Trying to photograph dark-skinned people

[Repiquetin]

I will use manual , spot meter at the face and use plus exposure comensation. And after a shot i'll see how dark is and increase the compensation

[murman99]

Originally Posted by Ambrosia76

I have a similiar problem,even in studio settings. My son in law is very dark skinned,while my daughter is milky white and my granddaughter is in between getting photos of the 3 of them together is a nightmare. I can't seem to find the right setting.

I don't know if you have a meter but if you do & use it correctly it should work fine. If you don't have a meter have a look at this Chuck Gardner's White Towel Exposure Method
I would try placing your very light skinned daughter farthest from the light source.

[The Wanderer]

Coming from a multiracial family, I've had lots of opportunity to shoot dark-skinned people. Just did a wedding for my little sister (very dark) and her man (lighter) and they both decided to wear white. The mostly white groomsmen wore black. Talk about dealing with extremes.

My suggestions are:

-Always spot meter the face of your subject. Then adjust to properly exposure the background. You will have to compromise. The Matrix meter on your camera will let you down so keep it on spot metering. Chimping is almost always required.

-I use a fill-flash 90% of the time when shooting dark-skinned people. It really makes a difference. Spend the money to get a good flash and learn how to use it very well.

-You will have to post process a greater percentage of the shots in order to end up with photos that looks real. Learn to use Lightroom/Photoshop and your clients will be pleased.

Have fun!

[kristenh]

Bindu, i had a couple of thoughts. first, how lucky to live and travel in such a colorful place! but i was thinking that, re the photo of the man playing an instrument, you got his photo in what looks like midday- so that'll be hard in terms of shadows anyway. if it was possible, waiting until he sat in the shade or the shade caught up with him may have helped. also, if you look at the whole photo- some areas are very light and some quite dark- if you can photograph from an angle where that range is smaller- then the camera will be better able to cope. (similar idea to getting incloser to let the man fill more of the frame- that would also likely reduce the light-dark range).

Ambrosia, can you have your SIL hold a reflector so that light bounces up toward his face? or set up your "studio" say in the garage and have him sit closest to the door (ie source of light)?

[Bindu]

@Wanderer, if you wouldn't mind, could you post a photo from the wedding with all the people? I have to be honest, I am trying to figure out HOW to use the spot metering...I mean after I select spot metering on the camera, am I supposed to go right up to subject and take some kind of a reading.... I am not sure how to use this function. I figured out how to use an exposure lock...does that help?? This subject is now probably getting into metering but I would love some insight! Thank you!

@Kristenh, your suggestion is good too. Maybe I didn't really apply myself there, well, I couldn't have waited till later because we had to leave that city, but maybe I could have tried another angle.

[private]

What wanderer said. You do need an external flash for darker skin tones. What I do is meter for the b.g and then add the extra light. And you NEED to shoot on manual for darker skin.

But, when i I am in a pinch, I will over expose (blowout) the b/g to get a proper skin tone.

[The Wanderer]

Hi Bindu,

Once you set your camera to "Spot Meter" the camera will only meter from the specific focus point you select in your viewfinder. This means it will ignore the rest of the information from the frame and give you a measurement for the tiny spot you choose. You don't have to walk up close to your subject, just place the spot on the area you want to meter, select your settings, recompose and shoot.

The first 3 images have had some retouching to recover blown highlights, brighten dark faces, darken light ones and some saturation adjustments. The final shot is unedited with notes.

If you're unfamiliar with using flashes to balance ambient light, I recommend reading every article on Strobist.com. David Hobby has an incredible amount of very good instruction on that site.

I hope this helps.
-Andrew