 Michelle B. Prince |
How to Shoot Subjects Wearing White Any responses would be greatly appreciated. I have been trying to photograph a little girl in an all-white formal dress. No matter what lighting I have the dress is overexposed and washed out. Help. I would like to be able to see the detail in the dress.
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
If it were just overexposed, all you'd need to do is bring down your exposure. If it's a light type, you need one light to the side. Diffuse it for a more portrait look, if you want to.
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Bob Cammarata |
Try shooting outside on a cloudy day, and meter off a gray card.
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Michelle B. Prince |
Thank you for the response. I think a cloudy day would be better. The whole picture is not overexposed, just the dress. I'm having a heck of a time with my new Rebel. I get much better pictures with my very old Epson camera. It's very frustrating because I just bought the Canon.
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David King |
You can also try a version of an old trick used in film and video. On shows like the Cosby show, where most of the actors were darker skinned, the DP toned down the colors on all of the sets. That let them open up the camera to get better skin tone and detail for the video while turning the dull painted sets into lively looking ones. Using that approach you can do the opposite. Use a bright, slightly overly lit set that when you slightly underexpose for the white clothes you bring the set down to a good point. The key for you will be on lighting for the face. You may need to be a little hot there in anticipation of the underexposure. You can test this in advance to find the sweet spot for the variables so you won't be fidgeting with it in front of the sitter. David
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Tiffany L. Cochran |
You may also want to try using a 3-stop Neutral Density filter and readjusting your exposure.
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Michael McCullough |
When I shoot anything white or bright colour yellow pink ect. I overexpose by 1/2 to 1 full stop ,in this case do try a 1/2 stop of overexposure I think you will be satisfied with the results!!!!
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David King |
Michael, you just confused me. If you purposfully overexpose something already too bright, won't you just make everything else -- but especially the white dress -- even more over-exposed? David
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Michelle B. Prince |
Thanks everyone. Thank goodness for this site!!!!
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Michael McCullough |
David if you shoot white at the shown exposure you will get a muddy grey in the white the meeter measures greyscale,so overexposure eliminates this grey shade snow should always be overexposed as example if you don't it will have a grey tinge,maybe someone else can give you a better explanation to this,be sure though it does work!!!!
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David King |
Hi Michael, I get it, it is basic Zone System stuff. I misunderstood your first post to say that you were over-exposing in addition to the "correct" exposure in the first place, not based on correcting for a meter reading from the white dress. My error. I'm all better now. Thanks. David
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