overexposed

[his4ever]

mk... I was sitting at the mall and there was this merry-go-round. I was pondering the light coming in and hitting the animals and wondering if the direct sunlight would cause a problem. I think there would have been some overexposed spots on portions of the animals. I never took the picture cause I did not have a camera... but it made me wonder... when is direct sunlight spots ok on a subject?

If too confusing please let me know...

 

[tataencu]

in my opinion you could have used a flash as a counter-light and intentionally underexpose a little, as the flash would compensate the underexposure.

that's what i would actually do when i have to take a picture against the sun...

but since i'm a beginner i might be wrong :-s

 

[kaboom]

depending on where and how u're metering. if there are only bright spots and you don't take those into account when metering, you'll have a properly exposed scene with blindingly white spots where the light was hitting.
if you want something a little less contrasty, use fill flash.

 

[his4ever]

I'll have to keep that in mind. I was wondering tho... when is it good to have bright sun on a subject? I know sometimes if it is outlining something or someone... anyother examples?

 

[Big Mike]

There is no right or wrong answer here. If you, the photographer, wants bright sunny spots...then it's a good thing. If you don't, then avoid that sort of light.

It can be troublesome if you want to have both shadow detail and highlight detail, and the sunny spots are quite a lot brighter than the rest of the scene...but that's all dependant on the light you have.

 

[Mike_E]

Specular highlights are useful if you want to portray a bright sunny atmosphere or a crisp feel to a photo. They are the glint on the waves or the light reflected on the hair from a hair light in a portrait that gives that feeling of sharpness that separates the subject from a background.

Very useful in sunset shots at the beach. Or a Saturday morning at the park on a merry-go-round.

mike

 

[his4ever]

thanks guys. When I do not have my camera I have been practicing looking around me pondering about things if they would make a good picture or if it would be just a snapshot. It is amazing how different things look when you think about how light hits things or how things are arranged. So cool. I am thankful I got into photography a little. It is so eye opening.

 

[Big Mike]

When I do not have my camera I have been practicing looking around me pondering about things if they would make a good picture or if it would be just a snapshot. It is amazing how different things look when you think about how light hits things or how things are arranged. So cool. I am thankful I got into photography a little. It is so eye opening.

:thumbsup:

I think it's a big step when you learn to 'see the light' rather than just see things that are 'pretty' or 'neat looking'.