Beginner Bright sunlight

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Hi all im struggling with taking good pictures in sunlight that quite bright either one of the background or foreground is just not good. Capturing then fantastic blue skies of blue green waters particularly challenging. Is was told by a friend about investing in a polarising filter? Would this benefit me. I'm going away soon and to a place that will be very sunny!

All help will be appreciated
 
Ever gone from bright outdoors and then walked inside? It often takes a few seconds for your eyes to adjust.
Ever been out in the sun but you can only make out silhouettes because of the glare? And then if you shade your eyes, you can see a bit better? Same problem for your camera. Both have a limited "dynamic range". Your eyes are better than a camera at this but both still have limitations.

In the same way you have to shade your eyes from the sun, you have to do something similar to the camera. You have options: expose for the water and blow out the sky (too bright), expose for the sky and have dark water, create a composite of the two exposures, or use a filter to darken the sky so there's not as much difference in terms of brightness. A graduated filter here would be better. A polarising filter lets in light in one direction - it may still let in too much for your uses.

Someone will be along to better explain what I'm talking about.
 
A polarising filter would help darken then sky, but, as Omens mentioned, only in certain directions. The greatest effect is about 90 degree either side of the sun. Directly towards, or away from, the sun and the effect is virtually nil. There is a Wiki article on polarising filter if you are interesrted - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polarizing_filter_(photography)

I'm not suggesting you do not buy a polariser, they are very useful, but won't solve all of the problems. As already said, grad filters would be better.

Dave
 
The other approach, which some people prefer to filters, is to take two or more shots exposed for the bright parts and shadows and then merge them. Techniques to look for in Google are HDR (high dynamic range) and exposure blending.
 
It's a sort of folly to think that you can just point a camera anywhere you like, press the shutter release and achieve a successful picture. Sounds like time's short, but a bit of thought about how a camera renders both direct and reflected light wouldn't come amiss - to help you to choose where to point it, and when.

You've spotted a basic problem, which is about tonal range. The photographic medium can't be all-capable - you have to work out how to accommodate its deficiencies, and that's a big task.

No single gizmo or technique is going to solve this. In your suggested timescale, I think that you might as well just go, take snapshots, and roll with the punches.
 
Best advice is get up very early with camera, get your shots. Put camera away until evening and grab the dusk shots. Both of these times are considered to be the best light of the day anyway. So don't fight it, use it to your advantage.
 
shreds said:
Best advice is get up very early with camera, get your shots. Put camera away until evening and grab the dusk shots. Both of these times are considered to be the best light of the day anyway. So don't fight it, use it to your advantage.
Click to expand...

This. Also look into bracketed exposures, although whilst HDR can be great, it does require restraint to get the most out of it. Just about anyone who ever tried HDR ended up with their first image having colours reminiscent of a clown outfit.
 
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sirch said:
The other approach, which some people prefer to filters, is to take two or more shots exposed for the bright parts and shadows and then merge them. Techniques to look for in Google are HDR (high dynamic range) and exposure blending.
Click to expand...

I was having the same issue yesterday afternoon, glad I read this post. I will try the HDR technique on next weekend. Cheers for the tips.
 
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