I enjoy photographing waterfalls. I use both digital and film camera's and employ the use of a neutral density filter to get the perfect picture but have never been able to completely eliminate hot spots from my photos. I've tried used light meters both normal and spot but at least one spot persist. What am I missing?
Thanx, Bob
If you are using a camera that can display the histogram, look to the high-value side of the curve. If there is a 'spike', this indicates that those values will be overexposed. The solution is to decrease the exposure to bring in the high values. It may not be possible to get a good exposure if part of the subject is in bright sunlight, and other parts have deep shadows.
Shooting in subdued light, when the contrast is low, will often yield the best results; both in terms of exposure and aesthetic appeal of the photograph.
In addition to the excellent advice above, you may attempt an HDR solution if shooting digital. This could be done fairly simply if you are using a slow shutter speed to blur the water as the rest of the scene should be static.
If by hot spots you're referring to the water going white, then I wouldn't really worry too much about it. If you under expose so much as to eliminate the white completely, then you'll just be introducing noise into the rest of the image.
If, on the other hand, you're referring to hot spots from specular highlights off of rocks and leaves, then that can be solved by a polarizer (you didn't mention if you're using one).
And of course, if you're photographing on a sunny day then you'll get hot spots. Just come back on an overcast day (you could try any number of multiple image/photoshop tricks, but photoshop can't create the appropriate light for a given situation)
If the watefalls are the only real hotspots on the image you can also use the Selective Color tool in an adjustment layer. Open up the tool, choose White, and add some black to it. It will darken the hotspot and allow some detail to show. Like I said though, this works when there's not a lot of other whites that aren't blown out.
What others have said, underexpose the shot, check to see if your whites are to high, then just drop down .1/3 stop, then .5 stop. Another, never shoot under bright sun conditions, you will almost always get hotspots. I have stacked 8x, 4x ND filter, along with my polarizer, and still have gotten hotspots when shooting falls under sunlight. Plus, shooting under overcast skies gives you a more natural color rendition, and eliminates any hotspots if exposure is correct.
Apart from the above advice about shooting under cloudy conditions & underexposing you should adjust the shutter speed accordingly. Hot spots develop in areas of fastest moving water. You should choose the minimum shutter speed that creates the effect you are after.
Thanx for all the info. I'll try the options presented and get back with the results. I am curious as to what is meant by an HDR solution.
Regards, Bob
HDR= High Dynamic Range. It's when you take several of the exact same image at different exposures and blend them together, taking the best exposure for specific areas of an image. There's a function in Photoshop CS2 and CS3 that will take RAW image (16-bit) and blend them into a 32-bit HDR image. It takes a little practice and some tweaking.
You can do a Google search on HDR images and probably come up with several good tutorials.
Also, I would be wary of underexposing a shot too much just so you don't get any white in the water. The noise trade off and the extra photoshop work isn't worth it, in my opinion.
Just think back to slide film days. When shooting waterfalls we basically needed to expose for the rest of the scene and just let the water fall where it may (pun intended ).
The caution about longer shutter speeds and the white building up is a good one to keep in mind.
And keep in mind the cautions about sunny days. There are no filters you can put on that will eliminate hot spots from a sunny day in the forest. Polarizers will eliminate glare from rocks, leaves, and the surface of the water. ND filters will just let in less light overall, requiring longer shutter speeds. They won't help with contrast.
Discussion
11 repliesThanx, Bob
Kent in SD
Shooting in subdued light, when the contrast is low, will often yield the best results; both in terms of exposure and aesthetic appeal of the photograph.
-PB
Clif
If, on the other hand, you're referring to hot spots from specular highlights off of rocks and leaves, then that can be solved by a polarizer (you didn't mention if you're using one).
And of course, if you're photographing on a sunny day then you'll get hot spots. Just come back on an overcast day (you could try any number of multiple image/photoshop tricks, but photoshop can't create the appropriate light for a given situation)
Regards, Bob
You can do a Google search on HDR images and probably come up with several good tutorials.
Just think back to slide film days. When shooting waterfalls we basically needed to expose for the rest of the scene and just let the water fall where it may (pun intended
The caution about longer shutter speeds and the white building up is a good one to keep in mind.
And keep in mind the cautions about sunny days. There are no filters you can put on that will eliminate hot spots from a sunny day in the forest. Polarizers will eliminate glare from rocks, leaves, and the surface of the water. ND filters will just let in less light overall, requiring longer shutter speeds. They won't help with contrast.