Shutterstock Photographer Forum :: View topic - How to get a blown out light recovered on long exposure..

turbodls1ta · Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 440 Location: T'exas, y'all

Naturally, Im on my computer without the image in question, but it is a skyline of Austin at night, with the top of the Frost Tower being really blown out (due to it being a pyrimad of light). Its unrecoverable in LR, and looks like crap with an exposure filter on it. The only way I was able to get it in range was to super under expose the image, but some of the darker parts (like reflections in the water) were too dark to recover. My question is, in order to make this image work, am I going to merge some exposures into an HDR? Is there a way I can shoot without blowing out the bright lights?

jatrax · Joined: 07 May 2011 Posts: 242 Location: Pacific Northwest

In camera HDR is one way to go. Although I have never been able to get anything from it that I would submit here. Possibly a better method would be to take several shots at different exposures and blend them in Photoshop.

In order to maximize the dynamic range you expose so that the light is just not quite blown out. That is the best you can do and if something is too dark, then you need to shoot that at a different exposure and blend them.

Maybe somebody else has a better idea but those are the only ways I know. Of course the dynamic range of your camera is also a factor, some are better than others.

turbodls1ta · Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 440 Location: T'exas, y'all

Here's the photo:

mauijon · Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 4279 Location: Maui, Hawaii

I would take two shots, this one and another about two-three stops less (smaller aperture or less time). Then cut out the tower top from the darker image and paste it on the other image.

robhainer · Joined: 03 May 2010 Posts: 2743 Location: Dallas, GA, USA

In lightroom, crop and expose the image to get your normal exposure. Right-click, create virtual copy, tone down the overall exposure on the whole image to bring in the roof. Export both images to photoshop. Stack the normal exposure on top of the underexposure and delete where that roof is to bring it in.

A lot of times, the details are there in a raw image, you just can bring it in naturally in lightroom in one image and that exposure brush leaves something to be desired.

rinder99 · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 2:44 pm

jeffbanke · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 5:24 pm

dianal · Joined: 06 May 2011 Posts: 25

I heard about a Japanese photographer-he used a black card, instead of NDG to keep the sky from burning out on his landscapes. the technique is named after him I believe. Does anyone know his name? I would love to google him!

I was doing some evening city pano shots a few weeks ago and tried it on a particularly bright building that was burning out.
I made sure the building was in the far right third (I am right handed) of the frame and waved my lens cap over the building for part of the exposure. LOL silly I know but it as all I had that was black! The first results were...interesting, but I got the hang of it. Just a matter of keeping the lens cap moving and getting the timing right, so not very difficult.

Likely not the best way 'technically' speaking, but way more fun than sit in front of my computer.

jeffbanke · Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 1:06 pm