Help Files Camera and Photography Forum

For general camera equipment and photography technique questions. Moderated by another view. Also see the Learn section, Camera Reviews, Photography Lessons, and Glossary of Photo Terms.
Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: Dark Faces

  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Melbourne Australia
    Posts
    1

    Dark Faces

    Hi,

    Just having a problem with exposure,

    I'm trying to take pics or the cricket team,
    They are all wearing white shirts and caps.

    Its usually always bright and sunny.

    there’s about 15 people in the shot.

    As you can guess from the title, they come out with dark faces,
    There’s all skin types in the group from dark to pale.

    i can brighten them up in photoshop but it time consuming and I’m sure there’s a better way.

    Any tricks to get the faces so you can see who they are under their caps?

    thanks.

  2. #2
    Formerly Michael Fanelli, mwfanelli, mfa mwfanelli2's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Perryville, MD
    Posts
    648

    Re: Dark Faces

    Quote Originally Posted by Donutvet
    Hi,

    Just having a problem with exposure,

    I'm trying to take pics or the cricket team,
    They are all wearing white shirts and caps.

    Its usually always bright and sunny.

    there’s about 15 people in the shot.

    As you can guess from the title, they come out with dark faces,
    There’s all skin types in the group from dark to pale.

    i can brighten them up in photoshop but it time consuming and I’m sure there’s a better way.

    Any tricks to get the faces so you can see who they are under their caps?

    thanks.
    Your camera is determining the average exposure. All the bright light is making the camera choose a shorter exposure. Change the exposure by compensating +1 to start and adjust from there. Note that to get the faces properly exposed, you will be blowing out the highlights. Cameras are limited in the range of light to dark they can expose.

  3. #3
    has-been... another view's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Rockford, IL
    Posts
    7,649

    Re: Dark Faces

    This is very true. If your camera can do exposure compensation or shoot on manual mode, this is the best thing you can do. Starting with a +1 compensation should get you close but you might need a little more or less to get the results you want. White shirts in mid-day sun will likely be "blown out" when doing it this way, meaning that the shirts will have no detail in them (other than dark colored numbers, for example).

    A couple of options that may help - shoot at a better time of the day for photography, such as late afternoon/evening when the light is a less harsh. Shoot in the shade or on an overcast day. Try using flash in any of these situations too, but you might not need as much exposure compensation.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •