Full Room Shots - Multiple Exposures!

[aberg12012]

Some times a single exposure just dosn't work.

In this example, there are three different light sources:

1.) Incandescent Room Light
2.) 10,000K Metal Halide Reef Tank Lighting
3.) 5,000K/6,500K Compact Florescent Planted Tank Lighting

Since they all give off different color and intensity, a single exposure is an ugly compromise.
A better option is to take three seperate photos, one for each light source and combine them in Photoshop! This was my first attempt at combining multiple exposures, and since I found it intaresting, I thought I would share my little experiment. Of coarse, an easier option (but still not as pleasing IMO) is to use bounce flash to light the room. (But what fun is that!)

Single Exposure... Ugly!

3 Exposures, one for each light source. (Tripod required.) Then combine them in photoshop!

 

[BeanAnimal]

Jaw dropping...

please explain your process in more detail for this particular photo.

 

[xxxbadfishxxx]

very cool.

 

[BlueCorn]

Merge to HDR. :thumbsup:

 

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

awesome...

 

[melev]

That is awesome. Now can you be so kind as to explain step by step how you did that in photoshop so we can try as well?

 

[aural]

you take a picture of the room with normal lighting for your base image. This will give you good lighting on the bulk of the room

then you take a picture with the other light sources as the prodominant light in the room (ie - a shot with all the room lights off and just the lights on your reef tank on.

once you grab all your images from each of your main light sources, you can use the polygon lasso tool in photoshop to grab JUST the reef tank or planted tank (whatever your focal light source is) and copy that and paste it to your main image of the room with all the ambient light on.

repeat with each light source.

flatten your image and you are done.

its kind of the same idea that i did with this picture of my home theater. i wanted to have the equipment lighted, but i also wanted the screen image to turn out nice. so i took a picture with the TV off and all the ambient lights on, then i took another picture with all the ambiant lights off and just the TV on and combined them... like this:

 

[BlueCorn]

CS2 has a tool called "Merge to HDR" (High Dynamic Range) that automates the process and gives you better control over the output.


You can find it under File/Automate/Merge to HDR

 

[BeanAnimal]

NO way my tripod is steady enough for to go pushing buttons and take 3 shots without any movement.

 

[aberg12012]

The process is fairly simple. First thing is to use a tripod. Take one photo per light source. Each with the appropriate exposure and white balance for each lighting source. Make sure not to bump your camera set-up in doing so, otherwise you'll spend a lot of time in PS trying to match things up. From there I used this tutorial to figure the rest out. The tutorial is geared for outdoor scenic shots, and only emphasizes increased exposure latitude. But the technique is also extremely useful for varying light sources like in the situation in my living room.

Basically load photos into PS, copy each photo to one canvas as seperate layers, use the paint brush to mask/unmask the appropriate areas to let one layer show through the other in the areas you want. Flatten layers, save, and your set!

Sorry I'm not much for explaining the details... but I'm a real novice when it comes to anything other than the basics of PS, so I have a hard time really explaining other than to reference the tutorial I used.

Alan

 

[BlueCorn]

Using automated exposure bracketing works very well for this if your camera has that feature.

 

[aberg12012]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6882091#post6882091 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BeanAnimal
NO way my tripod is steady enough for to go pushing buttons and take 3 shots without any movement.

Neither is mine... which is why I used the camera's timer so the camera was done shaking by the time the shutter opened.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Yeah but you still had to adjust the settings and push the timer button... I mean my tripod isn't even THAT stable.

 

[BeanAnimal]

MY D50 specs say it has bracketing... but Have not delved into that yet.

Would that yield as good of results if the bracketing was done in RAW? That way you could WB each imnage and the bracketing would give you a few ranges of exposure?

 

[aberg12012]

I don't use bracketing, but that might help some. I'd suggest adjusting exposure and WB manually rather than having the camera bracket the shots. All the bracketing does is adjust exposure (or WB... whichever you have it set to) up or down each shot... for example: Shot one at +/- 0EV. Shot two, -1EV, shot three +1 EV. IMO it's more for taking a quick few shots with various exposures when you don't have time to get things perfect the right way. In this case, you have the time to do things manually.

As far as your tripod, I know what you mean. I've used a couple like that. I'd still give it a try though... you can still try to mach it up in post. Even if it's not 100% perfect, it's still a fun learning process.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Well I am totaly new to digital work flow and RAW images.... So I have a lot to learn before I take the time to try fancy things. I have used a point and shoot digital for years... and just cropped and auto balanced the photos as needed. I come from a film SLR background... this whole digital SLR and photoshop thing is a lot to try and take in. My previous use for photoshop was tinkering with web graphics and using hte auto correct tools and now and then the smudge tool to touch up a scanned photo.

Thanks for the great photo and tips!

 

[aberg12012]

Bean, I know how you feel. I've been doing DSLR photography for about two years now, and am just now starting to try stuff like this. So don't feel bad... digital photography really does have a steep learning curve. The more you try to learn, the more you come to realize how deep the rabbit hole goes.

 

[gho]

Nice work. I do this all the time when taking photos in their environment. Definately makes balancing the different color temps of the light easier.

But, I kinda liked your first one - the tanks really stood out in that shot.

 

[tangey]

Looks Great

 

[aberg12012]

But, I kinda liked your first one - the tanks really stood out in that shot.

So true... and it also masks the not-so-photographic nature of what I call my living room. But in the true spirit of a full room shot... my first one is a bit ugly with the room's WB. Of coarse that could also be cured by simply attaching my flash and bouncing it off the ceiling, which I normally do. But I wanted to try something a little different.