Perfect exposure for the entire image?

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When you you take a picture of the inside of the room with a window, the room will come out perfectly exposed but you will get a white burn where the window is

Is there any way how to overcome this problem?
 
The problem is that the camera sensor can't handle the whole of the dynamic range of the scene so you need more than one exposure setting to get all the info.

There are a few ways of doing this, you can use flash so that the exposure inside the house is similar to that outside or you can take multiple exposures and merge them into a HDR shot. However, there are issues with both of these methods and they take a bit of effort to overcome.

So, the long answer is yes, depending on the type of shot; the short answer is not really.
 
To do it in the camera in one shot would be virtually impossible if the level of light outside is a lot brighter than indoors. So you could wait for the indoor and outdoor levels to get closer to each other.

Or

Take two exposures, one exposed for the room and one for the window and combine the best bits from each image with software in the computer.

Or

Take a number of images bracketed at different exposure values and combine them, again in software in the computer into a HDR image.

I can't think of any other options. :shrug:

So the easiest way, if possible, is to get the indoor and outdoor light levels closer to matching when taking the image.
 
Never had a problem. Just balance bounced flash with the correct exposure for the windo.
 
The easiest way to do it in camera is to use flash. Expose for the light outside the window and then compensate for the interior light with the flash. Be careful to bounce the flash so that it doesn't reflect in the window. Best way to use the flash, I've found, is to set it to Manual and use trial and error (1/16th is a good starting point).
 
vetonbike said:
Never had a problem. Just balance bounced flash with the correct exposure for the windo.
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You've 'never' had a problem such as this, NEVER?

Wow, knowing the answer to such complex situations before ever encountering them; Sir I take my hat off to you, you must be a truly outstanding photographer.

But maybe you should have a little more humility until you learn to spell window;)

To the OP, the choices are, to balance with flash, or to blend exposures, unfortunately your camera is incapable of doing this without a great deal of help.
 
Phil V said:
You've 'never' had a problem such as this, NEVER?

Wow, knowing the answer to such complex situations before ever encountering them; Sir I take my hat off to you, you must be a truly outstanding photographer.

But maybe you should have a little more humility until you learn to spell window;)

To the OP, the choices are, to balance with flash, or to blend exposures, unfortunately your camera is incapable of doing this without a great deal of help.
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I am not outstanding. But I have made a living out of photography for 35 years. I was tought this method when I first started. Of course everything was manuel in those days. So you did not rely on the camera to do it for you. Sorry about the windo. I am slitly dislexic and no longer have a secratery to do my typing.
 
vetonbike said:
I am not outstanding. But I have made a living out of photography for 35 years. I was tought this method when I first started. Of course everything was manuel in those days. So you did not rely on the camera to do it for you. Sorry about the windo. I am slitly dislexic and no longer have a secratery to do my typing.
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And this is the Talk Basics section where new photographers come for advice on the Basics of photography; to be taught - as you were all those years ago. Not to be talked down to by people who've been earning a living from photography for 35 years.

I've not been at it for quite as long as you, but I never had a Spanish waiter to help me set up my gear.;)

Maybe in light of the loss of your secretary you could try a spell check - no hint of sarcasm, I'm trying to be helpful - which I find benefits both me and the recipient:), whereas being condescending only benefits me.:(
 
Not opposed to using HDR for interiors.

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blacklisted said:
When you you take a picture of the inside of the room with a window, the room will come out perfectly exposed but you will get a white burn where the window is

Is there any way how to overcome this problem?
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Draw the curtains :D
 
For the HDR method, instead of taking a number of images can this be done with one RAW image and then adjusted on the computer to produce the required range, for each part of the picture. This may even be the only option if you didn't have a flash OR a tripod.

Just thinking out-loud.
 
XD2 said:
For the HDR method, instead of taking a number of images can this be done with one RAW image and then adjusted on the computer to produce the required range, for each part of the picture. This may even be the only option if you didn't have a flash OR a tripod.

Just thinking out-loud.
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No. Not if there's a genuinely high dynamic range in the scene.

People create pseudo-HDR using the one-shot technique, but if you've a really high dynamic range in the scene one raw won't capture it. Even three +/-2 stops might struggle with a lot of scenes. The indoors-outdoors type of scene is one of those with the potential for a very high dynamic range.
 
Alastair said:
No. Not if there's a genuinely high dynamic range in the scene.

People create pseudo-HDR using the one-shot technique, but if you've a really high dynamic range in the scene one raw won't capture it. Even three +/-2 stops might struggle with a lot of scenes. The indoors-outdoors type of scene is one of those with the potential for a very high dynamic range.
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Thanks for clearing that up, being honest I haven't tried much HDR, I did a few with shots where I was just trying to darken or lighten small sections, but as you point out there wasn't that much in it to start.

I can see how a bright day could really make this a problem.
 
tdodd - well I never.... it never clicked in my head that they'd have to employ such tricks to deal with lighting. You learn something new every day...:)

Phil V - I don't think Vetonbike was up to no good, just being very succinct.... (y)
 
Nawty said:
The problem is that the camera sensor can't handle the whole of the dynamic range of the scene so you need more than one exposure setting to get all the info.
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Neither can the human eye - but the brain fakes it. You look at the window and the shadows get blocked up because your iris closes down - but you don't notice it because you're looking at the window. Vice versa for the room interior but in this case the window gets the highlights blown because your iris opens up. Look from the window to the shadows of the room interior and we get two 'exposure settings'.

Jim
 
specialman said:
tdodd - well I never.... it never clicked in my head that they'd have to employ such tricks to deal with lighting. You learn something new every day...:)
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A bit of a necessity in the film industry, where HDR and flash might not be favoured techniques. I've known about fitting ND (and colour correction) filters over windows for a while, but I must admit the use of polarised window film and a polariser on the lens to act as a variable ND filter was new to me, at least in this context. It makes perfect sense once you think about it.

And I'm certainly not suggesting it's the solution for the OP, but I thought I'd put it out there as nobody else had mentioned it. No harm learning something new. :D
 
I think high end house listing pics sometimes employ ND gelled windows but I've never seen it done myself :)
 
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