Exposure Issues

Dionysus · May 4, 2009

I was wondering if you guys could help me w/ my problem. I'm having trouble figuring out how to properly expose for scenes that have dramatic differences in lighting. Things like subjects backlit by the sun, a dramatic sky which i still want the lower part of the horizon visible, etc. It's simple when the backlit subject is close, I can just light it up w/ a flash, but when it's a landscape, I keep having to sacrifice one or the other. If I keep the dramatic sky, everything else is black. If I keep the ground, the sky is blown out...if I try to go middle ground, neither sky nor ground are properly exposed.

I know it's possible, as I see lots of pictures of landscapes and other things with a great variances in lighting, coming out properly exposed (without having to use hdr).

I'm at a loss here. Thanks!

Scott_Quier · May 4, 2009

The only thing the comes to mind is a blending of exposures. Take two exposures (on tripod), one for the backlight, one for the back-lit subject and combine them in Photoshop.

aj986s · May 4, 2009

I'm not an expert at it, but I think HDR (high dynamic range) can also cure. Multiple exposures of the same scene, using stepped range of exposures (such as every 1/2 stop from -2 to +2 stops). Then combined using HDR software.

Candid Arts · May 4, 2009

Sounds like your trying to create the results of something similar to an HDR. But obviously not an overdone one as those are often seen. Another thing I might suggest is, in your editing program (I use LR2), bring the exposure down a little bit for the sky, then take the vibrance settings (blue usually for the sky) and bring that down as well, it will lean it closer to black than white, whilst still keeping the blue color. For the foreground, use some fill light to lighten it up a bit, then use the Blacks slider in conjunction with the Contrast slider to bring the black back out from a gray. I have been getting some pretty excellent results doing it this way.

I'd put up some examples, but I'm at school right now. So later I'll get an original raw SOOC up, and the edited version where I used this technique.

Dionysus · May 4, 2009

ya i'm very familiar with hdr, as i use it often, when it's the approach i'm trying for. but I mean when the final picture still looks like a normal picture, but with both the sky and light properly exposed.

Art Scott · May 4, 2009

I'll have to agree with both Scott Q. and aj986s....as those havebeen the only ways I have gotten the effect you are try to get.....in the film days we made 2 prints and using a scapel cut out the good parts and put them to gether and copied for final product....tedious very tedious...........some also took scapel to original neg or slide

.....but not I

Qarik · May 4, 2009

for landscapes..gradient filters should help. The dodge and burn baby. I don't think there is a good way way to capture a highly contrasted images out side of some "trick" like a filter. I would though meter off something in the image that is more neutral if available and fix in PP rather then go one way or the other.

Dionysus · May 4, 2009

duh..why didnt i even think of a split filter?

sometimes the simplest answer is the last thing you think of. what's a good, but affordable graduated filter?

Exposure Issues

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