Is This To Dark

[thenikonguy]

I'm really enjoying this photo, and at a first glance, it looks a bit to dark to me, but then, when I look a little harder, I just can't make myself brighten it.

What do you guys think?

 

[manaheim]

I suppose it depends on what time of day it was taken, which isn't clear to me, but yes... it looks dark.

 

[icassell]

Yes, I think it's too dark. Puts a happy occasion into a dark, minor key.

 

[Opher]

A little bit.

 

[thenikonguy]

thanks for the advice guys.. I'll tweak it a hair..

manaheim.. it was taken around 5:30pm

 

[manaheim]

^^^ opher's looked pretty close.

It's ironic that the MOST important pictures to take are pretty much hell on wheels because one of the key subjects is all in black and one is all in white. Tough to make the camera handle that really well.

 

[musicaleCA]

^^^ opher's looked pretty close.

It's ironic that the MOST important pictures to take are pretty much hell on wheels because one of the key subjects is all in black and one is all in white. Tough to make the camera handle that really well.

Indeed. One of the reasons I cringe when people ask me if I want to do wedding photography. *shudder* Not there yet.

I'll just echo what was said: yup needs some lightening. It's verging on the realm of LDR! :lmao:

 

[Derrel]

Manaheim wrote, "It's ironic that the MOST important pictures to take are pretty much hell on wheels because one of the key subjects is all in black and one is all in white. Tough to make the camera handle that really well"

Actually, Fuji made two camera designed specifically to handle this type of situation: the Fuji S3 Pro, and the Fuji S5 Pro. Both cameras have the widest dynamic range of any normal d-slr camera,and with *most* of the added dynamic range being in the highlight region, where most other d-slr cameras fall flat.

There is also now D-Lighting in newer Nikon bodies, which tends to try and handle these situations with in-camera image processing. But the Fuji S3 and S5 models were designed with wedding and people/event work in mind. Among those who use the Fuji d-slrs, they are well-known for being able to easily handle white wedding dresses and black tuxedos in the same frame, in any kind of lighting-sunlight,shade, or even mixed,dappled sunlight coming in through trees...

Oh,and yes, the original photo looks too dark,and the white balance appears off as well. It appears overly saturated and too dark; several different approaches could be used to make the photo have more snap. I opened the photo in PS,and the histogram is totally smashed up against the left side,indicating massive underexposure. I adjusted the Red,Green,and Blue levels individually on the highlight side, and then just lifted up the curves about 3/4 of the way into the upper area of the curves line, and Presto! The dress looked perfect, the tux looked perfect, and the image looked like it was taken at 5:30 on a beautiful,sunny afternoon; this image could benefit dramatically by being lightened up. The histogram is so,so far from the right hand edge that you've allowed massive highlight protection on the dress, so much that all of the tonal values are terribly compressed--you need to expand the tonal range of this image so that it has more life, more local contrast. As-shown, you've got almost the entire tonal range compressed and the lower and especially the middle tones are too close together, leading to very dull,lifeless shadow values and "buried" middle tonal values.

Here is my 10-second adjustment,done on a very small file. I am sure that from the .NEF file this image would look absolutely fantastic!

url=http://www.thephotoforum.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/7590]

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[DRoberts]

I was once told to always set your camera to give the brides dress (assuming its white) the best effect...after all its really her day, the groom is just another "cast member" to complete it.
Actually this does make sense. You want the best exposure, without the blow outs and the white dress is the highest likely element of the photo to blow out. I always meter off of the dress and recompose for the shot. This gives me the best balance and makes editing easier.

 

[LaserSailor]

There's a few option for determining optimum exposure in a tricky situation like this, where matrix metering just doesn't cut it.

You can apply the zone system, spot meter off black and stop down by two stops (this is a very simplified application of the ZS). Recompose and shoot.

Use your camera's spot meter and have an assistant or subject hold a grey card for the metering, recompose and shoot.

Buy and use a handheld incident/ambiant meter and measure the light, not the subject. <- Best Option.

 

[thenikonguy]

^^^ lasersailor.. how long you been sailing?

 

[LaserSailor]

I like to credit my first sailing experence to when I was five and my Dad let me "drive" a 60ft schooner. But realisticlly I've been sailing since I was ten, so about fourteen years now.

 

[thenikonguy]

I like to credit my first sailing experence to when I was five and my Dad let me "drive" a 60ft schooner. But realisticlly I've been sailing since I was ten, so about fourteen years now.

awesome man.. I started when I was about 3.. so that puts me at about 21 years.. use to race lasers a lot in the regattas, but with 3 herniated disks in my back, I cannot do that anymore... hitting the water this saturday though

 

[katy625]

I lightened the pic with levels, put a cooling filter on to take the orange out of her dress, added a little vinette then placed the high contrast smart brush on the whole pic...all in photoshop elements