Canon EOS R5 and RF 100-500 Capture Dall Sheep Ram on White, Denali National Park

The background is a significant percentage of most wildlife (and people) images, and the sky often provides a good background option, even when it is white. Clouds make the sky white, and clouds make the light soft, wrapping around the subject and taming the shadows.

White clouds also cause the camera's auto exposure to calculate for a dark result. I prefer to use a manual exposure with auto ISO when photographing wildlife. These settings permit rapid shutter speed changes to accommodate the animal, with the camera taking care of the proper image brightness with its ISO selection. The sheep was also white, and positive exposure compensation was managing this issue when mountains were in the background.

The white sky background opportunity developed suddenly enough that I chose to get the shot vs. risking missing it while changing a second camera setting. Fortunately, the Canon EOS R5 RAW image did not have a problem with the +1.6 stops of post-processing adjustment.

When the background is white (or black, or any other solid color), the background can easily be extended on the sides of the image void of subject details. In this case, a canvas size increase to the left and top in the matching color would provide space for creativity, including adding words.

A larger version of this image is available here.