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Use camera Raw to make the sky dark in a photo like this one of the Vatican statues Anything else?ĭo remember that a dark sky, whilst looking awesome, can also give the post–apocalyptic feel to some images that you might not be looking for. Using Photoshop? See our Top 10 favourite shortcuts.
#Dark filters for photos how to
(This technique will also darken down any other blues in the image.) Not sure whether you want to colour or black and white? See our video on how to change colour to black and white in just 30 seconds. Choose the Lightness or Brightness tab and move the blue slider over to the left to darken down the blue of the sky.
#Dark filters for photos software
Lightroom or Camera Raw converter to the rescue. Find the HSL / HSB (Hue, Saturation and Lightness/ Brightness) tab in either software package. In case of a photographic emergency you can even use your polarized sunglasses in front of the lens to achieve a dark sky.īlack and white as well as colour digital.A circular CPL polarizer is best for modern cameras as linear polarizers can affect exposure meters and autofocus adversely. This polarizing filter technique will work with both film and digital, colour and black and white.To make the sky dark in a colour film image use a polarising filter To use the polarizer just turn the filter until the sky goes dark or the reflections disappear. It will also reduce reflections which can make trees etc seem rather vivid in colour.
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(The effect is most prevalent on the area of sky that is at 90 degrees from the sun – Look at the sun and then the darkest sky will be at 90 degrees.). Light from the sky is also polarized, so a polarizing filter will polarize the light and reduce how much light enters the camera. As a result this will make the sky dark in a photo.Ī polarizer will darken down blue sky but not affect clouds. This allows us to reduce reflections on non-metallic objects. A polarizer allows light to pass in only one direction. Light reflected from a non-metallic surface becomes polarized. Here is the techy-geek explanation first, and then I’ll do the normal human one after that. So how do we do it? We use a polarizing filter. You can’t use a red, yellow or orange filter to make the sky dark in a colour film photo, as it will just give you a colour cast.
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A through the lens meter should give you an accurate reading. A filter stops light from getting to the film so if you are using a hand held meter you might need to compensate for the exposure.Anything blue in the scene will also go darker.To make the sky dark in a black and white film image use a yellow filter – Hoya make really good quality filters
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New to film photography? See our guide on best film cameras for beginners.
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Try out different colours to achieve different amounts of darkness. See our post on what makes a good black and white image. The filter we need to stop blue is the opposite to blue on the colour spectrum, so a filter that is yellow, orange or red will do the trick. What we need to do, is to stop some or most of the blue in the scene from reaching and exposing the film.
#Dark filters for photos full
Each requires a slightly different technique but by the end of this post you will be a “dark sky photo-ninja”!īlack and white film uses a full range of colour to create a full range of tones on your black and white negative. We’d like to show you how you can also make the sky dark in a photo, whether it’s black and white film, black and white digital, colour film a or colour digital. From a slightly darkened down adjustment to an almost black sky these skies just bring out the cloud formations beautifully. 5 Likes How to make the sky dark in a photoĮveryone has seen the images of scenes where the sky looks really dark and the clouds stand out and look awesome.
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