kenabr Loc: S.E.Wisconsin

I'm not new to photography but I don't often use flash indoors. We had our Christmas Eve celebration this past Saturday and I photographed the gift opening. I'm using a Nikon D7000 and SB600 speedlight in TTL autoflash mode. I'm shooting raw and getting a good histogram on my camera. When getting these images in Lightroom they all appear to be underexposed according to the lightroom histogram as well as the image view. When I bring the darker clothing up to where it appears well exposed the faces come out too light (washed out detail) when printed, requiring me to use the adjustment brush to reduce the exposure on the faces. Is this normal because dark clothing causes overexposure to the lighter faces an inherent problem with TTL in these cases.Would I be better off shooting in jpg with flash under these conditions?

Bret Loc: Dayton Ohio

Maybe post a photo...that would really help.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Given that you have a good histogram on the camera, make sure you don't have a develop preset being applied on import. You can easily check this on an existing image by looking at all the sliders - if you are applying no adjustments they should all be neutral or zero adjustment.

Also check to make sure your display is calibrated to a proper brightness level.

Leave the exposure slider alone. Do most of your adjustments with the shadow and highlight sliders - minimize the highlight levels and increase the shadows until you have a decent balance. If you need to adjust the clarity (local contrast) and contrast (global contrast). If the image is still too dark, then increase the exposure slider a tiny bit to make it look right.

Shooting jpeg will only limit how much you can adjust your images.

An example would really help.

Capture48 Loc: Arizona

I'm a little confused, first you said you were getting a good Histogram in camera, but the next sentence you say the LR histogram is overexposed. What are you calling good in camera? Even distribution, pushed to the right etc. A picture is worth a thousand words here.

BTW - TTL and the metering mode combination are probably going to be an issue. What metering mode are you using.

waegwan Loc: Mae Won Li

I agree, it sounds like a metering mode issue in the camera settings and maybe the wide angle panel on the light is needed.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

How about the correct camera histogram?

The OP would be best advised to post a sample image, unprocessed raw - converted straight to jpg - to save a lot of second (and probably incorrect) guessing.

waegwan Loc: Mae Won Li

For sure a sample or two would be a big help in trying to help.

lloydl2 Loc: Gilbert, AZ

Also wondering about the particulars of the flash 1) where is it mounted? 2) is it directed at subjects or bounced? 3) is any kind of flash defuser in play? What is the distance from flash/camera to subjects?

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

Make sure an exposure compensation dial on camera and flash is set to zero.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

The problem seems to be after the image is recorded. Camera histogram is "good" - whatever that means. Doesn't seem to be an exposure issue, flash position, metering setting, etc etc etc. The problem is happening in post.