PORTRAIT

Is Your Subject Overlit? - Portrait

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It might sound odd to suggest this photo is overlit! Surely light is a good thing and generally it is. However, sometimes too much light removes all emotion and atmosphere, leaving the photo looking more like a record shot than an artistic interpretation. Being overlit isn't just a matter of exposure - it's the light reaching the surroundings as much as the subject, or reaching all parts of the subject. Front lighting can often create an overlit result. One solution is to use tonal mapping (darkening and lightening) in post-production to introduce a little more mood, emotion or atmosphere.