Flash problems

[FWG99]

I have a recurring problem when taking flash photos dinners etc. Often the near subject is too exposed and the further subjects are under exposed. Very often these events are not staged so they are "one shot" photos. Blending multiple images is generally not an option. 

That is the problem. The question is; does / can anyone offer suggestions how the near subjects can be made darker and the further subects be made lighter? The range of shadow and highlight adjustment is often not enough to balance the exposure. I did try to make a copy of an image and use the exposure slider to push the shadows up in one version and push the highlights down in the second version. I then used a mask and basicly used the black / white paint on the layers mask to conceal / reveal part of one of the images then merge the two images but the result looked terrible!

[melissapiccone]

Don't use a flash. I never use a flash, it ruins everything. I recommend using ACR as a filter. You want to process each part of the image seperately using camera raw. Process the over exposed in one layer with a mask and process the rest in another layer with a mask. I never use shadow and highlights anymore. 

[FWG99 · Accepted solution]

Hi Thanks for your reply.
It sounds as if I am on the right track - just need more practice! I do use ACR mostly as highlight and shadow rarely have enough range to be useful. I have tried the separation of light and dark in layers as you suggest so I obviously need to persevere.

I 95% agree with you on flash but there are occasions where conditions are so dark that either the exposure needs a ridiculously slow shutter speed so blur is a problem (people move!) or the ISO is so high the grain is unacceptable. You can bet it is the key people at a function that sit in the dark and "must have" a photo!

Thanks for responding.