BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: New Answers

Pictures are coming darker in sunlight

Please advise. I am uploading two images for your review.

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April 17, 2006

Well, I guess you had some problems uploading the photos in question, so I will try to help without seeing them.

It's hard to tell what exactly you mean by "darker", but I suspect that you feel the people in the photos are coming out too dark, almost like silhouettes. If that's the case, and you are taking these shots outdoors in bright sun, the probable cause is that the camera's meter is reading the total amount of light entering the lens and trying to make a decent average value for exposure. Let me explain.

The chip in your camera does not have as wide a "dynamic range" as your eyes do -that is, where you can pick out details in shadow areas and brightly lit areas that are lit with very different amoutns of light, the camera can only work within a narrower range of lighting. So, when the exposure meter takes a reading, it reads all of the light entering the lens. When you have a high contrast scene, such as people on the beach standing with their backs to the sun so they are effectively in their own shadows, the light meter can only average the total light it reads. This may mean the people come out very dark looking, because of the brightness of the sunlit scene behind them.

With your naked eye, your brain plays a role in selectively determining what to focus on and how much light to limit, so you don't see the effect yourself. But since the camera has no brains (yet), it can't do the same thing.

I hope that made some sense...if so, and if I did indeed guess the problem, then you could try to set the camera to overexpose the scene. This means that the background may become waashed out, but the people (in my example) will lighten up a bit.

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April 17, 2006

Thank you for the good explanation. I have uploaded the photos in one more thread... (I had some problem uploading with this thread).

Here is the thread (same subject).
http://www.betterphoto.com/forms/qnaDetail.php?threadID=23544

You may see the photos here.

Regards,
Satish.

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April 17, 2006