I went for a long walk with my best friend in the local woods on Sunday. I massively enjoy getting out and about and seeing the beauty of nature. On arriving back home, I always tend to feel in a way better and more positive mood than when I left. During the walk, we stopped to take a short break after about an hour and sat on a bench to catch our breath and to chill out. After only a few minutes, my friend, who is called Pete, mentioned how amazing the clouds looked. He was looking up at the sky and was seemingly rather impressed with what he could see. In this situation, one can't help but also look up to the sky to see what all the fuss is about. I'm not exactly one for clouds, but Pete was right; on this particular day, they did look somewhat awesome. Can you see the cloud formation that looks like a face, Pete asked. It took me a while, but eventually I spotted what he was on about. It really did look like a face!
The best way to take photos of clouds
We both started to laugh, and then Pete stated that he wanted to take a photo of this "cloud face" so that he could show it to his wife and children when he went back home. He is somewhat of an expert when it comes to taking photos. I think that I have a fairly good knowledge and level of understanding about how to take a good shot, but Pete is on another level. He started to explain to me some tips on how to take a great photo of clouds.
Pete was using his smartphone to take the photos and said that after tapping to focus on this specific set of clouds, he then lowered the exposure slightly to avoid blown-out whites. He used what is known as "the rule of thirds", which is one of the most fundamental and effective composition techniques in photography. This is where you imagine your image is divided into a grid with two horizontal lines and two vertical lines, making nine equal sections. The reason it tends to work so well is that people tend to find off-centre compositions more dynamic and interesting. Pete applied it here by placing the horizon line on the bottom third, as the clouds in the sky were the main focus. And he positioned the specific face-like formation near one of the four intersection points.
Pete stated that we were taking the photos at the ideal time because it was the golden hour (after sunrise / before sunset). This is when you are able to have a warm, soft light with dramatic texture. It was early afternoon, and had it been midday, Pete continued, the clouds were likely to look flat and blown out.
To avoid blur, it was essential to keep as steady as possible when taking the shot. A tripod would have been beneficial; however, we didn't take one with us on this particular day.
Pete then used an editing app on his phone, which enabled him to have the photos in black and white, which really makes photos of clouds stand out, he said. He was not wrong, as they truly looked incredible. In fact, they are definitely photos that I plan to print and frame in the future as they are that good.