Photographing In Poor Light

Judy, you can do that with Photoshop or Photoshop elements - selectively lighten portions. I personally loathe i-Photo and I hear Apple is dropping it.

In any case, yes a lot of editing software will bring up the details in the dark areas. I always underexpose because I don't particularly like to shoot RAW. That way nothing is blown out and I can play with the shadows all I want.

I did that with some images from Arches National Park, and was able to change dark "blobs" into a nice, integrated part of the photo.

Mary I shoot raw,,are you saying that when you shoot raw and edit you can't manipulate shadows on programs like elements etc, I realize Apple is dropping it but I have been told that they are integrating iPhoto and aperture and so I have been waiting,,,I love the functionality of iPhoto I hate having to hunt and peck around trying to find tools within most editing programs. ,It is time communing and tedious, I am in hopes that the integration will bring out the best of both of the two apple programs,

I love shooting in "poor" lighting conditions!

You need to shoot in RAW, and you need a software that allows you local adjustments like Lightroom and Photoshop. There are free alternatives like RawTherapie and The Gimp.

Lightroom has a shadows slider.

http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2013/12/02/how-to-use-lightroom-to-reclaim-highlight-and-shadow-detail/

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Mary underexposing leads to more noise. Most recommend the opposite -- erring on the side of over exposure. Expose for the right. Meaning have more info in the right side of the histogram. Highlights are easier to recover than no info in the shadows.

i'd shoot with a fill flash for stuff like that one. over exposing is better, you can fix noise making it darker, but the image might be softer, so, that's an issue. photoshop won't fix that bird. the hiney is too dark and all you'll see is noise. its better to get it in the light when you can.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Edward is right!

If you shoot film, you underexpose to get more information in the highlights. With digital you want to have as many details in the shadows as possible, without clipping the highlights.

Edit: Make friends with your histogram! 😎

I shoot with auto iso,,,and sometimes fill flash,,,but the whole aviary is covered with trees and birds seem to harbor in the shade ,,,and most of my favorite spots such as this feeder is shady most of the time, Thanks for the link Edward,,,Im going to check out Raw therapie,..not crazy about gimp...over kill ,,,Colin I never shoot in black and white ..I suppose I would be completely lost in that venue, Also...I really like Aperture Priority mode,..when I adjust my f stop doesn't it automatically adjust the iso,,,? I shot one day in AP and had to delete all of the photos because the iso was set at 2500,,,I didn't set it there not sure how it happened, I usually check the settings within the viewfinder but became more relaxed because of having good experiences with settings in past. I think maybe it was in some memory mode from my night photography in Miami Beach?? not sure,,,just know I really have to stay on top of the settings and not take anything for granted,

PS ,,that bird I posted. Is it acceptable that some parts of a bird such as this is in the shade,,,or is it photographically unacceptable. (I am not referring to whether it is printable,,) that is another matter! I suspect the answer is that it would be more acceptable if some degree of the colors were notable and shaded ,,,not completely obliterated?! I was so excited to see this bird and a buzzard at the feeder . They are rare birds and not there very often!

Judy, overexposing digital images will result in blown-out, unrecoverable areas. Don't do it. Digital cameras allow you to recover a ton of detail from dark areas, so you can safely underexpose a bit. . I just posted these on another thread, but they address what you're asking about:


Before:




After:

Great shots Murray,,Thanks for the info! Good to know!

Judy, both images come from the same capture. The second one has been processed.

I figured as much Murray,

i over expose all the time, though i use it with hdr, there will be blow outs, but its the only way to clean the noise from shadow. you'll need more than one frame, still though 1/3rd to 2/3rds over shouldn't hurt much of anything.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Ok! Thx!

Here is yet another example, Last one,promise, This bird was inside a closure that was screened in and dark, I photographed outside through the screening, there was no sunlight at all on the bird, I was just hoping that in some cases,,,which is probably wishful thinking" on my part that sometimes composition will or can compensate for poor light conditions, true or false!?





Delete this and other bird ,,yes or no! My primary focus is always on composition,,,

I'd be more concerned that the bird isn't sharp at all. You can brighten the bird, though.

I had a quick play with your image in Photoshop:

In the case of the starling above, I would have more than likely shifted my position to place the bird in front of the darker element (fence post? tree?) that's showing on the right of the photo. This way the bird wouldn't have been backlit and would be brighter. You could have upped the exposure, but then that would really blow out the backlighting behind him.

In the case of the bird you shared above...I try to not have shadows on my birds. I try to shoot on cloudy days to avoid it. If I do shoot on a sunny day, I try to make it where the shadows are downplayed as much as possible. In that photo, it makes the bird look as if he's cut in half. Half dark, half light. I would have either positioned myself to the right to focus more on the face, putting the shadows behind him. Of course that might not have been possible due to the enclosure he was in. If I couldn't do that, I would have patiently waited for either the bird to move, or for the sunlight to shift in another direction.

You never know until you go, but I think a program like Lightroom could fix your last bird shot.
I have been a photoshop user for a lot of years, about a year ago I got Lightroom, I love Lightroom, I think you could benefit from a program like that!
Terry
tlmair.com

Ill try to brighten more, The screen caused a certain amount of blurring,,, I would love to reposition myself before taking a photo but,on many occasions there are just obstacles in the way,,,and,,,with birds they are flighty" here one minute and gone the next, Moving around scares them off too, Its hard to find good bird shots at all but when I do I panic and am so anxious to get the shot,,,because I know its a very narrow window of opportunity, I may cheat and take a few bird seeds to lure them into the right places.
Regarding lightroom,,,Terry you indicated that you have a lot of experience with photoshop,,,Is that a requisite for lightroom or can someone who is completely inexperienced be able to use the programs, I find most programs extremely difficult and tedious to work with! I want my photography experience to be enjoyable not tedious if possible!

Why not raise the screen? I'd never shoot a nature picture through a window screen, as it degrades the image.

I added an image with a somewhat brightened bird to my previous post.

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No way to raise the screen, It is an free standing closure within Wings of Asia exhibit in Miami Metro Zoo ,,,There are only a few birds to photograph in this screened in area, Its an African Starling Exhibit and houses some of the most beautiful, colorful birds I have ever seen, Very frustrating not to be able to get better photos Here is one though that in spite of everything came out reasonablly well...The bird was positioned in better light and apparently my aperture setting was better,

Every software has a learning curve. I consider Lightroom as rather easy compared to others - at least the basics. And there are megatons of information from wellknown photographers on e.g. Youtube.

Im checking it out Colin, The only reason I am holding off is because iPhoto and aperture are merging and I want to see if their offerings are sufficient, I know photographers who use little or no editing software, I maintain,,,and I am certainly far far away fro that level,,,that if you shoot properly with the right settings you should need to do very little editing,I shoot raw),,I have on many occasions taken photos and have had to edit them very sparingly because , in my case, as luck would have it the settings were correct, I knew when I edited it and did not have to do too many adjustments that it was a good photo. When I have to do a lot of major adjustments with light saturation etc I know there is a problem!

Bite the bullet and get Photoshop and Lightroom for $10 a month.

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Wondering if they have special photography sessions that allow you to enter? Maybe volunteer to clean the enclosure?

For Imac Edward? I did not see that offering,,,for both,,I saw some for phone or tablets. Also I have my photos in the iPhoto library, Not sure if that will create a problem with some of the other editing software programs, Aperture automatically uses your iPhoto library that for me is a plus!...or should that not matter, I find that organization is a big issue with me,,,I can't seem to get the right flow, For example, Everything I upload I have to add tags,,,I have made tag folder but have not taken the time to develop it ,,,It would be much easier to copy and paste tags rather than repeating that tedious process!

I agree with Edward. And than get a book from Scott Kelby BEFORE you even install the software!

When I have to get a book and read it before installing a software,,,I usually shy away,...no, not shy away,,, run for the hills!)

You can do it without a book, of course, but itīll save you a lot of time.