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04/14/2003 10:17:43 AM · #1 |
Problem: Taking photos of a friend's white dog, (and other light colored animals) I have the problem that there is often one portion of the animal where the hairs are no longer seen at all - it's a big white blank. I suppose you could say the photo was overexposed but the rest of the photo is fine.
Question: How to prevent during photography -- maybe using spot metering ? How to fix in Photoshop (if possible)? |
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04/14/2003 10:21:49 AM · #2 |
I have the same problem with my dog.
I tend to spot meter on a white patch as discussed in this thread.
Unfortunately it's unlikely you can fix it in PS because the detail is already lost. |
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04/14/2003 10:32:49 AM · #3 |
Try placing a thin dryer sheet in front of your lens. This is the way I photograph my toe-head (very very blonde) kids sometimes.
You might also want to light from 2 sides, one side lighter than the other so it plays up the dark and tones down the light. |
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04/14/2003 11:16:28 AM · #4 |
Tara do you mean put the fabric sheet over the flash? That is a good idea. I will try that.
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04/14/2003 07:19:42 PM · #5 |
If there is one bright spot on the dog or any object, you may try a more filtered light or indirect light. What you've got is a hot spot--my worst enemy and bane of all my photography! You can see the same effect/fault in this photo on the older gentleman's face right in front of his ear:
//www.dpchallenge.com/image.php/i/15761
More careful lighting would have probably solved the problem.
If you go the professional photographer, they shoot their super powered lights into umrellas to soften and filter the light so that no hot spots occur. If you're shooting candid shots of the dog, try bracketing the shots. I often select the darker one to work on just for that reason. I'd rather have deep shadows than bright spots.
If you have to work with an overexposed area, try the "Curves" feature in Photoshop, if that's the software you're using. That allows you to manipulate the lights, mediums or darks without affecting the others.
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04/14/2003 07:38:24 PM · #6 |
| Hmmm ... yes, part of the problem is that I'm talking about impromptu shots where the sunlight is falling on one part of the animal. When possible, I'll try to have the sunlight on the side away from my camera position. That isn't always possible, of course. |
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04/14/2003 08:31:33 PM · #7 |
Yes, I meant over the flash =). Sorry, I had a 2 year old tugging at my leg with peanut butter on his fingers....A bit distracting! The problem I have had with the on-camera flash over and over again is that it creates a harsh light right in the center. So, you can use a dryer sheet to soften it, or just use your external flash if you have one.
I have heard (but never tried)..if you hold a mirror at a 45 degree angle above your flash that it makes an awesome bounce, giving that soft, hairlight effect. I heard this from another photographer in the area. I haven't tried it yet, so don't blame it on me if doesn't work! LOL! |
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04/14/2003 08:55:37 PM · #8 |
David is an excellent shot. Did you happen to read my comment. :-)
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04/15/2003 05:31:23 AM · #9 |
Originally posted by Sonifo:
David is an excellent shot. Did you happen to read my comment. :-) |
Yes, thanks Sonja! Luckily, the emotional content won over the technical aspects, which I feel were somewhat sloppy. Both of these models were a little grouchy that day and I could tell were merely tolerating me and my commands to "stand over here" "now face this direction" "smile Owen!" etc. But you can see in front of the left ear it is kind of "fuzzy." This is very overexposed, and it took a lot of tweaking in Curves to just get it to that level and still look reasonably normal.
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