STOP UNDEREXPOSING PORTRAITS!

The most common portrait mistake we see is underexposing because of backlighting. Here's how to be sure you nail it. Check out our LR book at northrup.photo/product/lr/ or on Amazon at help.tc/l.
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[@TonyAndChelsea]

⭐Lightroom + Photoshop: sdp.io/adobedeal ⭐Premiere Pro CC: sdp.io/pcc ⭐Full CC suite: sdp.io/cc 📕Stunning Digital Photography on Amazon help.tc/s 📘Lightroom 6 Book on Amazon help.tc/l 📙Photoshop Book on Amazon help.tc/p 📗Buying Guide on Amazon help.tc/b

[@anthonylevy7030]

Tony & Chelsea Northrup m

[@iambijay3837]

Tony & Chelsea Northrup tqs

[@iamneallyons4263]

that made a lot of sense thanks Tony, its something iv been wondering for a while now weather to under or over expose photos - Theres obviously a time and place for both but this just made good sense, cheers.

[@ELBlDu]

ok, I love this Osprey shot! I completely understand the sliders and "why" but cant understand how you got to just higlighting the croped portions of the images.........thank you for this video.

[@aypphotographyworkshop3154]

Are you have magazinne?

[@gangstabib]

I never thought about cropping and looking at the histogram. Thanks for the tip Tony.

[@luqmanibrahim8675]

Same here. Nice technique

[@L.Spencer]

I don't know how to use the histogram yet, but it's going to be useful when I do, since I initially thought the underexposed pictures were fine.

[@Aabbcczzxxcc]

You can simple do it without crop. Just open curve window and hold ctrl, than just put cursor on any image area you need to see on the curve histogramm.

[@ZenrioBelieve]

i dont understand how you open curve window

[@inevitablecraftslab]

@@ZenrioBelieve command+m

[@NicsHODLN]

Why wouldn't you underexpose to save the highlights and then just use the adjustment brush to up the exposure on the face? You can't get back highlights so underexposing is the lesser of 2 evils. After all we shoot in RAW for a reason.

[@scotttucker9613]

Seriously...we don't underexpose because it's fun, it's simply a preservation of data method. Can't tell you how many times I kicked myself for bringing home files with unrecoverable blown out highlights.

[@punishmentforall]

Quite right - I recently ran into a severe case when shooting visible mountains on a cloudy day with people in foreground.

[@Mikri90]

@Mista Dobalina Mr. Bob Dobalina you make it sound like you have to use fill light to be a pro. I beg to differ. Some people prefer working with available light. So regarding that fill light, no matter how well you do it, it never gives off the same vibe as an all-natural light image. Also, many do it in such a way that it really ruins an image aesthetically. A technically pedantic image isn't necessarily an aesthetically pleasing one, keep that in mind.

[@frankzayas3103]

I think this video is aimed at people who underexpose and then leave it that way. I think he knows that many of us underexpose a bit in camera with the intention of working it out in post to get a better image. But there are a ton one beginners out there that would benefit from this video.

[@RawloftheDead]

Nicholas Brickhouse that's what I'm saying

[@bcramer0515]

Great tip to crop on the subject and then check the histogram.

[@markwillride]

What I learned that I didn’t already know: Lightroom creates the histogram only from within the crop. And “generally” faces should be in the right third. Thank you for the time and money you put in to your posts. I realize there is probably a financial incentive to keep you going. But I perceive a genuine interest in helping us.

[@TonyAndChelsea]

NOTE: I'm trying to help photographers using natural light and autoexposure by getting them to think about the best exposure for the subject. If you're already shooting in manual mode and using strobes and light modifiers to balance the foreground and background, this video isn't for you. Sure, you've deliberately underexposed your portraits for some reason. Of course, that's fine. There's no right or wrong, as long as you're making a deliberate choice. What's "wrong" is accepting your camera's autoexposure without any thought. Yes, lots of people really do that. And yes, you use spot metering or manual exposure. That's cool. You're being deliberate about it. This video was intended for more beginning photographers than you.

[@JoeyDoingThings]

Tony & Chelsea Northrup Never the less, you should still expect to be told how stupid you are! 😉

[@pperentes]

Another problem is that people don't process their images with a calibrated monitor and usually have the brightness cranked up, causing underexposed photos.

[@tonyugotv8010]

this is my problem and I solved this by looking at my histogram more often.

[@mdturnerinoz]

Not only is the histogram useful to help correct this when shooting, but so is a light meter. The Adorama folks like Gavin Hoey and Mark Wallace are proponents of light meter use.

[@martinaee]

Fair enough. This video is definitely more applicable to beginners. Sometimes you just don't want someone's face perfectly bright and exposed. But for beginners who are consistently underexposing no matter what and don't understand how to fix in camera and post this is good advice.

[@Sean41611]

Underexposing images properly and bringing the detail back in post will always produce a better image. But.... that goes hand in hand with knowing how to retouch.

[@JBanchiere]

I think the question is diminishing returns. If you lose a small amount of detail in the background, but you really don't need to do much in post, isn't that better than having to work through a batch of photos?

[@maximilian3004]

I agree with Sean completely. To address your question, Jeremy, the issue isn't about how much work you have to put in but what is actually possible after the image has been captured. I personally have found it far better to EV comp a half stop down and properly expose in postpro due to the fact that most camera sensors are much better with shadow detail than highlight detail. You can push an image a lot further than you can pull it, so it's better to bump up the EV in post than try to recover searing highlights in LR/PS/whathaveyou. Again, it goes back to knowing how to retouch.

In your dreams maybe.

Picture and video is LIGHT. You ALWAYS should give the MAXIMUM possible light to your pictures/videos. But this only works when u know what are u doing...

[@mikepawlikguitar]

Why wouldn't you just expose correctly in the first place? Modern cameras have excellent metering modes so there's really no excuse. Recovering shadows seems to add more work and has the potential to introduce noise. Any protog will tell you to just nail exposure in-camera which will, invariably, always lead to a higher quality image.

[@airfang613]

I appreciate Tony's video, though I think a lot of the major controversial could have been avoided if Tony has simply stated in the video something like "there are photographers that like to preserve highlights when shooting and adjust in post, but I like ...". On a side note, it *would* be very cool if Tony can make a video demonstrate the results from both techniques: 1) expose for the subject's face, and try recovering highlight in post 2) expose for the highlights, and try adjust subject's brightness later

[@CurtTweedle]

I never realized that the histogram adjusted for what is showing when I crop. That is extremely useful. Thank you. :)

[@Jdinrbfidndifofkdndjoflfndjdk]

I like the first underexposed one. Raw, smooth and a lot of information. You can pull it up a bit in the face if you want it. Isn't that's what people do when shooting video?

[@VipulDK]

Excellent video and very well explained/demonstrated. I never thought about adjusting portraits this way (by cropping and increasing the exposure) and then uncropping and decreasing highlights. Thank you!

[@ricdynasty]

This is seriously the best KZbin channel for all things photography! Always so informative and easy to follow.

[@robertfield4103]

Tony is the most unpretenious yet practiced Maestro I have ever seen. Excellent yet easy to watch! What Ramsey Lewis is to smooth jazz, Tony is to smooth photography.

[@retanafam577]

I love your KZbin channel I am beggining in photography and your videos have helped me understand so much about my camera and about understanding the setting and editing

[@andwhatdoiwritehere]

I didn't realize how much I was doing this exact thing until I went back to lightroom, have since revamped my latest 20 or so shots, makes them pop so much more. Great advice!

[@MrMoonpie001]

That was a big help Tony just starting out in photography and my portraits have been a disaster. I got to get my mind off of the main rules of shooting and start making specific corrections for situations. This video is getting me back in the right direction. Thanks Moonpie

[@jonzmoviebar7580]

This is the tip of the pro I needed for years! All the time I was under or over expose because other 'pros' taught me to not clip not and do' this thing' all over the picture. I knew something were wrong in my photos in post, but I strictly followed the 'pros' advice because it was the way to do. I feel now I have more power now with this tip! Thanks!

[@Photoguy15]

"The the cropping is just serving to prevent us from being distracted from theb but with the background, but the background is the background..." -Tony Northrup March 4th 2017 Inspirational words that will forever be immortalized.

[@davidmadden8931]

I like that you included the bird picture. I do not photograph birds often but this is a good way to think about working post-processing.

[@sherrymunguia2886]

I wish that I seen this a couple of hours ago before I turned in my homework. I can't believe it's as easy as cropping down to just focus on the facial tone in order to help in post. I will definitely be using this trick from now on. Thanks for the video/ information.

[@509FUN]

Helping me a ton with these videos and your book, thanks a bunch tony, and Chelsea!

[@gregcurtis6807]

Thanks Tony that's great! I've never thought about cropping the face to check the exposure and it's so clear when you do!

[@Kreilo2412]

What a great way of learning about subject exposure, by cropping the image and looking at the histogram. I will be doing that for my next portraits definitely.

[@naeemahmadi5507]

well mentioned tony,,,it's a common issue in my high dynamic range portraits too(without fill flash),,,,i do it intentionally because of the fact bringing back shadows is easier than highlights in post (not too much underexposed),,,but you're totally right, pushing up the shadows slider in lightroom can't compensate the underexposure too much and the photo gets ruined ,,,,,

[@kevinzahri78]

great and simple explanation on how to use the histogram to correct exposure for portraits.

[@arohila]

Love your videos and tips. Thanks Tony and Chelsea.

[@andrewpage8235]

I just bought the book, "Stunning Digital Photography" off of Amazon and it should be here anytime today. Can't wait to start reading it.

[@JustmePaulie]

You can correct underexposed images. Overexposed can't...

[@onlysublime]

Or... you can do a proper exposure and not have to overcorrect...

[@jacus58]

This was very helpful, thank you Tony, well done

[@standarduser7105]

My cousin taught me how to use the Histogram, I’m so used to it now. It’s refreshing to watch more insight from KZbinrs

[@clauswolter3946]

Cool! I like that method in post for what you miss in camera. Thanks for sharing.

[@philipjacob5878]

nice ob Tony and Chelsy. I learned something new today. Thanks so much

[@punishmentforall]

Thanks Tony. Excellent tips.

[@davidrandolph1863]

Great tip, Tony. Love your videos keep it up!

[@52701970]

Thanks Tony.. that was a great way that you explained it.

[@T-Slider]

That was a great quickie Tony!

[@razibshahrier3355]

Hi Tony, I honestly have learn a lot from you. This videos is way helpful those who wanna take some quality portrait. Thanks for your great tips.

[@giacomopinale4573]

very useful info mr. Northrup! thanks a lot!

[@FORZALEGEND360]

Just getting into photography and this helps me a lot thanks.

[@BillFerris]

Nice tip. I particularly like the use of the cropping tool and LR's exposure comp to illustrate the fact the subject is dark. Thanks for sharing.

[@JohnBarrow1961]

The cropping technique is very cool. Thanks.

[@36686593]

What a great tip, thanks for sharing tony.

[@haikushack]

Very nice tip! I would have never thought of it!

[@techreviewz87]

the guru has spoken. love this video !

[@GulfCoastGoPro]

That crop trick to use that histogram has helped me so much, thank you!

[@JCarlos.unknown]

Great tips. Really useful. Thanks.

[@tosvus]

brilliant cropping then change exposure tip, Tony!

[@paulinefollett3099]

Good basic tips. Thanks for sharing.

[@casewade6275]

Cropping the photo to have an accurate histogram of the actual subject of the photo is such a simple but genius tip. Thank you for the game changing tip!

[@Thunderbolt03]

Great stuff man, very very helpful

[@ilonkadaz-alwaysandforever9114]

In instances such as these, I will meter for the subject, then dodge and burn in the detail. Use a curves adjustment layer; lighten the image, invert it (Ctrl+I - this will turn the mask black, and the photo will appear as normal) then gently paint in (with white paint) the highlight detail. Don't forget to adjust the opacity of your paintbrush. To treat the shadow detail, add another curves adjustment layer, darken the image, invert it (Ctrl+I - this will turn the mask black, and the photo will appear as normal), and paint (as before) with with white paint. Using separate adjustment layers thus, keeps everything separate. Also I use a levels adjustment layer to check the histogram. I like to see a tiny gap on the right, then I adjust the right hand slider and bring it to the tip of the highlight. NB: I like to shoot to the right; 1/3 -2/3 of a stop, this keeps the highlights in check. Oh, I nearly forgot! Spot metering! And good light. If you start off with the potential for a good photo, you'll probably make one. I won't waste my time if the light is bad. "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!" Happy shooting all! Nice vid' Tony!

[@RockstarBruski]

Great tutorial video! Very easy to understand! 👍👍

[@VefaKucukboyaci]

Very useful tips. Thank you!

[@anthonyhershko]

Great video as usual! I always shooting with 2 points to the right (in the exposure slider) that's in the most of the cases works

[@craigbreedlove18]

Very helpful - thanks Tony

[@ibrokemyfingerbowlin]

Thanks a lot. Great video. I liked it so much I went to subscribe and realized I was subscribed already. I'll be checking out more of your content from now on. I really like the simple, straightforward tutorials.

[@sibyjoseph1810]

Thanks,well explained and it helped me a lot

[@davehyper7835]

Thanks for the upload. good advice for those who just like to shoot and catch the moment when you haven't got time to mess with settings and lug flashes and light meters around. Shoot RAW and tweak any miss exposed shots later with ease. job done, Thanks again Tony!

[@TonyAndChelsea]

You're welcome!

[@rubys7937]

thanks for this tip, it's very helpful

[@csmorgan]

Short sweet and to the point, well done! Thanks for the cropping tip

[@juliabarbosa8487]

this was great, thanks for the tips

[@TenantRepGuru]

Terrific Tutorial - Thank You!

[@sumantkanala]

Practical tutorial! Great job.

[@jimpool6096]

Just found this video from 2 years ago. Very good tutorial on not underexposing portraits. Well done.

[@majicMix911]

Wow, that was a jam packed 5 minutes of bursting at the brims with knowledge.

[@MrK67017]

Awesome and thank you.....saved to favorites !!

[@phooesnax]

Great tip Tony. Thanks

[@sunbro6998]

This helped me, thanks for sharing!

[@royal011]

This is great! Thank you very much!

[@cpinch73]

This explains it brilliantly! Thank you

[@crookesm]

Really informative - thanks!

[@PhotographyTVcom]

Great video Tony!

[@ivarrasmussen5272]

Thanks you very much for this tips!!!

[@strelnikoff7]

Excellent tip/advise! Although I'm shooting in manual and RAW, you've just solved my dilemma :) I'm not sure how your process (thinking about what to talk about "which problem should we talk about today?") works, but it works...

[@redauwg911]

Great advice Tony. thankyou for the video. p.s. Chelsea looked amazing...

[@NiitLifeCreative]

Good video! Loved it mate!

[@TessTB]

Very helpful, thank you!

[@kjcfilm8444]

More videos like this please!!! So helpful!!

[@Crashoverall]

one of the best tips about portraits on the internet

[@muhammdali3785]

It is great info . Thank you very much

[@hedleywrightphotography]

Good video Tony. Follow up with exposure compensation and perhaps manual exposure for birds in flight?

[@leafsfan71]

This is such a great video! Thank you!

[@Nscalemike56]

Simple yet effective technique!

[@steventopping106]

Thanks Tony!

[@richardrevett8242]

thanks Tony that does help and very well explained as usual :-D

[@rickmurphy3327]

Very Helpful thank you!!!

[@reg171reg]

Some really good tips there. Cheers

[@darrenC295]

Thanks this is a handy technique!

[@mantid83]

Awesome stuff! Thank you!

[@LawtonDigital]

I just gave this a try - and bang! Wow!

[@minusinfinity6974]

Nice video Tony, but one thing. Modern cameras have great DR now, especially FF cameras, but even most of the APS-C. Protecting the highlights is no longer an issue with these ISOless cameras. You can also lift the shadows, while retaining detail in the background, or use much less exposure compensation and a less shadow lifting to balance the subject and background. On the Sony A7R3 for example it has highlight metering, so you combine this with a +1.7-+2EV exposure compensation. The highlights are protected and the shadows are super clean. Don’t worry that the image will look too bright, you fix that in post. Of course in the past older camera sensors would not allow you to increase so much as you would generate noise on the subject’s face, but that’s not really an issue now.

[@ytano5782]

Very helpful, thanks.

[@mckinneytexaszeds5922]

Ok Thanks for showing this video. I've wondered how I can get on the face area without brightening everything else. That crop seems to do better wonders.

[@zvkvhs3818]

I love that crop technique! That's a great tip.

[@alandargie7180]

agree!

[@hlawin4181]

⁰iùù fp

[@captandy34449]

Good one Tony!

[@Ranblv]

I just use a radial filter and move the levels on the face alone. no need to crop or ruin the sky.

[@TonyAndChelsea]

Good idea!

[@BillFerris]

Ran Bar-Levi great tip.

[@Teeb2023]

Yep, I use the radial filter as a way around having to import/export to PS for finer tuning, as long as you apply suitable feathering to the radial edge.

[@brentdrafts2290]

Ran Bar-Levi Shabang!

[@EricLouisYoung]

yeah cuz radial filters are how the pros make pro results. get that shit outta here

[@brianludwig180]

Really excellent advice once again. Many thanks for an excellent channel which has helped my photography immensely. The book is also excellent and worth every penny ! (Amazon UK)

[@hamishmackellar1519]

Hi Tony. For portraiture would you recommend to use off camera flash? If possible of course it's not always possible. I love the look when both foreground and background are exposed correctly. Oh sorry I just saw your note below. Keep up the great work!!

[@paulhills1967]

Good advice - thanks

[@Semeyaza]

Damn... that "crop and histogram check" just saved at least a dozen portrit of my daughter I was not happy with. So simple... Thanks Tony! Cheers