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Originally Posted by Don Hoey
Please post any comments you have on exposing for highlights as this will apply to both RAW and JPEG but with greater implications on JPEG.
Thanks again
Don
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Don, it is generally accepted that it is better to expose for the highlights, then bring up the shadows in your image manipulation software.
The two shots below are the same image. The first is an image converted from the Raw file without any adjustment whatsoever, though ACR tells me it was 2.6 stops underexposed. The second is after processing the resulting file in CS2. The image was selectively lightened, and sharpened. I use the polygonal lasso tool and apply a large feather, anything up to 100 pixels,sometimes more, depending on the area I am trying to adjust. It was converted tomono in the channel mixer and toned using colour balance, mainly a bit red and a tad of yellow, its all personal choice.
Now make of them what you will, but the point is that they show that exposing for the highlight saved the image and the amount of information held in the file is suprising.