THE SOLUTION
Someone had the brilliant idea to make a lens filter that would reduce the exposure of just the backlight (sky) by several stops, thus making the background much closer to the same exposure required for the foreground. Graduated neutral-density (ND) filters have been around for years now, and they make a world of difference in compositions with strong backlighting. Yes, Photoshop also promises to correct this type of exposure problem with a built-in graduated ND filter, in Adobe Bridge, but it can make the correction only after you return home or to the studio. I subscribe to the belief that doing it in camera, if possible, is always the better solution.
So what do you do when you set an exposure for a backlit landscape and you don’t want the foreground to go excessively dark? First, select a storytelling aperture of f/22 for a deep depth of field. Then expose for the foreground, adjusting the shutter speed until a correct exposure is indicated. Reach for your graduated ND filter, and slide the filter down into the holder on the front of your lens until the area of density covers the area from the top of the frame to the horizon line. Recompose and shoot. You will record a correct exposure of the foreground as well as the distant sun and horizon.
With my 12–24mm lens and camera on a tripod, I chose a low viewpoint to capture the texture on the sandy beach. This was going to be a storytelling image, so I set the aperture to f/22. I pointed the camera down to the sandy area and adjusted my shutter speed until 1/8 sec. indicated a correct exposure. When I recomposed to include the setting sun, the meter reading changed to indicate that a shutter speed of 1/125 sec. would be correct. I chose to ignore this new meter reading and instead placed a 4-stop graduated ND filter on the lens. The first example shows the image taken without the filter; note how the sun and background sky are blown out. As the second image shows, the filter made all the difference.
The image without the filter.
12–24mm lens, f/22 for 1/8
sec.
The same image with a 4-stop graduated ND
filter.
12–24mm lens, f/22 for 1/8 sec. with 4-stop
graduated ND filter
The sun was setting quickly over the Greek island of Santorini, and I wanted to capture both the beautiful sunset and some detail in the hillside homes. If I’d exposed for the sky, which called for an exposure of f/11 for 1/250 sec., the houses would have gone too dark. I wanted to show the houses in full detail, so I tilted the camera down and took a reading without the sky, filling the frame with the hillside of homes. As you can see in my first exposure of f/11 for 1/30 sec., I did get the detail of the homes, but I also lost the sunset sky to a 3-stop overexposure. The solution? I placed a 3-stop graduated ND filter on the lens and slid it down until the ND portion of the filter covered the sky area. As the next image shows, I got the best of both worlds: a correct sky and a correct hillside. Talk about having your cake and eating it, too!
Without the filter, the sky is
overexposed.
17–55mm lens, f/11 for 1/30
sec.
With the filter, I got the best of both
worlds.
17–55mm lens, f/11 for 1/30 sec. with 3-stop
graduated ND filter
You might think that I am a teacher, but truth be told, I am a perpetual student. I enjoy learning as much as most of you. During the same trip to Santorini when I captured the previous images, my good friend Chris Hurtt, who was serving as my photo assistant, made me aware of something that is still quite memorable.
As I was shooting through this open window that showed a cruise ship in the distance and a nice reflection of the hillside homes on Santorini, I complained about the overall exposure. As shown in the first image, when I exposed for the darker hillside in the reflection, at f/22 for 1/30 sec., the distant cruise ship, water, and sky were overexposed.
At this point Chris spoke up. “Why don’t you take your 3-stop graduated ND filter and turn it sideways?” he asked. What a great idea! And sure enough, it worked. As you can see in the second photograph, when I tilted the filter sideways so that the ND portion of it covered the distant sea, cruise ship, and sky, I got a perfect exposure with the same settings.
Without the filter, the left side was
overexposed.
12–24mm lens, f/22 for 1/30
sec.
With the filter, everything came
together.
12–24mm lens, f/22 for 1/30 sec. with 3-stop
graduated ND filter turned sideways