Photoshop How To

Let’s face it: We all make exposure mistakes on occasion that prevent a good shot from being a great one. Fortunately, there are a few simple shooting and editing tips that will help you get the best out of your images.

Francisco Hernandez of FJH Photography is an adept instructor with great tutorials on everything from shooting techniques, gear, and lighting, to helpful image-editing advice. In this episode he explains why incorrect exposures occur and what to do differently so things don’t go wrong.

In this 10-minute episode, Hernandez uses an example from a recent shoot to illustrate that sometimes the problem occurs when your LCD screen and viewfinder brightness is set too high—giving you a false view of the scene at hand. The simple solution for this is to simply cut back the brightness of both the viewfinder and screen.

Hernandez explains the details behind his shoot of a pretty model on the beach, and describes the camera, lenses, and the important accessories he used. There’s also plenty of posing and other helpful information in the video.

The meat of the tutorial begins when Hernandez examines his first shot, which is far too bright for his liking. He realized the shot could be rehabilitated, so rather than delete it, he made a few adjustments in Photoshop, and modified the exposure on his light to achieve exactly the look he was after.

The result is a really nice shot, with more ambient light on his model, deeper shadows, and a far more dramatic sky. So the next time you’re dissatisfied with the exposure of an otherwise compelling photo, resist the temptation to trash the image, and give this simple fix a try.

You can find more helpful tips on Hernandez’ YouTube channel. And check out another helpful tutorial we posted, describing five portrait mistakes that make you look like a beginner.