Tip: Making The Skies Blue While Keeping Skin-Tones

In this short video, Craig Beckta demonstrate how you can change the skies color in camera when shooting with a strobe to make

There are all sorts of ways to get those blues out of the skies and water when you are shooting outdoors. The simple technique that Beckta shows should work well most of the day (but you should probably not use it close to sunrise or sunset).

There are just a few simple steps to this method – first – set your camera/strobe to around 3100k temperature. Then use an orange gel like the one in this Rosco kit on your strobe and finally in post increase the color temperature until the skies are significantly bluer and the skin tones are correct (Beckta used around 4100k but you should play with the temperature a bit to see what works for your shot best).

One thing that can help is using a color chart (see our video on the subject here) while you are shooting and working with it in post (just remember that if you are shooting for a long time – the colors outdoors might change so it is a good practice to shoot the color chart every hour or so – probably more the closer you are to sunrise/sunset).

You can check out many more helpful photography tips on our Photography tips section here on LensVid.

Iddo Genuth

Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.