How to take well expose pictures with background in underlit condition
- Thread starter Snapperer
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if you are using flash, the only hope is the speaker stand far far away from the screen.
How about adjusting the metering settings? Instead of spot metering, use the other metering modes on your camera
Set the metering on the screen, then u light up the place with ur flash...adjust the power if not enough to lit the audience
here we go again...
TS we need more details
- what mode were you using i.e. program, aperture priority, manual, shutter priority
- external flash - direct or indirect
- ISO
- aperture and shutter settings
best is if you can post the picture here with EXIF. the more information we have, a more accurate advice we can dispense.
You should check out this DVD "OneLight Workshop" do some google and you will see the site. in the gist, the guy mentioned this
1. Lower or Raise your shutter to allow more/less ambient light
2. Decrease or Increase your aperture to allow more/less of your light from your SpeedLight
3. Shoot manual for both the camera and the speedlight, there you will be able to have things in control
4. Start somewhere (i.e. settings) and then work your way to find the sweet spot
5. If you are able to mount your speedlight on a light-stand do it then you have control over your lighting
6. Adjust your ISO last
1. Lower or Raise your shutter to allow more/less ambient light
2. Decrease or Increase your aperture to allow more/less of your light from your SpeedLight
3. Shoot manual for both the camera and the speedlight, there you will be able to have things in control
4. Start somewhere (i.e. settings) and then work your way to find the sweet spot
5. If you are able to mount your speedlight on a light-stand do it then you have control over your lighting
6. Adjust your ISO last
if the slides is the most important subject - then you should meter the screen preferably in manual mode and spot; then tilt or position your flash and set to manual mode and adjust the power accordingly - to your secondary subject that is the presenter. You must also position the flash so that it will not spill to the screen.
lower WB - ??? I lost you here.
Lower ISO - actually should boost up ISO in darker situations
Faster shutter speed - can be achieved by high ISO and bigger aperture.
Bounce flash upwards - If the screen is close to speaker, you will kill the presentation... all you will see is this big white roll screen.
VainKid said:
Although I don't agree with your advice, I'm curious to know HOW you arrived at that conclusion. What was the logic behind it? Or you just took a wild guess at an answer when giving out advice?
what is lower white balance anyway?
the main problem here is that the room is dark (hence requiring either super-high ISO, or flash) and the screen is highly reflective.
As long as you direct your flash in the general direction of the screen, you should get a reflection on the screen surface, killing all the information you want to capture.
If you have your flash onboard, I think this is a difficult shot to execute...
I mean, I don't have any details about size of room, etc, but I think I can safely assume that speaker is standing at some podium, which is probably no more than a few metres from the screen.
You've got to somehow light up the speaker without lighting the screen. Either a spotlight from above him/her, or perhaps wireless flash placed much closer to the speaker and directed towards him/her. Sounds troublesome though...
2 options
1) expose correct for audience/speaker and Photoshop the screen (you have all the info in PowerPoint already) or
2) tripod - and 2 shots. Expose for audience/speaker with flash; and one without flash expose for the screen
I've done the same when shooting in offices and you want the LCD screen to be 'clean' and presentable. But your flash will blow things out
1) expose correct for audience/speaker and Photoshop the screen (you have all the info in PowerPoint already) or
2) tripod - and 2 shots. Expose for audience/speaker with flash; and one without flash expose for the screen
I've done the same when shooting in offices and you want the LCD screen to be 'clean' and presentable. But your flash will blow things out
I KNOW!! Shoot raw, meter for the screen. Afterwhich you adjust exposure/increase Drange in PP to expose for the presenter etc & you'll have 2 images, properly exposed screen and not so bad exposed presenter etc.
Combine both images in photoshop and do some precise masking!
Combine both images in photoshop and do some precise masking!
If presenter is only mildly underexposed, that might be do-able... but it may not be possible all the time.
RAW helps, but is not a magic wand. Otherwise nobody would need to buy flash, strobe, etc.
i was trying to help by suggesting ways. sorry my bad
sorry my bad, thanks i learn something today
you need provide correct and useful info to people in order to help them, or else it means nothing.
let use an example as the projector screen is a white object, and the presenter is a black object, you can't put two objects together, using flash to shoot them and expect two objects come out the same tone.
so you either light them separately, or put the white object further away from your light source. this is what I'm trying to say in post #2.
the projector screen is highly reflective and have images projected on it, you have to keep your flash away from lighted up the screen and at the same time provide sufficient light to light up the presenter, and you also need to lower the shutter speed to capture the ambient light on the projector screen.
If you can understand this, you will know what setting to use.
If you don't, no magic setting can help you.
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It's ok... no need to apologize. I wasn't trying to insult you...
Just curious coz sometimes people give advice that doesn't seem logical to me, but perhaps I just didn't think of it.
Just wanted to know the reasons why you arrived at those suggested things to do...
I mean... you couldn't have just 'tikam-tikam', right?
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