shooting shadow and sunlight

[Link64]

is it a limitation of the technology or am i missing something?

Whenever I try to shoot a pic which includes both shadow and sunlight (like a wall which is half in shadow for ex.) - I can only get one part properly exposed. If its the sunny part, the shadow gets too dark, and if the shadow, the sunny is overexposed. I tried changing the metering too to have a partial reading but nothing good came out. Im trying to capture something close to what i'm seeing, no special effects or anything

any tips pls?
thanks
L

[A.C.]

Unfortunately, we can't capture a scene the same way that our eyes see it.

Digital camera sensors have a limited dynamic range, which is far less than our eyes. Dynamic range is basically the ratio between the brightest and darkest light intensities in an image.

So regardless of what metering mode you select, you have to remember to expose for your subject. The most important part of the image. When you're outside and are dealing with both significant highlights and shadows, you're going to have to compromise one or the other - UNLESS...

Unless you create an HDR image. HDR being High Dynamic Range. HDR is the process of combining photos taken of the same exact scene each at a different exposure compensation setting, (i.e. -3, 0, +3). You take these 3 shots of the scene and later combine them using software like Photoshop or Photomatix.

I won't get into the heat or HDR imaging and processing, but suggest you do a quick search for an HDR tutorial to better understand this process.

Other techniques would include exposing for the background, and then using a fill-flash to fill in the shadows of your image. This is ideal for portraits that were back-lit, where the primary source of light (i.e. the sun) was behind the subject, creating an "almost-silhouette" type image.

[Link64]

yea ive heardabout hdr and seen some pics - looks great when used properly

should i meter on the bright or dark part for hdrs?
or maybe would it be a better idea to expose for the brightest part and arrange levels of shadows later through photoshop?

[Scottes]

should i meter on the bright or dark part for hdrs?
or maybe would it be a better idea to expose for the brightest part and arrange levels of shadows later through photoshop?
To expose for HDR, make sure that your darkest shot does not have any blown-out areas. Take some test shots, and check your LCD and see when any "blinkies" appear (you have to have this option enabled, btw). Then back off 1/3 stop, and make sure there's no blinkies just to be safe. Set your camera to 2 stops brighter than this, and enable AEB at +/- 2 stops. This will ensure you have no blown-out areas, and you'll be adding 4 stops to the shadows.


If you're going to do 1 exposure only, "expose for highlights, develop for shadows." Again, take test shots, and expose the birhgtest you can without having any blinkies in the LCD. Then develop to bring the shadows up in brightness without making the highlights any brighter.

But don't be surprised if the darkest areas have noise and lack details.