Help - Exposure Issues - DPChallenge Forums

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm f/3.3-4.5

08/10/2005 02:26:08 AM · #1

I went to a Sci-Fi convention this past weekend at the Meadowlands in Secaucus, NJ, and the lighting was pretty bad. No spotlights, or directional lights of any kind. Just the overhead chandeliers, and the omnipresent flashes of other cameras. Now, me being the person that I am, I listen when I'm told (flash photography is only allowed for the first 5 minutes), so after that, I relied on the capabilities of my RAW settings, however...I had to switch to plain JPG to conserve disk space. Consequently, the quality suffered quite a bit. To make matters worse, I was photographing a white man next to a black man, which was near impossible to compensate for. I'm wondering if there's any tips/tricks you guys can give me for impossible situations as these. Oh - no tripods allowed either.

Raw Format:

JPG Format:

Stephanie

Message edited by author 2005-08-10 02:27:56.

Duane_Fish

Nikon D70

08/10/2005 02:41:04 AM · #2

It does depend on what your ISO is set to, settings, and lens. I have been in the situation before and I was able to come out with something great but I just pushed my luck and went with it. Another thing is to work with the photo a little in photoshop.

08/10/2005 02:46:42 AM · #3

I would assume that any hints offered will also work for weddings with a white dress and a black tux.

08/10/2005 02:48:11 AM · #4

Exposure seems to be ok. A quick PS buzz will help a lot.

cntrl-alt-tilde (~) selects highlights, cntrl-j sets a new layer mask

back to BG layer

cntrl-alt-tilde again, cntrl-shift-I to invert and select shadows, cntrl j to set a second layer mask

set the shadow mask to "screen" mode and the highlight mask to "multiply" mode, then adjust the opacity slider on the highlight mask (and sometimes the shadow mask as well, but not this time).

Robt.

08/10/2005 02:50:29 AM · #5

Also, be sure your cam is set for low contrast; you can always add contrast back in PS as needed, easily. I always shoot at lowest contrast setting, always.

R.

08/10/2005 03:01:48 AM · #6

Michael Shanks and Christopher Judge from "Stargate SG-1" ?

btw Christopher Judge is a photographer too:)

08/10/2005 03:18:46 AM · #7

Originally posted by faidoi:

Michael Shanks and Christopher Judge from "Stargate SG-1" ?

btw Christopher Judge is a photographer too:)

Yup, and I know - they're doing a women of Sci-fi and a Men of Sci-Fi calender together. they showed promos of the Women of Sci-Fi,and it's amazing.

Stephanie

08/10/2005 03:20:13 AM · #8

Originally posted by Duane_Fish:

I always forget about the ISO, but It was set to 400 - I don't know why, but with my 10D, I get a LOT of grain with 800 or 1600.

These are the photoshopped images. The originals are almost black.

Steph

08/10/2005 03:23:08 AM · #9

btw - they're showing scenes from the convention on Conan O'brien tomorrow night at 12:35am EST, if anyone's interested. Wonder if I'll see myself on screen. LOL.

Steph

08/10/2005 03:26:59 AM · #10

Originally posted by atsxus:

btw - they're showing scenes from the convention on Conan O'brien tomorrow night at 12:35am EST, if anyone's interested. Wonder if I'll see myself on screen. LOL.

Steph

Haven't watched Conan since the NBC affiliate moved a couple years ago. Maybe I'll have someone with cable record it.

08/10/2005 03:31:11 AM · #11

Originally posted by atsxus:

Originally posted by faidoi:
Michael Shanks and Christopher Judge from "Stargate SG-1" ?

btw Christopher Judge is a photographer too:)

Yup, and I know - they're doing a women of Sci-fi and a Men of Sci-Fi calender together. they showed promos of the Women of Sci-Fi,and it's amazing.

I wonder if Shanks wife , Lexa Doig will be in the calender?

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm f/3.3-4.5

08/10/2005 04:07:24 AM · #12

Yup, you bet your bootie she is. :)

Steph

Duane_Fish

Nikon D70

08/10/2005 07:26:59 PM · #13

Originally posted by atsxus:

Originally posted by Duane_Fish:
It does depend on what your ISO is set to, settings, and lens. I have been in the situation before and I was able to come out with something great but I just pushed my luck and went with it. Another thing is to work with the photo a little in photoshop.

I always forget about the ISO, but It was set to 400 - I don't know why, but with my 10D, I get a LOT of grain with 800 or 1600.

These are the photoshopped images. The originals are almost black.

Steph

I did a concert a couple years back and I couldn't figure out just how to shoot it until an hour before since I couldn't use my flash during the concert. The thing that I did was opened up my aperture all the way just to get all the light I could. I was using 400 film (Before I could afford my D70) and a manual lens on a Nikon N65. The good thing about the lens was that it was aspherical with a 3.5 max opening. I pushed my speed down to 30 or 60 (I can't remember) just enough so that if I did shake it wouldn't blur the photo too much. A lot of the photos did turn out great. I recommend buying a aspherical lens since it will not put a hamper on you. There are some places that I do go to have them at great prices. Hopefully that will help you out later on.
Sincerely,
Duane

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

08/11/2005 09:11:00 AM · #14

What does an aspherical lens have to do with this issue?

Robt.

PaulMdx

Canon EOS-1D

08/11/2005 09:21:15 AM · #15

Originally posted by bear_music:

What does an aspherical lens have to do with this issue?

Good question.

Duane_Fish

Nikon D70

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm f/3.3-4.5

08/11/2005 08:58:47 PM · #16

Originally posted by bear_music:

What does an aspherical lens have to do with this issue?

Robt.

With aspherical lens you are able to bring in more light that will help out on some photos while shooting in a dark area. From a long distance you can improve the distance with your flash in some cases. I was pointing out that with some lens you are able to improve on the photo. It was just an observation that I have experienced in the past with my photography.
Duane