Photos underexposed

[Negative.Rolls.0_0]

Hi!
i would like to ask for feedback what can i do better for my photos!
so i took these with Nikon Fm2, and Umi 800. Camera Iso is at box speed
i use my phone as lightmeter. for the 1st photo, i was focusing on the lantern, for the 2nd photo, i was focusing on the font.
but the overall photos are underexposed.
sooo, what is the solution in this condition?
thank you!

 

[RAZKY]

Hi!
i would like to ask for feedback what can i do better for my photos!
so i took these with Nikon Fm2, and Umi 800. Camera Iso is at box speed
i use my phone as lightmeter. for the 1st photo, i was focusing on the lantern, for the 2nd photo, i was focusing on the font.
but the overall photos are underexposed.
sooo, what is the solution in this condition?
thank you!

The scene's difference from light and dark greatly exceeds the exposure latitude of the film. Try a low ISO film, but even then you may need to add supplementary lighting for the darkest areas. Folks familiar with negative film will hopefully chime in.

 

[Warhorse]

Photo #2 has a certain appeal to it, at least I like it.

 

[smoke665]

To me they don't look so much underexposed as they look what I would expect the scene to look like. As Razky mentions above film and digital have dynamic range limitations. The only way around that is to provide supplemental lighting to decrease that range.

The other thing is your meter, they all vary some. I know from experience I need to add a 1/3 stop to what my old Sekonic says. How you meter a scene with a wide DR matters, many times it requires multiple readings and a judgement call by the photographer to arrive at a setting based on your equipment DR limitations. Once you have an image recorded, the only thing you can't recover post are blown highlights.

 

[wfooshee]

Lower ISO film may increase latitude, but it will also increase exposure time, resulting in motion blur.

As stated, the scenes simply have to much difference in light and dark areas, too much dynamic range. Film's dynamic range can be as little as 3 stops! Most films are good for a bit more, maybe 5 or 6 stops. A digital camera's sensor is probably 12 to 14 stops. The human eye is said to have about 24 stops, but then, the human eye does not take in the entire scene at one time, only the part you're actually looking at directly.

That last bit is why estimating exposure for scenes with a wide variance of light and dark areas is so difficult. You can look at the lantern and see its colors and details, and you can look in the dark corners and still see details. The camera can't. It can only record the entire scene, at whatever exposure the photographer decides to use. In your case, it appears you metered on the brightest objects, i.e. the lanterns and the neon sign.

When you meter a scene like that, meter all of it, several selected points, and you'll see what you're up against with dynamic range. Maybe you sacrifice some blown highlights to recover dark details. Maybe you simply decide the scene is not shootable without supplemental lighting.

In the digital photography world, we have High Dynamic Range processes, otherwise known by the acronym HDR, in which several images are taken at different exposures, then combined on the computer. It's actually compression of the dynamic range of the scene, taking the usable areas of each frame and combining them so that dark details are not lost in black and light details are not blown out in white. HDR is not practical in street photography like this, simply because nothing stays in place between frames.

 

[AlanKlein]

These are tough lighting situations. A few suggestions when shooting in difficult light. Bracket. Shoot the same shot +1 and -1 stops above and below your selected exposure.

Use a supplemental flash.

Also, you may need a filter when shooting in artificial light such as in the second where fluorescents are being used. Notice the green tinge. That's because film is usually rated for use in outdoor sunlight. Fluorescent lighting requires a filter over the lens to compensate and bring the picture back to a color the eye would think is normal. Check the film spec sheet for recommended filter type when using indoors under fluorescent. You might be able to remove the green tinge in your digital post-editing program.

 

[AlanKlein]

Shoot the shot with your camera so it looks normal. Then check the camera (or phone camera) for the exposure it used and apply the same to the film shoot. Then bracket as I mentioned in my last post.

 

[Strodav]

wfooshee nailed it.

 

[smoke665]

As I mentioned above, the shot is not underexposed for the scene. The histogram shows a distribution of data from black to white, with only slightly blown highlights.

What you are trying to capture is a scene that exceeds the dynamic range of the film. This isn't a good candidate for post work either as there is no detail only noise in the shadows.

 

[Negative.Rolls.0_0]

These are tough lighting situations. A few suggestions when shooting in difficult light. Bracket. Shoot the same shot +1 and -1 stops above and below your selected exposure.

Use a supplemental flash.

Also, you may need a filter when shooting in artificial light such as in the second where fluorescents are being used. Notice the green tinge. That's because film is usually rated for use in outdoor sunlight. Fluorescent lighting requires a filter over the lens to compensate and bring the picture back to a color the eye would think is normal. Check the film spec sheet for recommended filter type when using indoors under fluorescent. You might be able to remove the green tinge in your digital post-editing program.

oh! i didn't know there's a filter for that condition. do u know what is the filter called?

 

[Negative.Rolls.0_0]

As I mentioned above, the shot is not underexposed for the scene. The histogram shows a distribution of data from black to white, with only slightly blown highlights.

View attachment 262520

What you are trying to capture is a scene that exceeds the dynamic range of the film. This isn't a good candidate for post work either as there is no detail only noise in the shadows.

ahhh this is so insightful!

 

[AlanKlein]

oh! i didn't know there's a filter for that condition. do u know what is the filter called?

Check these.https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?q=%20film%20filters&filters=fct_category%3Afluorescent_161

Also, check the film manifacturer or Lomography. Ask them the recommended filter type when shooting this outdoor film inside.

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