Different Exposures - Two People in Photo: Haven't really gotten into taking photos of people, especially at night or with artificial lighting, but last week took a photo at a night...

Paul D Loc: Rhode Island

Haven't really gotten into taking photos of people, especially at night or with artificial lighting, but last week took a photo at a night football game with two people in the photo. One of the subjects came out perfectly exposed, the other (who was taller) was overexposed. What is the best way of getting both subjects to an acceptable exposure. I shot in program mode to select my highest ISO, but I let the camera determine the aperture and shutter speed. I did select the shutter speed once I saw that I didn't have a balance between both subjects, but still no improvement. I can't recall the metering mode I selected. Can anyone suggest how to correct this in future photos? Taking landscape, daytime photos is far less complicated. Isn't nature wonderful to photographers. Thanks in advance for any reply.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

Paul D wrote:

Haven't really gotten into taking photos of people... (show quote)

What type of metering did you use? Spot metering centered on one person could cause this. If you used Spot metering, try Matrix metering the next time.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Right off the bat, my first question is, can you post a photo?
Without seeing the photo, my first inclination is that both subjects were not the same distance from the flash. That is basic flash exposure 101.
W/O a photo, everyone will be guessing.
Cheers!

Paul D Loc: Rhode Island

Thanks. This photo is pretty similar to all that I took that evening. By the way, I did not use a flash.

(Download)

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Mac wrote:

What type of metering did you use? Spot metering centered on one person could cause this. If you used Spot metering, try Matrix metering the next time.

" I can't recall the metering mode I selected."

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Paul D wrote:

Haven't really gotten into taking photos of people... (show quote)

Obviously one person was illuminated more than the other. In the future, meter each person and select an exposure that will place each within your exposure latitude.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

I would adjust the images in Lightroom with an adjustment brush. Flash photography is tricky when you have such a dark background. Experiment to see what works best for you.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

There is no camera adjustment to correct differences in illumination. Metering of every kind still only picks one exposure. A darker part of a scene will be darker than a brighter part of a scene.

You have two options. The best would be to provide even illumination that makes the two people the same brightness. The other options may be far easier, and that is to process the image to selectively darken or brighten one of the two people.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

GoofyNewfie wrote:

Right off the bat, my first question is, can you post a photo?
Without seeing the photo, my first inclination is that both subjects were not the same distance from the flash. That is basic flash exposure 101.
W/O a photo, everyone will be guessing.
Cheers!

Sorry- I was on a chai-high last evening and didn't get any sleep last night.
I swore I read that you used flash...

Paul D Loc: Rhode Island

Thank you to all who helped. I guess that the answer may be that there is no one answer to solve the problem. I guess my next attempt will start with matrix metering and if that doesn't solve the problem work within Lightroom to correct it.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Paul D wrote:

Thank you to all who helped. I guess that the answer may be that there is no one answer to solve the problem. I guess my next attempt will start with matrix metering and if that doesn't solve the problem work within Lightroom to correct it.

Matrix metering cannot possibly adjust the difference in illumination for any two objects. Worse though, it isn't very good at measuring it either!

Paul D Loc: Rhode Island

My understanding of the different options for metering are that Spot Metering will only give you the exposure for what is located in the camera's focal point, center weighted will concentrate on the lighting at the center of the frame and not in the corners and will not take into consideration the focal point, and matrix metering will take into consideration the entire frame but will give a priority to the focus point.
Is there any other definition that makes more sense or is easier to understand for a novice?
Lastly, if I use Spot Metering can I lock in the exposure by pointing at a certain object and then move and recompose?

Bill_de Loc: US

If this happened often, a ND, or half of one, mounted in a ring so you could rotate it, or a graduated ND that could be rotated. Some people just hold them in place with the hand that is supporting the lens.

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RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Paul D wrote:

My understanding of the different options for mete... (show quote)

Matrix metering is OK if your entire scene is pretty evenly lighted. For the example you posted, I would use center-weighted metering. If the subjects were quite small in the frame, spot metering would be recommended.
Check your user's manual under "Autoexposure Lock" for options on locking in the exposure once readings are made. Probably the most convenient is to lock exposure by pressing the shutter release half-way. There are also custom settings for the AE-L/AF-L button, but I have no experience with it.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

RWR wrote:

Matrix metering is OK if your entire scene is pret... (show quote)

Wonderful, except none of that will do what he wants done. He has two objects that are not illuminated the same, and he wants them to be equally bright in the image.

No exposure meter will do that.