Getting the right exposure with Layers?

[phrozact]

I frequently like to take pictures with friends at night. The trouble with that is when I use flash to illuminate the people, the background becomes dark because of the fast shutter speed. If I lower the shutter speed, then the exposure will be much better but the people I'm taking will become blur because they move even though I'm using a tripod.

So I heard about this solution where you take a picture of the background properly exposed, and another with the people properly exposed and somehow merge the 2 pictures together using layers. But what do we do exactly? Is there a step by step guide? Also, do I take the picture of the background without anybody first or do I ask my friends to be in the picture?

 

[DarkForce]

Somethime I use this meathod

http://community.webshots.com/album/125641262gWvuBL

Had read somewhere that we can also dup the layer to adjust some part of the over or under exposure area

 

[megaweb]

Somethime I use this meathod

http://community.webshots.com/album/125641262gWvuBL

Had read somewhere that we can also dup the layer to adjust some part of the over or under exposure area

I would recommend this method for static/still object like buildings against the sky and not human portrait.

What setup and camera settings are you using ?

my recommendations:
- use wider angle
- use high ISO
- use speed like 1/10sec to 1/30sec
- use tripod
- if indoor, use bounce flash
- if outdoor, use direct flash

 

[phrozact]

I would recommend this method for static/still object like buildings against the sky and not human portrait.

What setup and camera settings are you using ?

my recommendations:
- use wider angle
- use high ISO
- use speed like 1/10sec to 1/30sec
- use tripod
- if indoor, use bounce flash
- if outdoor, use direct flash

Erm, actually I'm just using a normal camera, either a Canon S45 or Olympus 4040. Normally I try using the Olympus cos of the lens, usually my settings are something like:
- f2.0
- ISO 200
- Shutter speed is 1/15 or 1/20
- Normal Camera flash (I don't have an external flash)

The trouble is because of the somewhat slow shutter speed, pics of my friends are blurred because they move and not the camera (I use a tripod too). That's why I was hoping there's something I can do with Paintshop Pro to improve the picture. So far what I've been doing is just use the Selection Tool to trace the outline of my friends, invert the selection so that the backgound is selected and then bump up the gamma. But this process can be quite time consuming, so I'm just wondering if there's a better way to do this. Of course the best is if I dont have to make alterations to the picture, but I'm not sure if my camera is capable of doing that.

Think I'll just try the above mentioned by DarkForce and see how that goes too.

 

[DarkForce]

Erm, actually I'm just using a normal camera, either a Canon S45 or Olympus 4040. Normally I try using the Olympus cos of the lens, usually my settings are something like:
- f2.0
- ISO 200
- Shutter speed is 1/15 or 1/20
- Normal Camera flash (I don't have an external flash)

The trouble is because of the somewhat slow shutter speed, pics of my friends are blurred because they move and not the camera (I use a tripod too). That's why I was hoping there's something I can do with Paintshop Pro to improve the picture. So far what I've been doing is just use the Selection Tool to trace the outline of my friends, invert the selection so that the backgound is selected and then bump up the gamma. But this process can be quite time consuming, so I'm just wondering if there's a better way to do this. Of course the best is if I dont have to make alterations to the picture, but I'm not sure if my camera is capable of doing that.

Think I'll just try the above mentioned by DarkForce and see how that goes too.

Thanks phrozact,

1)Actually what megaweb had said was totally correct.

2) Only use the method I mention where u really got no choice and as the very last resort to "rescue" your important photo.

3) My meothod work best when shooting in RAW mode.

4) Good luck