How do I control White Glare..

[Carl911]

I,m after a little help with a lighting problem I had taking some pictures.
The photo was taken in early afternoon with bright sun breaking through a cloudy sky.
The subject, a very white Swan was giving me all sorts of problems as the Swans main body kept over exposing.
What is the best way to tackle bright whites without darkening out everything else too much.
The picture attached is not very good composition, its just an example of the problem I had.

Carl

[RoyL]

Has the image been cropped?

Really need EXIF for this as it is an exposure issue.

Assuming you have not cropped and you are not using Auto mode on the camera, then add about 1 stop Exposure Bias as your camera is fooled by the white.

[peeperita]

a contrasted scene like the one you've used for an example.....a white object where direct sun is falling on it.......is a problem for most of us to shoot......if you expose for the whites, the rest of the scene goes, as you said, dark.......expose for the shadows, and the white goes off the grid.....exposing for the middle ground can leave the whites still out to lunch and the shadows still too dark......

it was one of the first and toughest lessons for me to learn.....i just try to keep my eye trained to look at a scene that way......if it's possible to wait for my subject to move to a shaded location.....or for the sun to dip behind a cloud.....i do.....if it's a model that i can direct, i scout around us and ask them to move......objects are a snap if i can stage them myself.....

[Samanax]

Yeah, if possible don't shoot white objects in direct sunlight or you'll really get blown out highlights.

Do you have the exif for this image?

[Carl911]

Thanks for the comments guys & Girls.
I dont have Exif. I dont even know what that is.
I may have cropped this photo, I often do if I feel there is too much waste distrating from the focal point.
I do however always keep the original as well.