Ugly Hedgehog - Photography Forum
Home Active Topics Newest Pictures Search Login Register
Photo Analysis
Correcting or Preventing Lights 'Halo'
Apr 16, 2018 06:15:00   #
Bogin Bob Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida
 
I enjoy night photography but am seeing what appears to be 'halos' around lights in building shots. Sort of a soft glow around the light(s). I shoot at f/2.0 and take 3 bracketed shots at +2/0/-2 then process HDR. I don't have sufficient familiarity with layers in PS and do just about all PP in Lightroom. Any suggestions to reduce the 'glow'. (see the lights above the windows in the attached file).

Thank you, Bob



Reply
Apr 16, 2018 06:47:11   #
GlenBose Loc: NE Florida, formerly Limerick, PA
 
Masterful shot!
I'm not a PP expert, but I'd select each circle of light and reduce the blue.
I use FastStone and some other free PP programs. This may not be the authoritative solution but it gets me by.
Larry

Reply
Apr 16, 2018 09:07:37   #
SpyderJan Loc: New Smyrna Beach. FL
 
The halos, in this case, are caused by over sharpening. You can try using a lower Radius setting.

Reply
 
 
Apr 16, 2018 10:33:26   #
Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.
 
Bogin Bob wrote:
I enjoy night photography but am seeing what appears to be 'halos' around lights in building shots. Sort of a soft glow around the light(s). I shoot at f/2.0 and take 3 bracketed shots at +2/0/-2 then process HDR. I don't have sufficient familiarity with layers in PS and do just about all PP in Lightroom. Any suggestions to reduce the 'glow'. (see the lights above the windows in the attached file).

Thank you, Bob


That looks like nothing more than normal atmospheric condition. Nighttime humidity reflecting the light. It is way too different from light to light and far too poorly defined to be from over sharpening.

Reply
Apr 16, 2018 12:08:27   #
mrpentaxk5ii
 
Lights tend to illuminate the area around them, the brightest part being the bulb it's self and the glow coming of off the bulb before it dissipates, every type of bulb will give a different type of glow when photographed, also the longer the shutter is open the more light will be recorded.

Reply
Apr 16, 2018 12:11:52   #
Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington
 
-

Reply
Apr 17, 2018 06:38:32   #
Fstop12 Loc: Kentucky
 
What does the "0" exposure image look like?

Reply
 
 
Apr 17, 2018 07:18:58   #
Bogin Bob Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida
 
... "not so much"



Reply
Apr 17, 2018 08:17:52   #
jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana
 
I rather like them; I think they add to the atmosphere of the photo. Not changing a thing would be my suggestion.

Reply
Apr 17, 2018 08:21:56   #
Bogin Bob Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida
 
Linda - I did not see your 'suggestion' in the reply.
Thanks

Reply
Apr 17, 2018 10:04:29   #
Pixelpixie88 Loc: Northern Minnesota
 
Besides oversharpening, the Clarity slider is another one to bring down. What do you set the Clarity and slider at?

Reply
 
 
Apr 17, 2018 11:00:16   #
R.G. Loc: Scotland
 
Bogin Bob wrote:
... "not so much"


The white light at the end of the awning has haze round it too. I'm inclined to go with atmospheric glare caused by the intensity of the light source. I would try two things - I'd try a merge with just the 0 and -2 exposures, and I'd select the hazy areas with a well-feathered brush and drop the highlights, possibly excluding the bulbs themselves from the selection (using Erase) to keep them bright. Don't worry about removing the glare completely, you just need to make it less extreme.

Reply
Apr 17, 2018 12:39:11   #
Fstop12 Loc: Kentucky
 
It seems that even the 0 exposure has some flair around the lights. I think HDR always makes these types of things worse. I noticed that you shot at a very wide aperture,(2.0) You might try stopping down to a lower number to see if that helps. Of course if you are looking for that star burst effect you could go to up around f16 or higher. Personally, I kind of like the glow around those lights given what the rest of the image looks like.

Reply
Apr 19, 2018 07:47:24   #
Bogin Bob Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida
 
Thank you all, I will do some 'experimenting' with the suggestions noted. Since they are nighttime images (lost of shadows), I also used the adjustment brush and carefully darkened and dehazed area around the light to reduce the atmospheric haze. Also, in HSL I tweaked (lowered/reduced) a bit of the color of the haze ever so gently and it helped.

Appreciate the feedback, Bob

Reply
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.
Photo Analysis
UglyHedgehog.com - Forum
Copyright 2011-2024 Ugly Hedgehog, Inc.