Taking a picture of a lightbulb?

[minaj08]

Hi guys...

In the midst of taking pictures around the house, my dad challenged me to take a picture of the ceiling with the lightbulb...he tells me that since our eyes see the bulb clearly and see the ceiling both bright...then a camera can also do it.

I took a couple of shots (along with the settings I used to take it) - all shot using a D90

Test shot 1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

1/50
F9
ISO 2000
+1.7 compensation
Auto-WB

Test shot 2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

1/50
F29
ISO 2000
Auto-WB

I don't know the right setting that would show the details of the lightbulb (or light source), as in test shot 2, yet brighten the ceiling "part" of the picture, as in test shot 1.

[i speak in math]

Originally Posted by minaj08

I don't know the right setting that would show the details of the lightbulb (or light source), as in test shot 2, yet brighten the ceiling "part" of the picture, as in test shot 1.

There isn't one. Your camera doesn't have a sensor with enough dynamic range to capture that change in exposure. You can do one or the other, as you can see from your examples.

Two ways around that problem:

Increase the dynamic range of the image by taking both images and "HDR" merging them into one. Take the "good" images of the light bulb and place it into the "good" image of the ceiling.

Decrease the dynamic range of the scene by brightening the room a lot with an external flash. This will compress the dynamic range into a range that the camera sensor can capture in one exposure.

Originally Posted by minaj08

In the midst of taking pictures around the house, my dad challenged me to take a picture of the ceiling with the lightbulb...he tells me that since our eyes see the bulb clearly and see the ceiling both bright...then a camera can also do it.

Camera sensors don't work like eye. Your eyes are much more complex and have "adaptive hdr". The adapt very quickly to changing lighting conditions so you don't even notice it. When looking at the bulb, your eyes will adjust to it quickly, but your peripheral vision will still be seeing the room around you. When you look away from the bulb, your eyes already know what "setting" to be at for a proper exposure.