Shooting into shadows

[lokin4deer]

I am curious if any one has any suggestions on shooting into shadows like in the picture I included. I am guessing that there isnt much to do but I thought I would ask. Thanks for the help!!

 

[MarkBarbieri]

The problem is that the background is much lighter than your subject. If you increase your exposure (longer shutter speed, wider aperture, or higher ISO), your subject will look better but your background will look too light.

The best option is to use your flash. It will light up your subject but it won't affect the background.

Another option when neither of the first two will work is to take multiple pictures are different exposure levels and combine them. This process is called HDR and has been discussed a lot here recently.

 

[orchjoe]

Use a flash as fill flash.

I use an external flash for my DSLR. I don't point it directly though and I do use a Flash diffuser.

 

[lokin4deer]

The problem is that the background is much lighter than your subject. If you increase your exposure (longer shutter speed, wider aperture, or higher ISO), your subject will look better but your background will look too light.

The best option is to use your flash. It will light up your subject but it won't affect the background.

Another option when neither of the first two will work is to take multiple pictures are different exposure levels and combine them. This process is called HDR and has been discussed a lot here recently.

Thanks for the replys! I went back and checked what the settings were on when the pic was taken. (I am not sure what this is called). But the ISO was 100. If I would have moved that up to a higher number the pic might have been better? Or turning that flash on manually will help I am guessing that I would have to get closer to the subject for it to be effective? And Mark that last suggestion is way beyond me Thanks for the help.

 

[Steve's Girl]

Not sure what kind of camera you have. But, spot metering will help in these situations too.

 

[Golf4food]

Thanks for the replys! I went back and checked what the settings were on when the pic was taken. (I am not sure what this is called). But the ISO was 100. If I would have moved that up to a higher number the pic might have been better? Or turning that flash on manually will help I am guessing that I would have to get closer to the subject for it to be effective? And Mark that last suggestion is way beyond me Thanks for the help.

ISO isn't the issue in that shot because of the bright background and full lighting (everywhere except on your subject). You'd still end up with the same result as mentioned above where teh sky and everything else would be completely washed out at the expense of maybe a better view of your subject. Bumping the ISO is better used in low light situations (such as in a dark ride at Disney or at night outdoors where there is not much artificial lighting).

 

[MICKEY88]

although it's always better to get the best shot incamera.if you have decent editing software you can lighten the shadow area..

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Thanks for the replys! I went back and checked what the settings were on when the pic was taken. (I am not sure what this is called). But the ISO was 100. If I would have moved that up to a higher number the pic might have been better? Or turning that flash on manually will help I am guessing that I would have to get closer to the subject for it to be effective? And Mark that last suggestion is way beyond me Thanks for the help.

Raising the ISO won't work. There are two problems with that idea. First, while increasing the ISO makes your picture brighter, your camera is going to adjust either the aperture or shutter speed to make it darker again. You won't see any difference.

The second problem is that even if you do make the subject brighter (by spot metering or some other technique), you'll also make the background brighter. Then your subject will look OK, but that blue sky will look white.

Try the flash. If it is still too dark, move closer or use a more powerful flash.

 

[pjacobi]

The simplest solution is to move closer or zoom in to eliminate the bright sky and extraneuous parking lot and houses. This would also give you a much better picture or the girl.


-Paul

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

I know this may sound sarcastic, but I honestly do not mean it that way. I'm assuming the OP wanted the sign in the photo, so zooming or moving in closer may not have been an option. Since this side of the sign shaded the girl, did the opposite side of the sign look the same? (I mean did the other side also read "Abiding Savior"?) If so, the photo would have turned out better shooting from that side. Also, from the shadow cast by the sign, it looks like the sun was almost straight out in front of the camera, which caused the darker areas to underexpose even a little more than they otherwise would have. If you look closely, you can see the lens flare caused by the sun right between "Abiding" and "Savior". This is a tough scene to shoot because the camera is always going to try to find a happy medium between the extreme light and dark areas and depending on the metering used, one or the other will either be underexposed or overexposed. In this case, the best solution probably would have been to move the girl either to the opposite side of the sign so the sun was behind you, or at least over to the left side of the sign to get her out of the shadow. You still may have needed to use a fill flash to remove some shadowing on the face. When shooting outdoors in bright sun, in most cases, you should always try keep your back to the sun, or at least to the side, instead of directly in front of you. That will go a long way in helping your camera get the right exposure.

 

[lokin4deer]

Thanks all for the responses. I am trying to learn this "better" camera thing. I am realizing alot of it compostion of the pic. Pennypacker no worries about sarcasim you advice was well taken. My wife actually took that pic of my DD on her first day of school. I had never thought of shooting from the other side or using the flash. I leave for Disney one week from tonight and I am trying to learn as much as can in a short week. Thanks again to all who offered advice I appreciate it. And FYI the camera is Pentax K200 with the kit lens on it