How should I expose portraits in front of bright snow so both the people and background look right?
Asked 4/28/2017
4 views
2 answers
0
I’m new to photography and want to photograph friends in front of a snow-covered mountain. When I expose for the people, the snowy background looks too white; when I expose for the snow, the people look too dark. I’m using a Canon 60D at about 28mm and standing roughly 8 steps away. I tried Av mode at f/11 and 1/100s.
What’s the best approach in this high-contrast situation? Should I use Av, Tv, or Manual mode? Which metering mode is most useful, and what settings should I be thinking about to get a balanced result?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
3
Meter for the background, and then turn on your pop-up flash and use it to light the people (aka "fill flash", that "fills in" shadows). That's what it's there for.
You're dealing with a very high dynamic range, and without flash, to get the background properly exposed, you'll underexpose people; to get the people properly exposed, you'll overexpose the background.
But flash does have some limitations. f/11 may make it difficult for the light from the popup (which is relatively weak) to reach your subjects, and with the pop-up flash, you can't have the shutter speed go any higher than 1/250s, since it cannot do high-speed sync (HSS). So, if you can't find exposure settings that work for both the background and your shutter sync speed, you may need to consider getting a hotshoe flash (speedlight), which will have more power, and can do HSS.
While ambient exposure is controlled by iso, aperture, and shutter speed, flash exposure is controlled by iso, aperture, flash power output, and flash-to-subject distance.
See also:
Originally by user27440. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user27440
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
This is a classic high-dynamic-range scene: bright snow in the background and darker faces in the foreground. One exposure usually won’t make both perfect without extra light.
A practical solution is to expose for the snowy background, then use fill flash on the people. The flash brightens faces while keeping the snow from blowing out.
Key points:
- Meter for the background/snow so it keeps detail.
- Turn on the pop-up flash as fill light for your subjects.
- f/11 may be too small an aperture for a weak pop-up flash, especially if your subjects aren’t very close.
- With the pop-up flash, you’re generally limited to your camera’s flash sync speed (about 1/250s on the 60D), so you can’t simply use very fast shutter speeds with it.
- If the pop-up flash isn’t strong enough, an external hotshoe flash will work much better.
Mode-wise, Manual can be easiest here: set exposure for the background, then let flash fill the subjects. Av can also work, but you still need fill flash. Spot metering can help if you want to meter a specific bright area, but the main fix is balancing ambient light with flash.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI9y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
Which filters are most useful for snowy mountain landscape photography?
How can I film a phone’s dark-mode screen so grey UI elements stay visible without white text blowing out?
How can I reduce a blue cast in a snowy photo?
Should I use a circular polarizer for skiing and snow photography?
How do I expose snowy landscapes so the snow keeps detail?