MtnMan Loc: ID

Surprised no one has yet mentioned bracketing and then combining the shots in post processing. Or if someone did I missed it.

One can also do synthetic bracketing in Photoshop or Elements. Copy the image to a layer, increase brightness, mask it, and then paint out mask where you want the brighter part. You can use trasparency to fine tune.

MtnMan Loc: ID

Don't get how that relates to balancing two EVs in the image.

floral43

It appears that there is a light source (Back light) coming in from the top left
Check the left side of his profile you will see what i mean. had you position the subjects differently the light source could have been properly balanced.
It appears to me your standing to the left of the subjects , if so this would cause the reflection of light (spectral light) no detail that i see .

rbfanman

Position the people so they are both the same distance from whatever light / lights they are under, and from the lens, and both are standing beside each other...rather than one standing a bit in front of, or behind, the other. Both should stand facing the lens at the same angle. Focus, and meter, on a point of space, or an object, that is positioned between the two people....a football one is holding between them, for example. Try to get the same lighting on both people, and the space / object in between them. A diffused fill flash would help.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

In a scene like this one, it's hard to modify the light. Better to move the subjects, if possible. Fill flash, reflector panels, and diffuser panels can be used, if you can set them up without intrusion.

Bill_de Loc: US

If you cover the bright part of the image with a neutral density filter on front of the lens as you take the picture, you reduce the brightness of that part.

It's done more commonly to darken skies, but works equally well on wildlife and people.

Lee and other square filters slide into the holder. By only pushing it in part way and rotating it you have a lot of control. Some people don't bother with a holder and keep it between their fingers.


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kirmar

I shoot RAW photos. When in doubt, I underexpose to avoid blowout and the detail is generally there to adjust in Photoshop. That generally means bringing up the shadows and turning down the highlights, then adjusting contrast, clarity, and possibly vibrancy.

fuminous Loc: Luling, LA... for now...

I don't think there is a difference in exposure but rather a difference in reflectivity. This seems to me as typical given the environment and circumstance, and exposure is pretty much right on. I'll bet those two folk, side-by-side in a studio would still depict a similar difference of skin tones. It's fun to discuss various modes and preferences of metering but... a difference in skin tone will consistently present itself regardless of exposure---

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

It's not the metering that does it. It's just the fact that you are encountering lighting that's different on different parts of your chosen subject.

In that case you only have a few options:

1.) Ask them to move or rearrange themselves to fix it.

2.) Change the existing lighting to fix it.

3.) Add artificial light to fix it.

4.) Take what you get.



Basically, that is the situation no matter where or when you take a photo. It's a good mind-set to get into to go over this list when photographing. At least be aware of what's happening.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Robert....I think it is. If you use a spot metering on one individual, the other individual may need different metering, which is why a wider metering may work in this situation.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Actually, there isn't very much difference in the exposure of the two people in this sample image.

They have different complexions... hers is a little darker and his isn't actually overexposed on the lit side of his face. Her hair is "bigger" and shadowing her face more than his, and him standing beside her is further shadowing her to an extent.

Under these conditions, nothing you do with the camera can possibly make any difference. It isn't about metering mode or camera settings at all.

It would be possible to selectively adjust the exposures on each of their faces, in post-processing. It is best when doing that to shoot RAW instead of JPEG, simply because RAW has more flexibility for adjustment.

Yes, you could have bracketed the shots, then combine the "correctest" part of each image into a single image in post-processing. However, it's often not practical to try to bracket subjects that can or are moving. It's easier to double process a single image... then combine the correct portions of each of those.

But I don't think either of those would have helped the sample image very much.

The main problem I see with this photo is the heavy shadows on their faces, due to the single light source off to the right hand side of the image. There simply is not much that can be done about that, trying to rely upon the ambient light alone.

You could have arranged the people more carefully, so that they were more evenly lit. That will usually look more posed and less spontaneous, but might be fine, depending upon what you want.

Primarily, if you don't already have one, get a good flash and learn to use it. That is often the only or best way to make a better image in a situation like this.

Well, actually you could use ambient light alone.. Just hire one or two assistants to hold large reflector panels off to the opposite side, to bounce some of the ambient light onto the shadow side of their faces, to open up the shadows.

Or maybe a good flash would be more practical.

Paul D Loc: Rhode Island

Once again thanks for the suggestions. As far as repositioning or moving in anyway, it was not possible. The scene was a dedication of a memorial stone for the husband/father of the subjects. The shot was taken at a football field and the lights are powerful when you are near to them.
Looks as if post-production corrections are the simple solution. I did bring photo into Lightroom and the correction made the photo far more pleasant. Thanks again to all who contributed.

dat2ra Loc: Sacramento

Correct, no meter setting will make the camera expose less for bright areas and more for dark areas. The best you can hope for out of the camera is to properly expose one or the other, or average both. However, you can correct in LR or PS but I recommend exposing for the brighter and bringing the dark up rather than the other way around because once the highlights are blown, there is no way to recover the detail

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

Hey Paul,
I see a lot of comments here, I agree with some, and am scratching my head with others. I have 2 things to suggest that I didn't see mentioned. I see you shoot Nikon, and I'm not sure if Canon has an equivalent), but make sure "active D lighting" is turned on. It will take the info in the photo, and lighten up some of the shadows without blowing out the detail in the highlights. There are others here that know "how" it does it. I just know what it does.

The second thing is, the absolute best way to make sure multiple subjects are evenly exposed, is to use flash. You may not want to use "artificial light," but I'm afraid that it is the only way to control the shadows falling across the faces. In this type of shot, I would just use on camera flash. You aren't in a studio, and going to be using assistants with reflectors, this is more a "grab shot", so letting the flash do the work in TTL, you would be able to avoid time in PP trying to correct it.

So, you can either take time and learn how to use flash, or you can take time, and learn how to do the post processing, and take extra time doing the PP on all the shots that could have been lit with your flash. The other benefit is that you can shoot with lower ISO's (less noise), and slower shutter speeds (the flash freezes motion...nothing moves faster than the 1/10,000 of a second the flash is flashing.. Don't yell at me, I don't know the exact amount of time the flash is lit, it's an EXAMPLE.