how to meter correctly an object with their back facing direct sunlight?

[raider]

If an object has its back facing the sun, how do we meter the exposure correctly?

If I point the camera at the sun and use the exposure lock button, then recompose and shoot, I get a picture whose main subject is totally dark.

If I point the camera the the object and then use the exposure lock button, then the subject is at least recognizable but the background is now heavily overexposed.

How am i suppose to do this right?

Thanks!
raider

[dantuyhoa]

It's entirely up to you for the effect that you want . Though you can take spot readings at the brightest part and the darkest , use the middle reading . Or take a reading at the green grass, stone surface then increase it by one stop . Bracket the shot . There is really no "correct" exposure .

[Ole]

You could consider to use fill flash so as to get the subject and the background exposed correctly. In P mode: Simply raise the flash and shoot.

[dantuyhoa]

Ole is correct

Or you could use a reflector .

[Marc Sabatella]

Originally Posted by raider

If I point the camera the the object and then use the exposure lock button, then the subject is at least recognizable but the background is now heavily overexposed.

That's the best you can do in these high contrast situations if you want a recognizable subject without PP. Maybe dial in a little of negative exposure compensation to try to get *some* detail into the background, but of course, that makes your subject darker.

I shoot using center weighted metering in M mode. I will generally point both at the ground in front of the subject and at the sky, and set the exposure so the ground reads a little negative and the sky a little positive. Of course, in many situations, one of these is going to have to be *lot* positive or negative, so I just make a judgement call - am I OK with a more overexposed background, or do I wsnt to preserve it and then need to do more PP to get my subject out of the deep shadow (and live with the noise tht will probably result).

[raider]

Thanks for all the help.

I wonder if K20D's high dynamic range feature will help in this kind of situations?

[Damn Brit]

Originally Posted by raider

Thanks for all the help.

I wonder if K20D's high dynamic range feature will help in this kind of situations?

It shouldn't make any difference, there really are only two options for this situation, meter for the light source and have your subject as a silhouette or use fill flash either from the front or side or both.

[Marc Sabatella]

Originally Posted by raider

I wonder if K20D's high dynamic range feature will help in this kind of situations?

It might, but it's only good for a stop, and the dynamic range of scenes such as you describe are more problematic than that. In any case, the D-range feature really doesn't do anything you couldn't do just as well in PP.

[flyer]

The D-Range of the K20D makes a VERY LIGHT difference, but nothing to write home about. Your best bet is still to use fill flash. Or, if your subject can stand very still for a few seconds, you can bracket your exposures and go with an HDR image.

[NicholasN]

Absolutely use a fill-flash, both the subject and sky will be correctly exposed.

[Canada_Rockies]

Another alternative is to take a bracketed set and use HDR software to put them together. My opinion is that the reflector is the best solution (you can see the effect before taking the shot) followed by the fill flash.

If you are not equipped for either of these options, make sure you take a RAW image. Make two copies. Develop one for the subject, the other for the background, and assemble them in your post processing software.

I have heard, but never tried, that this can be done on one frame in the camera using the multiple exposure option.

[noblepa]

Originally Posted by dantuyhoa

Ole is correct

Or you could use a reflector .

And you don't need an expensive photographic reflector. In a pinch, a simple piece of white posterboard or even a white pillowcase can be used as a reasonably effective reflector.

Just have an assistant stand next to you holding the posterboard, aimed so that the sunlight is bounced back to the subject.

You can even get a little bit creative and have the reflector positioned to one side, so that you get some interesting shadows/highlights on the subjects' faces.

Think outside the box a little. I have one photography book, in which the author describes a wedding shoot in a large, high-ceiling church. Since on camera flash can be rather harsh, and there was no chance of bouncing the flash off of a wall or ceiling, he grabbed one of the groomsmen who was wearing a white tuxedo shirt, had him open his jacket and bounced the flash off the shirt onto the bride. My point is that almost any large, light colored surface can function as a reflector.

Paul Noble

[Venturi]

Originally Posted by Canada_Rockies

I have heard, but never tried, that this can be done on one frame in the camera using the multiple exposure option.

You can with both the K10D & K20D, although with a simple firmware modification it could be a lot easier especially with the K20D and its single-squeeze bracketing.
Just put the camera into multi-exposure mode and check the "Auto EV Adjust" box. Then take your shots, adjusting your shutter/aperture/ISO between shots as you desire for your effect. The camera stacks the exposures into one image and does the math behind the scenes to EV compensate.
It works fairly well, but it isn't true HDR as there is no tone-mapping going on. What I wish they had done was allow multi-exposure and auto-bracket to be used together rather than exclusive to each other. If you turn on multi-exp first it cancels bracketing; turn on bracketing first and multi-exp is cancelled.

[MRRiley]

There is a reason many experienced outdoor portrait photographers wear white shirts. IF you do have a backlit situation, your shirt can act as a simple fill reflector.

By the same token, don't wear funky colors when shooting, as they can introduce a color cast to your subject if you are close enough for it to reflect fill light.

ohhh... and if you need a cheap fill reflector buy one of those auto windscreen protectors with silver/grey on one side and black on the other.

[raider]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will these tips next time i go shooting.