Yesterday, I talked about the pros and cons to shooting underexposed. Now I want to talk about the other end of the spectrum: Shooting Overexposed.
So, I think I’ve mentioned at least eleventy billion times that noise exists in underexposed shadows, right? And I’ve said, at least another additional eleventy billion times, that shooting at a high ISO can also add destructive noise to your images. Right?
So it makes sense then, the recipe for a big ol’ noisy disaster would be underexposing at a high ISO.
How can you avoid it?
Shoot a stop or two overexposed when your ISO is high enough that your sensor starts to get noisy. What number is that?
That depends on your camera’s make AND model.
50mm f/1.4
f 1.4
1/80
ISO 6400
SOOC
That’s a pretty high ISO, but by shooting slowly – only 1/80s – combined with the impressive sensor on the Nikon d700, the noise is pretty minimal on that image and mostly noticeable in the dark shadows underwater. It was shot 1-stop overexposed according to my in-camera meter.
Since I rarely shoot in dark situations nor with high ISO, it’s not a trick I use very often. But it’s a great little tool to keep in your photography arsenal for just that situation.
I like to overexpose on portraits occasionally as the skin automatically looks smoother and doesn’t require any photoshopping! : )
Great tip…thanks!
This makes perfect sense. It’s getting darker earlier these days, and I’m still intimidated by my flash, so I’m sure I’ll get to practice this a lot.
Thank you!
this is so good for me- I know HOW to (usually) get the shots I need- but I don’t know WHAT I’m doing by name (if that makes sense) I have an eye for it & I know my camera, but I’m not familiar with the proper terminology – I’m getting a right good education from your #31days posts! thanks-