Underexposed or dull pictures(Photo Tip of the Month)

            It’s a common sight when you’re at the beach, the sun is nowhere to be see due to the overcast. When taking pictures in this scenario, the pictures ought to be less vibrant and feeble. Also, due to the lack of sunshine, the gleaming white wave crests disappear and give a uniformed grey appearance.

Problem: Due to the lack of vibrancy, the pictures appear fl at and the brightness and shine is missing too. A quick glance at the histogram reveals that at the right-hand side curve, there’s almost no tonal value. This means that pure white is missing from the picture.
Solution: Leverage on the tools built into the camera. Adjusting the shutter speed infl uences the tonal value distribution. First review the tonal value distribution immediately after an exposure with the help of the histogram on display. In many cameras this feature is built-in, and using this you can estimate the distribution even before the exposure. Ensure that the curve extends over the entire width of the tonal range.
Correcting on PC: For adjusting the brightness in Photoshop, go to Picture | Adjust | Tonal Value. Drag the slide bar to the left, upto the fi rst visible value, and you’ll notice the dark areas becoming firmer. Now you can adjust the mid-tones to optimize the areas that need correction. Use the preview function to view the results before applying the changes. If you’d also like to fi x the dull blue skies, you can use selective color correction. Push F7 for the colors palette and use the black and white round symbol to highlight the adjustment layer. From colors, consecutively select blue, cyan and white tones and adjust the depth of the sky as you want. To make the greens more vibrant, use the adjustment layer ‘color tone/saturation’. While these tips will bring about vibrancy in your pictures, to avoid making them appear unnatural, refrain from going overboard.