Problem with highlights

Heitz

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I find myself constantly pulling the 'highlights' slider in LR down all the way. Like, most of the time. I'm starting to think I'm either doing something wrong or thinking there's a problem when there isn't. Here's an example of a recent picture for which I did *not* pull down the highlights, but I want to. Doesn't it look slightly hot on the kid's face?
There was a shoot-through umbrella camera left, set to TTL.

9131417344_f70508894f_b.jpg



And here's what I FEEL like I should be doing...same pic, highlights pulled all the way down:


9129247077_e587a33025_b.jpg
 
You have to find the hot spots before the shot and meter for them. That way they will be exposed properly and everything else will fall in below it. Much the same thing you are doing in Lightroom.
 
I like the first best, it doesn't seem that bright to me. wb may be slightly off though. Cute shot!
 
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Well, yes, the first shot does have the baby's face a bit too hot. But the second shot shows it with soooooo much recovery slider added that the "highlights" are now not-quite-highlights. Just looking at the woman's under-chin shadow, I would say that the second processing effort is not quite representative of the character the umbrella was putting out. I think splitting the difference would be a good look for this shot. Of course, that's just one person's opinion.
 
Frickin TTL. Yea I should be going back to manual flash. Anyone else also think the first pic is the better? Perhaps I'm just more sensitive to highlights, or my computer isn't calibrated properly
 
I imported it into LR, and "by the numbers", this seems to be the right placement of the highlights. I still think it's a tiny bit too dark though.

$9131417344_f70508894f_b_1976.jpg
 
Frickin TTL. Yea I should be going back to manual flash. Anyone else also think the first pic is the better? Perhaps I'm just more sensitive to highlights, or my computer isn't calibrated properly
No, I think the first one is just too hot on the baby's face. I prefer your edit of it.
 
The light was closer to the child. The Inverse square law applies, and less light got to the woman.

As tirediron notes, using a handheld meter, and manual control of the lighting enables more consistent results.
DSLR cameras are stupid, non-thinking machines and only capable of following a program some camera software engineering committee wrote a coup[le of yeras before they started selling whatever camera make/model it is you use.

In other words, TTL cannot adjust for the less light there is further from the light source.light and has to make an average/compromise.
 

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