Background glare at DVinfo.net

Ron J. Wildhaber · May 16th, 2008, 08:06 PM

I have run into problems in the past shooting video in churches where I am facing glass doors in the front of the church and side windows. Sunlight coming in with a light tile floor produces a lot of glare. I have tried using various changes in aperture settings but I cannot seem to get rid of the glare and washing out of the video without sacrificing video quality. Can someone give me some advice on how to set the exposure to get rid of the glare and still have sharp images of the people walking down the isle. Thanks in advance...Ron

Mike Rehmus · May 16th, 2008, 08:19 PM

Other than using light from your side, there is no solution. aperature evenly reduces light from all sources so as you close down, the people get darker.

You can fix it in post if you don't move the camera around. But you will need a powerful editing program or a program like After Effects.

What you do is shoot the windows at a setting that gives you a good image of the scene through the windows. Save that and then shoot the wedding exposing for the people.
Then you use a traveling mask to merge the best of both the window and the people shot.

It is very tedious. I had to do it when the client stood in shadows with a brightly lit valley behind them. You MUST shoot the people correctly and then fix the background.

Expect to lose money with the time spent in editing.

The only other solution is to put neutral density gels over the windows. That's probably high-budget too if the windows are large.

Ron J. Wildhaber · May 17th, 2008, 06:45 AM

Thanks for the feedback Mike. This problem mainly exists only during the procession and there is a balcony above the and behind the alter. I think if I go up there and start the recording when the people are half way down the isle I may eliminate most of the problem. This would be far easier than what I would be able to do in post.

Mike Rehmus · May 17th, 2008, 06:27 PM

Certainly far easier as long as they realize the video won't include the wedding party walking the length of the aisle.

My clients wouldn't like that much.

My worst wedding was at a very famous resort that had a 2 story glass wall behind the stage on which the wedding was held. The stage lighting was incandescent so one had to pick a white balance for daylight or incandescent. The bride wouldn't pay for the light-balancing film for the 40 fooot wide window.

The bride insisted she was going to walk down a staircase right against the window and front-lit by Halogen lighting. So she, by and large properly exposed, has a blue background and faint blue outline.

The photographer was using a digital camera that projected a matrix of IR light onto the subject for focusing. Of course the video camera picked that up so everytime the photographer took a picture, the subjects looked like the background in a excel spreadsheet with red lines.

They were warned but liked the results anyway.

David Tindale · May 18th, 2008, 08:38 AM

Perhaps a polarising filter, won't fix everything but will reduce glare to a degree.

Steven Hacker · October 7th, 2008, 03:04 PM

I'm now getting a faint blue line (right edge only) on bright objects, mostly white clothing when it's against a dark background. We just did a two camera interior shoot and my PD170 has been showing this of late. Camera was at 0db f3.5

The VX2100 situated next to the PD170 does not duplicate this blue line.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

Steve

May 16th, 2008, 08:06 PM	#1
Ron J. Wildhaber New Boot Join Date: May 2008 Location: Marine, Illinois Posts: 10	Background glare I have run into problems in the past shooting video in churches where I am facing glass doors in the front of the church and side windows. Sunlight coming in with a light tile floor produces a lot of glare. I have tried using various changes in aperture settings but I cannot seem to get rid of the glare and washing out of the video without sacrificing video quality. Can someone give me some advice on how to set the exposure to get rid of the glare and still have sharp images of the people walking down the isle. Thanks in advance...Ron

May 16th, 2008, 08:19 PM	#2
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	Other than using light from your side, there is no solution. aperature evenly reduces light from all sources so as you close down, the people get darker. You can fix it in post if you don't move the camera around. But you will need a powerful editing program or a program like After Effects. What you do is shoot the windows at a setting that gives you a good image of the scene through the windows. Save that and then shoot the wedding exposing for the people. Then you use a traveling mask to merge the best of both the window and the people shot. It is very tedious. I had to do it when the client stood in shadows with a brightly lit valley behind them. You MUST shoot the people correctly and then fix the background. Expect to lose money with the time spent in editing. The only other solution is to put neutral density gels over the windows. That's probably high-budget too if the windows are large. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

May 17th, 2008, 06:27 PM	#4
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	Certainly far easier as long as they realize the video won't include the wedding party walking the length of the aisle. My clients wouldn't like that much. My worst wedding was at a very famous resort that had a 2 story glass wall behind the stage on which the wedding was held. The stage lighting was incandescent so one had to pick a white balance for daylight or incandescent. The bride wouldn't pay for the light-balancing film for the 40 fooot wide window. The bride insisted she was going to walk down a staircase right against the window and front-lit by Halogen lighting. So she, by and large properly exposed, has a blue background and faint blue outline. The photographer was using a digital camera that projected a matrix of IR light onto the subject for focusing. Of course the video camera picked that up so everytime the photographer took a picture, the subjects looked like the background in a excel spreadsheet with red lines. They were warned but liked the results anyway. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

October 7th, 2008, 03:04 PM	#6
Steven Hacker Tourist Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Cleveland Posts: 3	Blue Edge on bright objects I'm now getting a faint blue line (right edge only) on bright objects, mostly white clothing when it's against a dark background. We just did a two camera interior shoot and my PD170 has been showing this of late. Camera was at 0db f3.5 The VX2100 situated next to the PD170 does not duplicate this blue line. Any help is appreciated. Thank you. Steve

May 17th, 2008, 06:45 AM	#3
Ron J. Wildhaber New Boot Join Date: May 2008 Location: Marine, Illinois Posts: 10	Thanks for the feedback Mike. This problem mainly exists only during the procession and there is a balcony above the and behind the alter. I think if I go up there and start the recording when the people are half way down the isle I may eliminate most of the problem. This would be far easier than what I would be able to do in post.

May 18th, 2008, 08:38 AM	#5
David Tindale Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Lismore, New South Wales Posts: 31	Perhaps a polarising filter, won't fix everything but will reduce glare to a degree.