The third step is to move your camera according to visual rules to give your work a sense of space.