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Correct answer jacquelingphoto2017

Hi templedance,

This is quite a contrasting capture. I can see the sun was very bright on the day you captured this image.  You have chosen to face the light source when capturing and hence having the darker/shadowy area of the subjects facing you. In the image as you have it the sunny area is very bright while the shadows are very dark. You can correct it by reducing the shadows, thus making it easier to see what is in the shadow areas.

You will find Create better photos for Adobe Stock with 7 tips for success | useful as it will help you to see how you can head an acceptable balance with you exposure.

4 replies

Abambo
Community Expert
AbamboCommunity Expert
Community Expert
August 17, 2018

Tree and barn, probably...

The trees are in foreground, so you would expect them not to be dark patches. Filters can help, flash can help (but not here, only if you main motive is in reach of your flash), reflectors may help (but again not here), clouds to hide the sun help for sure, changing the position is definitely a solution, but if you want to keep your position, you need probably to choose a different day time. There are apps for your phone or tablet giving you a good indication, when the light will be perfect for such a shoot.

If you have a tripod, you could even shoot brackets and composing the pictures according to the correct exposure of parts of the picture. You can use HDR programs or algorithms to put the pictures together in an automated fashion, but I've used also Photoshop and manual masking for doing so. The manual part is part of the editing fun. You will need to invest some time to get it looking right.

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer
Ricky336
Community Expert
Ricky336Community Expert
Community Expert
August 17, 2018

Hi again

When you take shots like this around midday,remember the light is very strong - especially during the summer when the sun is high. It creates strong highlights and shadows. This is where a polarising filter can help.

Again, if you use Lightroom, this can be easily fixed, and also in Adobe Photoshop by using the Camera Raw Filter. In this case, using the Auto exposure function works pretty well. Saturation and contrast can be reduced as well. You will still have to tweak the sliders when you use the auto function.

Again, here is a quick sample:

Notice by reducing the highlights, you can get more detail in the sky.

(PS, any other photo editing software should have similar functions.)

    Peaceful_Ripple15C3
    Peaceful_Ripple15C3Author
    Known Participant
    August 17, 2018

    I am constantly learning. A big thanks for your detailed critique. It was a vacation shot so time of day was not changeable. I purchased a filter but have not overcome the learning curve to turn it properly w/o fringing. I use LR exclusively.. though I'm preparing to move into Photoshop and have switched to RAW on my return from this vacation. Same way with my Nikon. I've shot auto..(yikes, don't tell) and now will be starting to use Big Girl settings on camera very soon. Thanks for all the ideas I can incorporate into my skill set. Thanks

      Abambo
      Community Expert
      AbamboCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      August 17, 2018

      Shoot RAW and Manual only! Except on family events, where it should go fast. (I'm doing manual also for those events...)

      90% of my edits are in Lr, only rarely I need to pass in Ps. Mostly for editing out something unwanted or adding something to the image.

      ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer
      Peaceful_Ripple15C3
      Peaceful_Ripple15C3Author
      Known Participant
      August 16, 2018

      I appreciate your critique of light/shadow and will apply giving it another shot ...then move forward regardless. My rejection rate is dwindling! A big yea!

        jacquelingphoto2017
        Community Expert
        jacquelingphoto2017Community ExpertCorrect answer
        Community Expert
        August 16, 2018

        Hi templedance,

        This is quite a contrasting capture. I can see the sun was very bright on the day you captured this image.  You have chosen to face the light source when capturing and hence having the darker/shadowy area of the subjects facing you. In the image as you have it the sunny area is very bright while the shadows are very dark. You can correct it by reducing the shadows, thus making it easier to see what is in the shadow areas.

        You will find Create better photos for Adobe Stock with 7 tips for success | useful as it will help you to see how you can head an acceptable balance with you exposure.

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