1Ds Highlights blown out

[david_cisco]

Thanks to all who can help. I am a photoshop guy trying to assist a photographer.

 

Using the Canon 1Ds, highlights are being blown out. This happens in the studio or

outdoors. I am using the latest Adobe Camera Raw profile for this camera and my monitor

is calibrated.

 

The deal is, I have to push the exposure up on his images to get the skin tones right, and

by doing so, most detail is lost on any white clothing worn. He frequently shoots subjects

wearing white in front of a white background, so it's getting pretty difficult to handle the

images, as I am having to open the raw's twice- once for clothes and once for skin tones

and then having to patch them together.

 

Sorry to say I do not have all the details such as what lighting he uses.

 

I'm wondering if it's inherent in the camera, or if his meter is off, or the camera is set

wrong.

 

Thanks again!<div></div>

[Greg M]

White is tough. I wouldn't push the exposures up at the time of exposure, especially if you're shooting RAW- overexposure of any part of the scene is the last thing you want. I'd just do a couple of test shots & make sure the histogram begins and ends within the graph so all detail is retained and make levels and curves adjustments when you process the RAW file to bring the light level up at that point- you'll have better control of all areas of the image. As you said, when you push the levels up at the time you press the shutter release, some parts of the scene are lost permanently due to overexposure, so push them up later.

[mikep]

I dont know if its the Camera. My impressions are its not. When I shoot in snow, I have to underexpose. There is a lot of white here. Meter off the face and see what happens.

[david_cisco]

thanks guys. thought id submit another expample of the problem -

 

before and after. the underexposed pic is straight from the camera. the corrected image no

longer shows any detail in dress!<div></div>

[paul_sokal___dallas__tx]

Don't correct skin tones with exposure in RAW. The only result will be what you're getting-blown highlights. As suggested, adjust the midtone level in PS or use curves to bring up the skin.

[david_cisco]

adjusted in Adobe's Camera Raw..<div></div>

[david_cisco]

really appreciating the feedback.

 

i have to disagree on the use of the RAW utility. i've been doing this for a long time, for

several different potographers. the problem i am having now is unique to this particular

photographer, and it is happening indoors and out.

 

to me, the first picture of the girl outside is a badly exposed image. i have no choice but to

adjust exposure. making the corrections here is much more effective than using curves or

levels, and even in going that route i am sure the detail in the dress would be lost there

too.

[bill_b2]

It is normal. You have to dodge and burn when printing film or digital. Printing in digital includes processing for viewing by monitor. You are just narrowing or moving the dynamic range to suit a medium. Paper involves a narrower dynamic range than the camera's sensor, so you lighten and darken to fit it in. Fortunately, there are various techniques available in PS to do this. Be sure you are current on those techniques.

 

Sometimes the camera cannot capture the entire range in a single shot and exposure-bracketed additional shots must be made and put together in the post processing.

 

Careful lighting will reduce the problem, not necessarily eliminate it.

 

Bill

[david_cisco]

i am new to this forum, so i really dont know the etiquette of thread length or how many

times to reply to an issue.. so set me straight if need be!

 

i am completely familiar with dodging, burning, shadow/highlight correction, curves,

layering, masking.. all that. if needed i can totally rescue a bad image.

 

however, *all* exposures on his shoots are coming out like this. it isnt a one-off!

 

he would like 5x7 proofs generated from the shoot, of which more than 100 exposures

were taken in several settings. in all of them, highlights will be lost. it isn't practical, or

profitable, to correct that many images in photoshop. and with bad looking proofs... sales

typically go down as well.

 

there must be a solution to get better images at the time of capture.

[StuartMoxham]

It looks like the image is underexposed and has a white balance problem. You should get the white balance correct first then sort out the density of the image. If you lift the exposure in RAW you lift the density of the whole image. The high lights blow out before the skin tone are correct. I just used the curves in photoshop and came up with this. You could lift the exposure a little in the RAW converter but only until the the dress looks right (not blown out) then finish the job of with the curves in photoshop.

[StuartMoxham]

To me it looks like the image is underexposed and has a white balance problem. You should get the white balance correct first then sort out the density of the image. If you lift the exposure in RAW you lift the density of the whole image. The high lights blow out before the skin tone are correct. I just used the curves in photoshop and came up with this. You could lift the exposure a little in the RAW converter but only until the the dress looks right (not blown out) then finish the job of with the curves in photoshop.<div></div>

[david_cisco]

stuart- thanks for taking the time to work on the image, and thanks again to all who have

given advice. i feel like im being a pain in the ass.

 

i dont want to focus too much on how to fix the image, but more importantly, how to

capture it correctly.

 

so are you guys *sure* that this is the best the camera can capture?

 

if not, what does he need to do differently to get a proper image?

[ellis_vener_photography]

In ACR 3.3, turn off all of the auto settings to see what the exposure really looks like. ( in the flyout menu uncheck the Use Auto Adjustments option).

 

Now use the Exposure slider to adjust the highlights and brighter midtones.

 

Use the Brightness slider to adjust the mid tones and overall brightness.

 

After using these sliders you might want or need to go back and revisit your white balance.

[StuartMoxham]

I won't say that I am sure that the original is the best the camera can capture. I would suggest getting the exposure sorted out in the camera but that is something the photographer will have to work on.

[alan_olander1664878205]

I agree that the best way to correct this is to adjust curves, not increase exposure which, it has been pointed out already, will push the highlights too far. Stuart's adjustment of the image is just right. There is quite an exposure range from the bright white dress to the shadows which doesn't help matters.

[gluteal cleft]

The picture of the baby doesn't look like it just has blown highlights, it looks entirely overexposed to me.

 

A properly metered exposure to start out with is key in getting a good image. "Properly metered" doesn't always mean using a grey card, in high dynamic range scenes where you want to preserve detail in the highlights, the proper method is to spot-meter the bright object in which you want to keep detail (say, a wedding dress), and working the exposure back from there.

 

My guess is that he simply composed the scene in the viewfinder, then used whichever exposure the camera suggested. Sometimes the cameras can be very smart, but sometimes their goal (18% grey) aren't the same as yours.

 

Now, because he doesn't seem to have done that good of a job, you have more work to do. I would import the RAW file(s) as 16-bit ProPhoto images, and set the raw adjustments to import the entire range of the file (shadows zero, brightness zero, contrast zero). Then, adjust levels, brightness, and contrast for each part of the scene from within Photoshop. As a 16-bit image, you still have TONS of room for adjustment without having any problems with banding or posterization.

 

You might also want to talk with the photographer and see how *he* processes the images.

[alan_gage]

It's already been mentioned in the thread and you probably know it already; but adjusting "exposure" in ACR is mainly for adjusting highlights, shadows is for...well...the shadows, and "brightness" is for the midtones.

 

It sounds like you might be adjusting exposure mainly and that could be causing the blown highlights. You might try not so much "exposure" and more "brightness".

 

Alan

[tom_luongo1]

Is the photographer using histograms to confirm image capture?

[tom_luongo1]

Did anyone else notice the bride was shot at ISO 1600? Shooting at a lower ISO may have helped balance the foreground and background lighting. The baby was shot at ISO 200, but can you give us the uncorrected image for that as well. I still think the photographer should be paying closer attention to his histograms.

<p>

I tried a some contrast masking as well as curves on the bridge, but I don't think I did as well as Stuart's version.

[tom_luongo1]

in-line image of the bridge<div></div>