underexposing for saturation

[redlightboogie]

A friend of mine once told me that if you underexpose by about a stop, you will find that your shots are richer and more saturated in color. Is this true?

~Matt~

 

[Rainman]

Yes slight underexposure does improve color saturation. But as with many techniques you have to understand and apply it within the context of the scene. For example, if the scene presents a difficult lighting situation already with a wide range of highlights and shadow areas, underexposing may result in unacceptable loss of shadow detail. It's always a good idea to bracket some shots so you have options just in case.

 

[malachite]

Also depends on the film. Having been shooting some Agfa film latley I've been underexposing by a stop to get the colors/saturation that you speak of. On the flip side, for years I shot Ektachrome E100SW which on it's own is pretty saturated but likes to be overexposed by a half stop to get the shadow details but retain the saturation with the brighter stuff.

Films types are personalities. You have to get to know each one of them to get the most out of them.

 

[voodoocat]

Yeah, all films are different. In many cases overexposing will give you more saturation. There is no hard and fast rule with films.

 

[ksmattfish]

general advice...

Under expose positive film (slide film) for increased saturation.

Over-expose negative film (print film) for increased saturation.

Of course proper lighting and a polarizing filter will also do wonders.

 

[Mitica100]

general advice...

Under expose positive film (slide film) for increased saturation.

Over-expose negative film (print film) for increased saturation.

Of course proper lighting and a polarizing filter will also do wonders.

Right on! Add a 81A or 81B and you warm up the colors, kinda like a Moose filter.

 

[malachite]

kinda like a Moose filter.

Yup, those will saturate ya' plenty.............

 

[Mitica100]

kinda like a Moose filter.

Yup, those will saturate ya' plenty.............

*saturating as we speak*

Heck yessss!.... :cheers:

 

[TwistMyArm]

i like where this thread went

 

[malachite]

I was wondering if you'd chime in

 

[exposure]

Careful about underexposing a full stop when shooting slide, thats quite a lot. It depends on the scene really, gorgeous beach scenes do nicely with -2/3 to 1 stop. If people are in the shot, 1 stop can have a big impact on skintone. If you are shooting film, another technique is to do a slight pull when processing (but the underexposure is probably better