Don't overexpose

akdrone · Aug 17, 2022

I made a very short tutorial for a friend that is new to drones and photography on the importance of not over exposing while using auto exposure. Don't Overexpose

SmilingOgre · Aug 18, 2022

That's a real can of worms. For the clip you are using as an example the advise is perfect. However the postulate as a one size fits all approach might not be the best. Take for example the image below, a still grab from a video. It is exposed for the highlights but if you want the detail on the ground......

No amount of correction in post is going to produce a usable image as per below.

Here I've adjusted the image to where the ground sits comfortably in the waveform where it should be creating massive noise and detail loss.

Sometimes you just have too sacrifice the highlights to get a good image of the main subject.

akdrone · Aug 18, 2022

No doubt you are correct. Odd how hard it is to explain everything in 20seconds...LOL...but point taken. It does remain the case, however, that you can bring up dark shades a bit whereas once the whites are blown they are blown and I did try at least to make that passing point. That is of course true for absolute black but once shadows are that black our eye just sees them as black and doesn't think much of it. I have, in many instances, wanted to be sure to have full detail and allowed clouds to blow out but that will be a conversation for my friend down the line

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SmilingOgre · Aug 18, 2022

akdrone said:
No doubt you are correct. Odd how hard it is to explain everything in 20seconds...LOL...but point taken. It does remain the case, however, that you can bring up dark shades a bit whereas once the whites are blown they are blown and I did try at least to make that passing point. That is of course true for absolute black but once shadows are that black our eye just sees them as black and doesn't think much of it. I have, in many instances, wanted to be sure to have full detail and allowed clouds to blow out but that will be a conversation for my friend down the line .

No doubt. That is the constraint of a forum such as this or a short video. Exposure is quite the topic. Books are written on it obviously. But again per the shot you were highlighting the advise was perfect.

Ralph thompson · Aug 18, 2022

Photographers will advise that to expose a scene to get the most out out of it, to maximize the detail is to expose manually (in a manner similar to the Zone system used in the days of film). The science is no different for digital. When shooting RAW you can allow a small amount of over exposure and specular highlights by definition will always be over exposed. This does take more time but rarely does speed produce a good photograph. You check the exposure in the dark areas and in the bright areas like the sky. Determine a mean mid point and set your exposure accordingly. This might take a few trial shots since you can't accurately spot meter with a drone. However this is the best way to achieve the optimum photograph. When you have a large exposure band width, then theres no option but to use HDR with multiple exposure value but starting with the optimum mean exposure will ensure you get an optimum HDR.
That being said, if you're not a perfectionist, sticking it on auto and taking multiple exposures for HDR in RAW and merge using SW like Lightroom, along with its powerful highlights and shows sliders will produce a pretty good image.

Eagle Eye 62 · Aug 18, 2022

Ralph thompson said:
Photographers will advise that to expose a scene to get the most out out of it, to maximize the detail is to expose manually (in a manner similar to the Zone system used in the days of film). The science is no different for digital. When shooting RAW you can allow a small amount of over exposure and specular highlights by definition will always be over exposed. This does take more time but rarely does speed produce a good photograph. You check the exposure in the dark areas and in the bright areas like the sky. Determine a mean mid point and set your exposure accordingly. This might take a few trial shots since you can't accurately spot meter with a drone. However this is the best way to achieve the optimum photograph. When you have a large exposure band width, then theres no option but to use HDR with multiple exposure value but starting with the optimum mean exposure will ensure you get an optimum HDR.
That being said, if you're not a perfectionist, sticking it on auto and taking multiple exposures for HDR in RAW and merge using SW like Lightroom, along with its powerful highlights and shows sliders will produce a pretty good image.

And if you shoot RAW, you will usually only need minor adjustments to get a very good looking image. I always shoot 5 bracket RAW and am careful to keep the exposure in the mid range. Also, I always use the zebra stripes to make sure I am not over exposing.