What did I do wrong - Exposure/Contrast

[shootme]

I took this photo yesterday:mad2:, it was a bright sunny day so I took the Nikon 35-135mm F3.5 - 5.6G. Shot detail: about 20-30 yards, speed 1/640, aperture priority, 105mm, auto-area AF, ISO 200, metering spot. How could/should have I set this shot up? Thanks in advance for your advice and help.
I've tried to fix it but this is the best I can do

[Canuck935]

It looks like you just shot in some harsh light. It looks a little underexposed, but that's the camera trying not to blow out highlights. The edit looks overdone.

I would say to re-shoot this if you can. Perhaps when the lighting isn't so tough, say like on an overcast day maybe. You could pop a little fill flash to help too. From that distance though, you'd need to use an external unit placed closer to the kids and wireless triggered.

[shootme]

It looks like you just shot in some harsh light. It looks a little underexposed, but that's the camera trying not to blow out highlights. The edit looks overdone.

I would say to re-shoot this if you can. Perhaps when the lighting isn't so tough, say like on an overcast day maybe. You could pop a little fill flash to help too. From that distance though, you'd need to use an external unit placed closer to the kids and wireless triggered.

Thanks for the input:thumbsup:. Would you think it would help if I also increased the ISO say to 400, sometimes by doing this I find it balances the light in hard light situations?

[AgingEyes]

Which part of the scene did you spot meter?

You should have taken the exposure reading from the face of the boy.

[Franglais]

I took this photo yesterday:mad2:, it was a bright sunny day so I took the Nikon 35-135mm F3.5 - 5.6G. Shot detail: about 20-30 yards, speed 1/640, aperture priority, 105mm, auto-area AF, ISO 200, metering spot. How could/should have I set this shot up? Thanks in advance for your advice and help.
I've tried to fix it but this is the best I can do

You've chosen to shoot in strong crosslighting, even slight backlighting. The interesting part of the subject is the faces, which are not lit at all. You have chosen to use spot metering on a subject with fairly light clothing so the camera has underexposed the image.

In your post-processing you have corrected the underexposure and probably adjusted the curves to bring up the middle and dark tones. At least the underexposure has stopped the sunlit shoulders from burning out so you still have some detail. It doesn't look too bad but as you probably started from JPG the tones are starting to look a bit artificial.

Next time, get the lighting sorted out first. You need to get more lighting on the faces. As someone else has suggested, choose a day with more cloud and less strong sunlight. If you're forced to do it on a sunny day then fill-in flash is about the only solution but you need to be closer and have a good powerful flash. Forget Aperture mode, the camera needs to set the shutter speed to 1/250s to sync with the flash.

I would use Matrix metering - you have a big black patch in the background but it might get it right. Do some test shots first and see what it looks like. And shoot RAW - with 12 or 14 bits per channel you have much more leeway to make corrections than 8-bit JPG.

BTW I looked at your user gallery and posted a few comments, basically about the lighting (subject in shadow, strong light behind). If you want to do it that way, fine, but when I'm outdoors I always imagine I'm in a studio, looking for the right light for my subjects. When I do a parade I choose my viewpoint first according the lighting then wait for a suitable subject to come along..

[freygr]

I have to agree with Franglais as RAW format will give 50% more range before there is no data (white or black). I use the JPG Basic + NEF setting and for quick print outs ( up to 4 by 6) the JPG Basic is just fine, but for any thing larger I use the NEF file and adjust it until it's just right.

[another view]

First, is this a film or digital shot? Sounds like digital since you mention ISO. Higher ISO will only lead to more problems. In general I shoot at the lowest ISO I can get away with, and boost it when I need a faster shutter speed in low light. The spot meter is a really great tool, but it requires some practice to use. Do you know specifically what the spot meter was measuring? Depending on the camera and how the custom functions are setup, the focus point may or may not be the same as the spot meter. It'll measure something about the size of the soccer ball in this shot.

Two main things that would have helped here are fill flash (tough to do at 20-30 yards; move them more like 10-15' away) and/or shoot them in better light.

[shootme]

You've chosen to shoot in strong crosslighting, even slight backlighting. The interesting part of the subject is the faces, which are not lit at all. You have chosen to use spot metering on a subject with fairly light clothing so the camera has underexposed the image.

In your post-processing you have corrected the underexposure and probably adjusted the curves to bring up the middle and dark tones. At least the underexposure has stopped the sunlit shoulders from burning out so you still have some detail. It doesn't look too bad but as you probably started from JPG the tones are starting to look a bit artificial.

Next time, get the lighting sorted out first. You need to get more lighting on the faces. As someone else has suggested, choose a day with more cloud and less strong sunlight. If you're forced to do it on a sunny day then fill-in flash is about the only solution but you need to be closer and have a good powerful flash. Forget Aperture mode, the camera needs to set the shutter speed to 1/250s to sync with the flash.

I would use Matrix metering - you have a big black patch in the background but it might get it right. Do some test shots first and see what it looks like. And shoot RAW - with 12 or 14 bits per channel you have much more leeway to make corrections than 8-bit JPG.

BTW I looked at your user gallery and posted a few comments, basically about the lighting (subject in shadow, strong light behind). If you want to do it that way, fine, but when I'm outdoors I always imagine I'm in a studio, looking for the right light for my subjects. When I do a parade I choose my viewpoint first according the lighting then wait for a suitable subject to come along..

Franglais, thanks a bunch this is really great advice and good learning for me. There wasn't a cloud in the sky this day (Belgium) and usually there are only clouds here, so I was excited to get out and shoot with good weather. Appreciate your comments on my other shots too, which have been extremely helpful.:thumbsup:

[shootme]

First, is this a film or digital shot? Sounds like digital since you mention ISO. Higher ISO will only lead to more problems. In general I shoot at the lowest ISO I can get away with, and boost it when I need a faster shutter speed in low light. The spot meter is a really great tool, but it requires some practice to use. Do you know specifically what the spot meter was measuring? Depending on the camera and how the custom functions are setup, the focus point may or may not be the same as the spot meter. It'll measure something about the size of the soccer ball in this shot.

Two main things that would have helped here are fill flash (tough to do at 20-30 yards; move them more like 10-15' away) and/or shoot them in better light.

Another View, thanks for the advice.

[shootme]

Which part of the scene did you spot meter?

You should have taken the exposure reading from the face of the boy.

AgingEyes, not sure probably why I messed this one up.