Exposure

[John M]

So as a student filmmaker I don't have a lot of control over my lighting. I know how to use lights, I feel that I can place lights fairly competently in a room to make it look decent, but my problem is that I often find I lack ways to control the amount of light...that is to say I lack nets and various scrims and ND gels for the windows and those type of things...

My question to you folks is a hard one...when you have fairly good light placement and the light is more or less where you want it, how do you control the amount of light and what exposure should you set the camera to? Is it more professional to preserve the highlights and underexpose the lowlights? What tips could you folks give me in regards for getting nice skin tones? Skin tones are primarily related to exposure aren't they?

As you can see, I have a long way to go and many more things that I need to know. Of course I understand that no two people light the same way and no two stories require the same quality or type of lighting but in general what are some good tips for getting good exposure and than realizing that you have good exposure.

Personally, I find images where I preserve the highlights to be the most pleasing, but often times that means severely underexposing other parts of the scene...

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Have a nice night.

P.S I don't shoot on film so I lack latitude...

 

[Ryan Patrick O'Hara]

You kinda answered your own question. The trick is, to know your lights and pick the right unit. Then once you have the right unit, most likely the unit just over what you need, you use scrims, nets and squeezers. It's as simple as that.

Getting highlights where you want and then getting the shadows where you want is a contrast ratio issue. Simply getting the key and fill lights balanced out.

It is easier said than done, but eventually you'll see it's easily done.

 

[cyclone]

Do not be afraid of shadows and dark areas. Don't try to put light into the whole scene. Allow the actors to walk through light and dark areas. Once you light the scene and the camera says "perfect", underexpose another half stop.

 

[David G. Smith]

Digital imaging systems do not handle highlight detail very well at all and overexposure of highlights usually looks like crap. So, as a general rule of thumb it is better to expose for the highlights or brighter parts of your frame, and let the shadows fend for themselves.

You say that you do not have latitude, because you do not shoot film. That is incorrect. You may not have much latitude because you are shooting on video, but you camera does have an exposure latitude. A video camera also has camera settings the affect the exposure, and image, and you need to understand these setting also. What you need to do is experiment with your camera and lights, and see where it goes overexposed and then see where the bottom end is, and it goes underexposed,and falls apart. Once you have a quantitative understanding of your camera and it's exposure characteristics, you can use your lights and camera setting choices for qualitative effect.

I am with Cyclone and agree that you should not be afraid of the dark. Of course, different cameras handle underexposure differently and you should get to know how your camera handles that. As another rule of thumb, if you have a portion of your frame that is exposed properly, then letting the shadows, and highlights fall off where they may will usually lead to a relatively pleasant looking image. Now, by "Exposed properly" what I mean, is a good portion of the frame that is lit and exposed to fall near the middle of the characteristic curve (the graphical representation of the exposure characteristics of the image making system) for your camera. What this does is give you "Head room" for over exposure and "Leg room" for underexposure. What you want to do, as a general rule of thumb of course, is be working in the middle of your T stop (aperture setting) range, to make the area of focus (usually portraiture) for your shot properly exposed. This does not mean that you have to be at T5.6, or there abouts, for every shot, but where you are going to get into trouble is if you are working way down near "WFO" (Wide F***ing Open, i.e. T1.2ish) on the bottom end of your aperture settings, or up in the double digits (T11, T16) on the top end, just to get proper exposure.

That being said, Ryan has the bottom line. If you love THAT light, from THERE, but it is too bright, then it is not right. You need to be able to control the light and bring the level down. If you love THAT light, from THERE, but a good portion of your frame is underexposed, then you need fill/supplemental light to bring those shadows up.

One little trick I have used on guerrilla run and gun fictional narrative is to keep around a low powered soft light that I could bring in to up the general ambience, and throw light in the shadows. What I use is a Home Depot 12" acrylic globe, made for exterior lighting, attached (gaf taped, shaaa) to a Home Depot scoop clamp work light. I vary the intensity by changing the bulbs, and by just moving the light closer or farther away from what I want to light. It is a beautiful soft source, and is almost shadowless, when used as a fill/supplemental light. By changing to higher intensity bulbs, it also makes a great portraiture light. A china ball could serve the same purpose, but I found that the acrylic globe and sheet metal scoop work light stands up to guerrilla run and gun a lot better.

Getting good skin tones is a real big question. Getting good skin tones in the real world is a combination of the characteristics of your camera and lens, plus a host of other factors, which includes exposure. It is a good idea to take direct exposure readings of the faces of the people you are shooting, under the lights you have set up, to see where they fall based on where you have set your lights and anticipated aperture settings. I agree with Cyclone, and if you are metering with a modern pro-sumer camera, I would not trust it to set the exposure correctly and would probably underexpose at least a little over what the camera says. This is something that should be tested.

 

[John M]

Very cool guys. I really appreciate the help. I know that ultimately, I just need practice but those little details that are common knowledge for you guys are what I feel is bringing my overall image down. Thanks again.