How to Photograph Clouds
If you've ever tried to photograph clouds, you know that it can be tricky. Clouds and other weather phenomena can make fantastic photographs, but you must be in the right place at the right time. Knowing a few tricks can make getting the cloud photos you want a little easier.
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Instructions
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Use a tripod or find a solid object to rest your camera on. This helps prevent blurry photographs from shaky hands or body movements. Even a small, portable tripod gives you a bit more stability to capture cloud and sky photos.
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Choose a manual focus camera. A manual focus camera can help you adjust the light and depth of the photograph to better capture the clouds and obscure objects in the foreground. This can also help you choose different compositions as you'll have the ability to adjust the scene a bit more.
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Try a digital camera. Metering clouds can be difficult, but a digital camera allows you to see what the photograph looks like on the spot. If the photo is over or under exposed, you can immediately adjust rather than getting back a role of film to find that you didn't get the shot you wanted. Advanced photographers will be in a better spot to use film for clouds.
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Attach a polarizing filter to increase the contrast in the photograph. Filters can be helpful for blocking out the polarizing light, but you must be careful that you don't over do it.
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Compose the photograph in different ways. You may try having objects in the foreground or having a landscape at the bottom. You can also try close up shots on the clouds themselves to show convection.
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Shoot during the mornings or evenings if you can. The harsh light of mid-day can be more difficult to photograph in. However, clouds change constantly so you need to take advantage of clouds and weather events when they appear.
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