House exterior facing north
Jul 2, 2013 09:22:14 #
My question is about the lighting, rather than the composition. The house faces North. It is sunny and 10:00 a.m. The settings are F8/ISO200/1/250 and 20mm. How can I light the front of the house? I did not use PP but I have Elements8 and LR4.
North Facing House
Jul 2, 2013 10:57:04 #
marxgo wrote:
My question is about the lighting, rather than the composition. The house faces North. It is sunny and 10:00 a.m. The settings are F8/ISO200/1/250 and 20mm. How can I light the front of the house? I did not use PP but I have Elements8 and LR4.
Marxgo,
At this time of year the Sun appears mostly directly overhead with a slight tilt toward the South. One alternative is to wait for a new season when the Sun will appear more on the Northern side of the house.
If you nee the image today you can try multiple exposures with exposure compensation applied to each exposure, then merge the exposures in an HDR program. There you can balance the bright areas with the shaded areas and come out with a very usable image.
You might also try a 3/4 view of the house front and side and wait for shadows to appear on the sunlit side of the house.
Michael G
Jul 2, 2013 11:38:18 #
Thanks for your answer. I did not realize about the tilting of the sun in the seasons, but that makes sense. Taking advantage of the seasonal sun probably my best bet as I am pretty much a novice and just trying to understand how lighting affects a picture.
Jul 2, 2013 19:35:42 #
Do you want to light it at the time you shoot it or in post-processing?
Welcome to the forum, by the way.
Welcome to the forum, by the way.
Jul 2, 2013 21:02:22 #
Hi and thanks for the welcome. I would like to do either. First choice is to learn how to utilize light when I shoot. Second choice is post processing. Either way, this particular picture is not vital but just trying to make it a learning experience, which I guess if I think about it, all my pictures are.
Jul 3, 2013 06:51:46 #
Shoot it just before sunrise or just after sunset when there is still enough light to shoot but it's not directional, or when it's overcast. Having interior lights on will give it life.
http://discover.realestate.com.au/buying/news/twilight-magic-do-dusk-photos-sell-a-home
http://discover.realestate.com.au/buying/news/twilight-magic-do-dusk-photos-sell-a-home
Jul 3, 2013 07:47:03 #
My house faces north and the photos I have been happiest with have been three exposure HDR.
Jul 3, 2013 08:57:09 #
You might increase the contrast either overall or just on the front.
Consider shooting it in bad weather; grey skies and rain, maybe in black and white. It might be dramatic.
Shoot either early morning or evening when there are long shadows and the light has more character.
Shoot at dusk with two or three slave flashes.
Somehow shoot down from above: ladder, house across the street, cherry picker, friend with an aircraft.
(I have an aerial shot of our house done by a student who rents a plane every year, shoots all the houses in a neighborhood and then goes door to door selling his prints.)
I've often wondered if I somehow could tether my camera to a balloon, run it up 50 or 100 feet and bang away with remote control. Anybody here ever tried something like that???
Consider shooting it in bad weather; grey skies and rain, maybe in black and white. It might be dramatic.
Shoot either early morning or evening when there are long shadows and the light has more character.
Shoot at dusk with two or three slave flashes.
Somehow shoot down from above: ladder, house across the street, cherry picker, friend with an aircraft.
(I have an aerial shot of our house done by a student who rents a plane every year, shoots all the houses in a neighborhood and then goes door to door selling his prints.)
I've often wondered if I somehow could tether my camera to a balloon, run it up 50 or 100 feet and bang away with remote control. Anybody here ever tried something like that???
Jul 3, 2013 08:58:27 #
As the previous post said HDR IS the quickest way to open up the light on this house. I am frequently faced with this same dilemma on a professional basis. Some times can't wait for better light. Light painting would cause shadows and so would an on cam flash. The attached example of a home shot with the sun in the western sky on June 6th, 4:30 PM, had the same effect as a north facing structure. The dark photo(#5 of 9) was the best average exposure out of 9 for HDR processing. The other is the result of HDR processing 1,3,5,7 and 9 frames out of 9. HDR is quite simple and with post processing in Photo Shop or Elements the results are very acceptable. Hope this helps.
Jul 3, 2013 09:01:11 #
Jul 3, 2013 10:09:00 #
Jul 3, 2013 11:20:37 #
If you are stuck with that one photo, use lightroom to adjust the shadows. This may help.
Jul 3, 2013 11:55:41 #
GoofyNewfie wrote:
Shoot it just before sunrise or just after sunset when there is still enough light to shoot but it's not directional, or when it's overcast. Having interior lights on will give it life.
http://discover.realestate.com.au/buying/news/twilight-magic-do-dusk-photos-sell-a-home
http://discover.realestate.com.au/buying/news/twilight-magic-do-dusk-photos-sell-a-home
This is a really good, and simple, answer. :thumbup:
Jul 3, 2013 12:28:37 #
The sun moved its furthest North on June 21.
At this time of year the Sun appears mostly directly overhead with a slight tilt toward the South. One alternative is to wait for a new season when the Sun will appear more on the Northern side of the house.
If you nee the image today you can try multiple exposures with exposure compensation applied to each exposure, then merge the exposures in an HDR program. There you can balance the bright areas with the shaded areas and come out with a very usable image.
You might also try a 3/4 view of the house front and side and wait for shadows to appear on the sunlit side of the house.
Michael G[/quote]
At this time of year the Sun appears mostly directly overhead with a slight tilt toward the South. One alternative is to wait for a new season when the Sun will appear more on the Northern side of the house.
If you nee the image today you can try multiple exposures with exposure compensation applied to each exposure, then merge the exposures in an HDR program. There you can balance the bright areas with the shaded areas and come out with a very usable image.
You might also try a 3/4 view of the house front and side and wait for shadows to appear on the sunlit side of the house.
Michael G[/quote]
Jul 3, 2013 12:30:28 #
The sun moved its furthest North on June 21.
At this time of year the Sun appears mostly directly overhead with a slight tilt toward the South. One alternative is to wait for a new season when the Sun will appear more on the Northern side of the house.
If you nee the image today you can try multiple exposures with exposure compensation applied to each exposure, then merge the exposures in an HDR program. There you can balance the bright areas with the shaded areas and come out with a very usable image.
You might also try a 3/4 view of the house front and side and wait for shadows to appear on the sunlit side of the house.
Michael G[/quote]
At this time of year the Sun appears mostly directly overhead with a slight tilt toward the South. One alternative is to wait for a new season when the Sun will appear more on the Northern side of the house.
If you nee the image today you can try multiple exposures with exposure compensation applied to each exposure, then merge the exposures in an HDR program. There you can balance the bright areas with the shaded areas and come out with a very usable image.
You might also try a 3/4 view of the house front and side and wait for shadows to appear on the sunlit side of the house.
Michael G[/quote]
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