How do u fix the back lighting?

[hegs]

This is a golf course that I work at for a summer job. I asked if I could take some pics and this is what I get. I need some help on the sky. I can’t get the nice blue sky that it was. I know that these pics are bad that’s why I’m asking for some help please. I'm sure that it’s something very easy to change but I don't know what it is. I think that on all the pics they should be brighter, and more sharp how do I get that? I used a tripod on all the pics. So if anyone could help me out that would be great. Thank you!

ISO 800, Aperture 19, Shutter speed 250

Iso 400, Aperture 9.5, Shutter speed 90

ISO 100, Aperture 20, shutter speed 20

ISO 400, Aperture 8, Shutter speed 125

[Steve Foss]

hegs, your in-camera meter is trying to expose for bright sky and dark ground all at the same time. So it averages them and you get lighter sky than you remember.

What kind of camera do you have? You can use manual settings and underexpose one full stop or use exposure compensation to do the same thing if you have that feature.

But whichever of them you use you'll have some work to do in post processing to even them out, and if you underexpose to get the sky right, the ground will be even darker and will be full of digital noise when you brighten it back up in post-processing.

Another way, which definitely requires a tripod, is for you to take one image that's a full stop overexposed (this will expose the ground correctly) and a second image, without changing the framing of the camera, that's a full stop underexposed (this will expose the sky correctly), and then blend the two images in post processing.

The only way to get the ground and sky evenly exposed at capture in the case of your examples is to use a graduated neutral density filter. The GND has a dark top half and a clear bottom half, so you put it on your lens with the dark half facing up and point your camera so the edge (the graduated part) between dark and clear is on the skyline. This darkens the sky but leaves the ground alone, so you have an even exposure.

If you're using a point and shoot you probably can't get a GND for it. If you're using a DSLR it's no problem, because they come in all the common lens sizes.

[Jeremy airjer W]

I would hire ST for a day of photos and a round of golf!

Or you could just add your own skies in. Photopaint is a wonderful thing!! This is about 3 minutes of work, more time = better end result.