Editing an EttR photo in Lightroom Classic

Friday 12 March 2021, 14:28 by Nando Harmsen | 6,013 views | 7 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

With Exposure to the Right (EttR), you can make maximum use of your camera's dynamic range. It allows you to retain as much image information as possible in the dark areas of the photo. The only problem is that the photo looks unattractive and flat on your camera.

I recently wrote an article with the tip about Exposure to the Right in landscape photography. It is the way to capture as much usable image information as possible in your photo.

The result of this way of exposing means that the photo initially looks flat and unattractive when you view it on the back of your camera. That means you still have some work to do, the photo is not finished.

An EttR exposure produces an unattractive result. The photo still needs to be edited.
Because a photo exposed with EttR needs some editing, it is not a suitable way of exposing for photographers who shoot directly in jpeg. It is intended for those who shoot in raw and want to make maximum use of the camera's dynamic range.

The edited photo looks much more attractive. The EttR exposure ensures that you have retained enough image information in the dark areas. But how do you edit that photo?

How do you edit an EttR-exposed photo?

I sometimes get questions about how a photo exposed with EttR should be edited. It looks like this
on the camera, after all, it does not look particularly good. In fact, the answer is quite sobering. You simply edit it like any other photo.

Editing in Lightroom Classic, with the unedited photo and the edited photo side by side.
Do you think the photo is too light? Then you make it darker. Have the shadows become too dark? Then you lift the shadows. And that is where you gain the benefit of EttR.

Because the shadows were already as light as possible during exposure, you have maximum image information in those shadows. So the quality is retained.

In the following video, I show you how I edit photos exposed with EttR. I do this in Lightroom Classic, because it is my favourite editing programme. The principle is the same in all other editing programmes, though.

Watch out for overexposure

A small warning for anyone getting started with EttR. Make sure your photo does not become overexposed. So it must not contain any true 100% white, known as blown highlights.

You can never correct that afterwards. Making white darker only turns it grey, and that never looks good.

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About the author

Nando Harmsen has been photographing for more than 40 years. He specialises in wedding photography and landscape photography. Nando also gives talks, workshops, masterclasses and photo trips, and regularly reviews new and interesting equipment.

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7 comments

martinphili wrote on Saturday 13 March 2021 at 09:26 | reply
A good addition to your earlier article.
I do nothing else, I like it incredibly much.
Translated from Dutch.

André wrote on Tuesday 16 March 2021 at 15:18 | reply
Useful information and instructional video.....will definitely give it a try.
Translated from Dutch.

andré janssen wrote on Tuesday 16 March 2021 at 16:19 | reply
Nice tutorial. Clear and inviting
Translated from Dutch.

Jan Tinga wrote on Wednesday 17 March 2021 at 13:53 | reply
When photographing bright colors in the area on the right in the diagram, you can run into problems. The colors are then (slightly) overexposed and can never be restored to their original state. So consider yourself warned. And if anyone doesn't believe me: just try it out! (E.g. light pink flowers).
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Wednesday 17 March 2021 at 14:11 | reply
@Jan Tinga:
That's right. Especially the color red can quickly become oversaturated. You are absolutely right about that. That's why it's wise to use this technique very carefully.
If you have a lot of red tones in your photo, you can use the RGB histogram. You can then see from the individual color channels whether they are too far to the right.
Translated from Dutch.

Annet wrote on Wednesday 17 March 2021 at 14:15 | reply
What a wonderfully clear explanation. Calmly and step by step. Thank you
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 30 March 2021 at 10:52 | reply
@Annet:
you're welcome
Translated from Dutch.

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