The Nature, Wildlife and Pet Photography Forum - Fine Art Landscape Photography

Black and White

Black and White - 12/09/06 01:15 AM

I like to take candid photos of my dogs while I am at work. My room doesnt have the best lighting so I have to use a flash. Is there some way to keep him from being so bright? If not is there some way to edit it so it looks better?

Posted By: James Morrissey

Re: Black and White - 12/09/06 11:21 PM

Is this the original file, or is this how it has been edited? I did an article on handling highlights a year or so ago...not my best piece of work in terms of lay-out, but it gets the job done (it was the first NWP article).

http://www.nwpphotoforum.com/ubbthreads/JM_Pieces/Highlights/Highlights.htm?Cat=0

Hope this helps!

James

Posted By: agilitycrested

Re: Black and White - 12/09/06 11:25 PM

It is edited but all I fixed was I removed some hair from infront of his eye. I didnt change anything else.

Posted By: mplonsky

Re: Black and White - 12/29/06 08:17 AM

Some things I do:

Diffusing and/or bounce the flash (even if it is on camera). Use a tissue or be more creative.

Underexpose a little with the whites, as it is easier to bring out detail from shadows than to bring back blown highlights.

Here is a white kiddie i did with a canon 20D and 85/1.8 (and I postprocess). From the looks of the catch lights, I think I was using a mini soft box on a sigma 500 dg flash mounted on the camera.

Posted By: Dee Dee

Re: Black and White - 12/29/06 08:34 AM

That is a really good article James, I have read it before!

Great kitty shot Mark. How do you like the 85 1.8? I am using a tamron 28-75 2.8 (with the 20D)for the inside portrait shots, and it's nice but I'm wondering if a canon will do an even better job.

Posted By: mplonsky

Re: Black and White - 12/29/06 08:40 AM

Quote:

Great kitty shot Mark. How do you like the 85 1.8? I am using a tamron 28-75 2.8 (with the 20D)for the inside portrait shots, and it's nice but I'm wondering if a canon will do an even better job.

Thanx. I really like the fast primes. Nonetheless, from what I have seen and heard, the Tamron is a fine lens.

Posted By: Dee Dee

Re: Black and White - 12/29/06 08:46 AM

Thanks Mark. I use the canon 70-200 2.8, canon 200 1.8 and canon 300 2.8 (with the 20D and MKII) for the outside action shots, so the little Tamron has a lot to live up to and I keep wondering if I should upgrade since that is the only one I use for the indoor shots (I just got my first set of studio lights last week so haven't used this little lens too much yet). It seems fine but you know that reaching for one step better all the time...:)

Posted By: PossumCorner

Re: Black and White - 12/29/06 12:35 PM

Quote:

....Is there some way to keep him from being so bright? If not is there some way to edit it so it looks better?

Has anyone loaded/looked at the new PS3 beta? It has a new feature for Raw that looks useful. It's a 'separate' slider for preserving highlights from blowing out: so if the "exposure" slider is increased the highlights of course also increase: the preservation slider can then set only the highlight areas back a notch or two. It offers a fairly quick simple shortcut way to manage highlights. But of course the advice to diffuse flash and use correct exposure etc is better advice.

Posted By: Dee Dee

Re: Black and White - 12/29/06 09:28 PM

I haven't looked at the new PS3 yet and I havent' shot raw yet but keep thinking I should. That sounds like a good feature. Does it do a better/different job than using the shadows/highlight then?

Posted By: James Morrissey

Re: Black and White - 12/30/06 05:31 AM

I also have not looked at the new beta CS3. It might be nice to get a small beta review together - but I just not have had the time yet...(hint hint for anyone with the time and inclination...)

BTW, thanks for the comments on the article, Dee Dee. It was a long time ago now (almost two years) and I am glad that it still works as a reference point (even though it is a bit rough in terms of look and feel).

James