CHAPTER 5 EXPOSURE AND FOCUS 69In contrasting lighting, color reversal film and most digital cameras are not able to
record the full range of brightness. In scenes with very bright highlights (such as
snow or sand) and very dark shadows, the scene’s brightness range (the overall con-
trast) is greater than the exposure range of the film or sensor.
If the shadows are correctly exposed the lightest areas will be blank white. If the
light areas are well exposed, the shadows will be featureless black. You can compro-
mise and expose for the most important part of the scene. You can also bracket
(shoot additional pictures with different exposures). The best solution to greatly con-
trasting scenes is to use an electronic flash or a large reflector to add light to the
shadow areas, thus reducing the scene’s contrast (Figure 5.4).FIGURE 5.4
Use a flash even
in bright scenes
to force details
in the shadows.
This is espe-
cially necessary
for extremely
bright scenes.
Low-contrast lighting has a smaller tonal range and thus allows film and digital
cameras to easily capture details in both the bright and dark areas. In addition,
such lighting is more forgiving of exposure errors than greatly contrasted lighting.
Fill-in flash can also lighten contrasted shadows.
Even though negative film is more forgiving, remember that you will lose additional
detail when you scan in an image. Scanning an overexposed or underexposed nega-
tive results in loss of detail in shadows and highlights. This situation is even worse
when you scan in prints!