How can I photograph people in front of a bright window without losing the background?
Asked 4/16/2013
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2 answers
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I want to photograph people posing in front of a bright window, and I’d like both the people and the outside view to be visible. Right now I either get a properly exposed background with very dark people, or correctly exposed people with the window blown out. I’d prefer to avoid obvious flash reflections in the glass. What’s the best way to balance the exposure?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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You must use a flash to balance the exposure. You can either use your camera's on-board flash, or an external one, it doesn't matter. Depending on your camera (it would help if you offered more information on that part), you should expose (i.e. meter) for the scene outside - as if there were no people, and you simply wanted to take a photo of the outside view - and simply fire the flash (in most cases, TTL flashes are smart enough to figure out what you want to do). Occasionally, you might want to use some flash exposure compensation, for a more natural result (anywhere from -0.7 to -1.7, depending a lot on the given situation)
Originally by user19393. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user19393
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The usual solution is to balance the bright background with added light on the people.
Expose for the outside view first, as if you were photographing only what’s visible through the window. Then add light to the people with flash or another strong light source. TTL flash often works well, and you can reduce flash output a bit with flash exposure compensation for a more natural look.
To avoid flash reflections in the window, don’t aim the light so it bounces straight back into the lens. Small changes in camera position, flash position, or shooting angle often solve this. If possible, move slightly left, right, up, or down instead of standing directly in front of the glass. An off-camera flash or a reflector can also help.
Another option is to take two exposures—one for the background and one for the people—and blend them afterward. You can also combine both approaches: add some light to the subjects, then use exposure blending to fine-tune the result.
In short: expose for the window, light the people, and adjust your angle to control reflections.
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