Kaib795 Loc: Maryland, USA

If this is typical of your shots with this lens why not just exposure compensate to -.7? Of course you have to test this to find that magic number but that would be a simple answer. One other thing to try would be to center meter the shots so she is all that the exposure measures. Both will work. But understand that if you preview and have blinkies on and nothing blinks, you can adjust the shot in post and will be fine. If there are blinkies, you're in trouble and are over exposing (but some small areas are okay to be blown). I also check my histograms but do realize that the in camera histogram is taken from the jpg and not the RAW file. So if say the red is blown to the right, it may be okay in post with the RAW image. Taking test shots to eye over the histogram are fail safe moves. Also shoot a gray card as your first shot to auto adjust the other shots later in post.

Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

Good advice, thanks for your suggestions.

Kaib795 Loc: Maryland, USA

Though I agree with Thomas, you can use D-Lighting as a "in camera post effect" so it does not effect your shooting. Find the shot you think is overly dark and it opens up the shadows (on Nikon cameras). I shoot in RAW so it is of no use to me. Now that I realize you are shooting in jpg, this could help you but apply it later on the few shots that might be too dark. Otherwise I'd just exposure compensate at -.7 and test it before the game starts. You'll be fine.

Bill P

When I was shooting for my living, I often used a flash but more often in bright outdoor light. It was especially effective when I was in an industrial photo department where I shot grip N grins of customers outdoors, generally about 3PM in the summer. I was the only photographer that used a fill flash in this situation, and I was the one that several of the salesmen requested for all their photos.

As I then moved on to freelance work, I found myself shooting a lot pf photos of work being performed in oil refineries and chemical plants. and when allowed, I never went without my Quantum flash turned to stun. This was in film days, and fix it in post would be considered the tool of the least competent photographer.

Never travel without a little bit of light.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Lemme guess, you processed the JPEG in the camera? That's the limiting factor, if that is the case.

The scene dynamic range exceeds the dynamic range of the JPEG. In bright sun, there is a two stop difference between a correct exposure for the shadows, and a correct exposure for the highlights.

There is also a gross white balance difference between the sunlit side of the subject and the shadows. Sunlight (which includes skylight) tends to be around 5500 to 5600 K. The shadows are usually 7500 to 10,000 K! That's why they come out bluish.

Without masking and layers in Photoshop, or special lighting at the camera (see below) there is not much you can do the save the color in shadows, save for white balancing for them and sacrificing highlight color.

A raw file capture and post processing can fix the dynamics of scenes such as this one. All the parametric controls you need are in ACR, the raw conversion engine in Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, and Bridge. Raw files have an order of magnitude greater exposure latitude, compared with JPEGs processed in camera. Raw latitude is conservatively +/- 1.67 stops. JPEG latitude for the same quality is about +.33/-.67 stop, IF you're lucky.

Strategies for fixing this in the field for JPEG capture include the use of powerful fill flash, or reflectors (gold, or silver, or white). Both will reduce the exposure difference between highlights and shadows on the principal subject, so you can stop down more for the sun. They will also get rid of the blue tint! A Norman 400B (400 w/s) manual flash, or a Quantum Q-Flash is recommended when you are more than 10 feet from the subject. Dinky on-camera strobes are useless beyond 12-15 feet.

flyboy61 Loc: The Great American Desert

I try to get everything right in camera. Matrix metering is a wonder, but in places like this, the center weighted option would probably work better...spot metering, perhaps not. Try both and see.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Lots of good advice here but something is overlooked- ANGLE OF INCIDENCE. Yes, that is back-light- in the studio, I would call that "kicker lighting" because the light, in this case the sun, is striking the subject at an angle around 135 degrees from the camera/subject axis. So, even if there was a equal level of light striking the subject from the camera position (such as a flash and even if the exposure reading from both light sources was identical, the "kicker" light would register as brighter. That's because its angle of reflection is very efficient at that angle of incidence. Add a bit of overexposure and you have a significant lack of detail in the highlights, especially of you exposed for the shadows or the lower end of the middle-tones.

Obviously, you can't relocate the subject in the middle of the game or move or diffuse the sun. At that angle of incidence, you would tend to get fairly dark shadows from the subject's hair and relatively harsh all overall lighting.

If you used a spot reading and exposed for the front of the face, the side of the face would blow out. If you used a spot reading on the specular highlight on the side of the face, the front of the face would be appreciably darker. Seems that you matrix reading resulted in a compromise that I managed to somewhat correct in a quick edit. (I can post it with you permission)

If flash is allowed at some events on a bright day, I use the old f/16 rule and fill in with flash at a stop below and end up with a better balance. The aesthetics of the lighting may still be less than ideal but the shadows will be more transparent and the highlight more detailed. Oftentimes I find, without flash, that auto-bracketing helps in that I get more to work with in post-processing. Perhaps at a stop or half a stop less, the overexposure would be minimized.

flyboy61 Loc: The Great American Desert

While it is a lovely mode, and I use it bigly, Matrix metering will bite you in the hip pocket if you don't watch it! It attempts to balance the subject with everything around it. Works well most of the time, except when it doesn't. Your photo is excellent...just a bit overexposed. In your case, I would use the center-weighted metering option, the smaller one... and focus on/meter the face.

flyboy61 Loc: The Great American Desert