Shooting white clothing ?'s

[bjamestown]

Hi everyone!
I've been reading the blog for a long time now but just realized I could actually join the forum!
SO I'm going to jump right in with a question and any help or comments would be greatly appreciated!
My sister wants pictures of her family on the beach in white clothing! YIKES. Most likely full sun and all I can think is, "MAJOR BLOWOUTS"
I would LOVE any help or things to consider in this situation.
Thanks!!!

Beth

[xxpinballxx]

somewhere I saw a tutorial on adjusting photos in Photoshop. It was a photo of a woman in her wedding dress on a sunny day outside. There was no detail at all in the dress. Is post work something you are interested in or are you primarily looking for something to help straight out of the camera?

[bjamestown]

I was thinking sooc but post processing would be great too ~ I use cs2

Thanks

[xxpinballxx]

If im not mistaken it was a podcast from scott kelby NAPP. try going to www.photoshopusertv.com and see if its there....

[kirbinster]

There is another thread about shooting snow, and I think the answer would be the exact same. Basically the camera will be fooled by all the white and try to underexpose, so you just need to boost the exposure some.

[baseballboy828]

Originally Posted by bjamestown

Hi everyone!
I've been reading the blog for a long time now but just realized I could actually join the forum!
SO I'm going to jump right in with a question and any help or comments would be greatly appreciated!
My sister wants pictures of her family on the beach in white clothing! YIKES. Most likely full sun and all I can think is, "MAJOR BLOWOUTS"
I would LOVE any help or things to consider in this situation.
Thanks!!!

Beth

Exactly the opposite. Gray clothes. Spot meter the white clothing and add 1.5 to 2 stops of exposure compensation.

[kirbinster]

Originally Posted by baseballboy828

Exactly the opposite. Gray clothes. Spot meter the white clothing and add 1.5 to 2 stops of exposure compensation.

I'm confused. Did I get it wrong, or are you saying the same thing as I said? You said "exactly the opposite" but then you said add exposure which is what I said.

[wulf]

No - he just read the original but didn't notice your post. Sometimes that happens although the big time gap suggests it may have been a hint of carelessness in this case.

Another thing to watch out for is what draws the eye in the photos. We tend to be attracted by brighter things or areas of distinct contrast. If people are wearing white clothes, there is a possibility that the clothes will look like the subject of the picture. Pay attention to what effect the background has on the overall composition and perhaps do some close-up work mainly focusing on faces, to minimise the distraction of the clothes.

Wulf

[bjamestown]

Thank you everyone.

I'm a bit confused about boosting the exposure- wouldn't that make the whites even brighter? Especially if I meter off the white?

I just need to go out a practice with a white sheet!

[Jamesc359]

Originally Posted by bjamestown

Thank you everyone.

I'm a bit confused about boosting the exposure- wouldn't that make the whites even brighter? Especially if I meter off the white?

I just need to go out a practice with a white sheet!

No, when you meter off of a specific spot in your image your camera should try to average out the overall luminosity of that area to be gray. The average color of a large white area is of course white. So your camera is going to stop down till that color is gray.

The reason cameras try to expose for an average gray is because that's the overall luminosity that seems to result in the best exposure in most normal lighting conditions.

Practicing is always a good idea IMO. That's always the best way to get in tune with your camera and to really understand how different lighting and camera settings will affect things.