How to photograph a highly illuminated image of varying intensity

ethan · 5 Dec 2016 at 12:02

....without blowing the highlights. I found myself struggling to photograph Eilean Dunan castle late at night due to the fact the main body of the castle was highly illuminated and the accompanying walkway was hardly lit at all and remained undetected by the camera under an exposure set at 30 seconds. I found it if went above 30 seconds it would blow the detail on the main body of the castle. Should I have used a ND filter? I found that whilst I was able to do the castle, I wasnt able to include the walkway because it wasnt as brightly lit.

Toxophilus · 5 Dec 2016 at 12:16

One trick that I have seen done is using a tripod and take multiple shots with different exposure settings. Then using PS or alike remove the over/under exposed sections of each shot and create a composite. A lot of hard work but gets great results when done properly.

Greebo · 5 Dec 2016 at 12:19

Yeah sometimes composite is the only way with extremes.

D.P. · 5 Dec 2016 at 12:20

Minstadave · 5 Dec 2016 at 12:21

Exposure bracket and combine in PS.

ethan · 5 Dec 2016 at 12:21

Thanks for the suggestions. Some interesting ideas for future reference.

neodude · 10 Dec 2016 at 15:03

Two words. Luminosity Masks. Plenty of tutorials on YouTube.

A%20dusk%20shot%20of%20Eilean%20Donan%20castle.jpg

ethan · 11 Dec 2016 at 01:04

Many thanks. It was the small, arched walkway juxtaposed to the large lit castle that gave me the most difficulty. Beautifully captured.