Trying from dark to light for better highlights. A ways to go yet

[JBW]

as was pointed out attempt 1 was underexposed. This is lighter and brighter but still with a darkish background and feeling(?)

[pnodrog]

It is underexposed but I suppose you know that. So why?

[JBW]

It is underexposed but I suppose you know that. So why?

A few reasons. The primary one is because it is close to the look I wanted. Second is that it was shot on a cloudy day in a darkish spot. the third is that I intentionally moved from underexposed upwards and i wanted to lighten things up with the flower (which I did) but not to lose the overall dark.

[TonyW]

In this case in Photoshop I would use a circular gradient to lighten the flower without the background. This would need to be done twice with different centres because the flow is elongated. I tried it and it seemed to work.

I don't know what GIMP has for this operation.

[pnodrog]

I have absolutely know idea if I have done what you want to achieve but it is closer to what I think works. For most subjects you cannot under expose and then correct areas using a global correction. The image below was done by selecting the flower and then applying it as a mask and adjusting the curves for the flower. The selection was then inverted and used as a mask to both soften and darken the background. I understand all these operations are available in GIMP.

[Manfred M]

Brian - deliberately under exposing in camera is never a good idea. That results in a noisy image. It is far better practice to expose correctly or even overexpose a bit so long as you don't blow out the highlights (I.e. Expose To The Right - ETTR) and then dial things back in post.

[lunaticitizen]

Photography Life has a nice article about ETTR. If you haven't read it:
https://photographylife.com/exposing...ight-explained

[pnodrog]

I happily tend in the ETTR direction when I feel it is needed. It totally depends on objectives. It is rather amusing that ETTR seems fashionable for some and SOOC for others, Personally my approach is to try and get the best possible exposure to achieve my final objective. A SOOC image is sometimes an outcome but never an objective...

[Manfred M]

I tend to try for a well-exposed SOOC shot, especially when I shoot last low to moderate ISO settings. When I shoot high ISO settings, I will try to overexpose a bit (ETTR) in an attempt to reduce the noise a bit.

For me the bottom line is that I want the best possible base image to work with when I start to construct my final image. In general, a suboptimal base image ends up being a suboptimal final image.

[JBW]

I tend to try for a well-exposed SOOC shot, especially when I shoot last low to moderate ISO settings. When I shoot high ISO settings, I will try to overexpose a bit (ETTR) in an attempt to reduce the noise a bit.

For me the bottom line is that I want the best possible base image to work with when I start to construct my final image. In general, a suboptimal base image ends up being a suboptimal final image.

I went back and found the best exposed one I had. This is pp only in Sony Express. What do you think.


here's the same shot run through Gimp.

[Round Tuit]

I went back and found the best exposed one I had. This is pp only in Sony Express. What do you think.


here's the same shot run through Gimp.

Brian,

The exposure on this last picture looks really good. Now if you want moody, adjust the middle slider of the level tool or better yet try using the curve tool to adjust to your liking.

Andre

[JBW]

Brian,

The exposure on this last picture looks really good. Now if you want moody, adjust the middle slider of the level tool or better yet try using the curve tool to adjust to your liking.

Andre

I can try that, thanks

[Manfred M]

I went back and found the best exposed one I had. This is pp only in Sony Express. What do you think.


here the same shot run through Gimp.

Brian - theses exposures look better, especially the second one, than a lot of your recent postings, based on what I see in the histograms.

I use neither Sony Express nor Gimp, so can't make specific comments on either piece of software and how they work on their own and how they interact. Unless I buy a Sony camera (which is highly unlikely) or I start working with Gimp again. I really found that Gimp was powerful but not all that well thought out from a user standpoint (written the way a programmer would write software, not how a photographer would. I have no great interest in revisiting working in Gimp. Nicely said, you are on your own here.