The Exposure Myth in Photography.

This week I'm talking about exposure. Under-exposure, over-exposure and whether or not these things really exist. I'm also showing some photos I took a couple of weeks back on a trip to Portugal.

The Preset sale code: 'Blownhighlights'

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MUSIC:

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[CianMcsweeney]

A lot of people tend to forget that photography is art, not some challenge to create the perfect "HDR" image. Blown highlights, crushed shadows etc. are all just tools to tell the story you want to tell

[JamesParkerPhotography]

"Limit distractions and raise impact of our subject." Best take away from any video I've watched in ages. Thanks James.

[mewshkin]

This is extraordinarily validating. I'm only a baby photographer, but I've taken to heart the idea that if a photo looks like I want it to, it's 'properly exposed'.

[RockWILK]

I think this video will set a lot of people free who are always thinking to themselves, "I need to protect my highlights, and I need to protect my shadows", and completely forget that there's a story that needs to be told, and sometimes highlights or shadows need to go away. Great video, thanks for sharing.

[tuhtty]

You can find some really interested things by overexposing. I work as an editor for a sports photography agency and one of our photographers was shooting fencing at the Olympics. He intentionally over exposed the pictures so much that you could see the faces behind their mesh face guards and the rest of picture sat in this dreamy white space! Super creative!

[leetownsend]

Once again, Instagram and "Lifestyle bloggers" have devalued the art of photography by leading 80% of the public to believe that all photography should look the same.
It's a similar story with music.
You keep doing you, Popsys. You're bigger and better than the followers 😊

[ThyWorshipMetal]

I actually think your tendency to have images edited higher key is a breath of fresh air James!

[peterfritzphoto]

I’ve been shooting for 40 years - much of it commercially. This was profound. Thanks, James.

[oliverstuart]

Absolutely right. A million years ago I studied fine art photography in the UK full time for a couple of years. They taught us how to use cameras, lights, darkrooms etc, but really told you almost the bare minimum to get you going and start shooting. By the second year they had stopped the tech teaching all together, but we were getting a full day every week of art history. Movies, photography, painting, architecture everything. I had a great couple of years and it's been my job ever since... more or less.

[Retset]

This is a highly inspirational video. I've always liked your 'crushed' shadows but been left confused by your 'blown' highlights. Right up to the second when you showed the 'properly' developed image of the man by the bridge and I felt an unexpected sadness that the impact had gone. I have taken images I thought would work well but never been able to bring out what I felt, once in Lightroom - now I have an invaluable tool in my arsenal. It also explains why I'd always be knocking 1.0 off the exposure of your presets - what an uneducated heathen - till now!

[sam.kirwan]

Excellent video – it's making me revisit my Lightroom gallery to see if I can make any 'boring' photos more interesting by making the highlights and shadows work harder. Nice one James!

[glainagopf]

I've never understood people who comment negatively on artists' artistic choices. One image can be presented in many different ways depending on what the artist is trying to show/say. There is no right or wrong.

[TomCalton]

So much truth here. I see this kind of critisim all the time on Facebook groups. This video was actually recommended to me by a friend and I have to say, I absolutely love your work and edits. So clean and beautiful compositions. Great work James.

[jenniferroth]

There are times when you hear some advice and know instantly that your life is never going to be the same. This video was one of those. Thank you for the affirmation, permission, and art.

[richardturner]

I love how your photography has evolved over the years yet still remained really good. A sign of someone who knows what they're doing for sure!

[JC-qdxg]

I would really appreciate more videos like these that just talk about edeting and the thoughts behind it. Thank you for this great video!

[mikeg]

I like this video.
All that matters is whether you are satisfied with the result. 
As a photography pro and lecturer over 25 years ago we simply called these effects high key and low key. They can be achieved in darkroom or Lightroom. 
As you say, ensuring the original exposure (whether with film or sensor) gathers all tones you may need is a technical feat that has always been worth mastering.

[joeldeakin]

this is why james is my favourite photography creator on the internet

[bas]

This video is such an eye-opener for me. Previously, I was always trying to balance all the detail in shadows and highlights with the subject which made my images feel over-processed. Now looking back at a few of my own photos I can see what needs to be changed to make them feel more genuine.

[farcesable]

There's a great book by Edward Frenkel called "Love and Math" that talks similarly about mathematics; "What if you had to take an art class in which you were taught only how to paint a fence, but were never shown the paintings of van Gogh or Picasso?".

It's easy to get so caught up in the technical side of the tools of your trade that you completely miss the creativity those tools afford you, or even completely miss that tools and features only exist to enable that creativity.