Applying and evaluating overexposure solutions

Hi, welcome back to MediaFix! In my previous post I explained how I learned to solve my constant issue of overexposure when filming. Overexposure can be a major problem if it is unintentionally in my film because it can cause detail to be lost and the shots will appear washed out. 

By researching, I found videos and articles that showed me how to fix overexposure. One solution is the histogram, this measures tone while filming to tell me if my film is overexposed by leaning to the right, or underexposed by leaning to the left. Then I can adjust my settings accordingly to have the curves remain in the middle, giving me a perfectly exposed shot.

While the histogram can show me if there is overexposure, knowing how to use my camera settings of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture, will help me fix it. In the video below I am applying these skills I learned to practice and test out how they work. 

Solving overexposure, 5 February, 2024, by Media Fix

To apply what I learned, I screen recorded myself attempting to fix overexposure after my research. The video started far too overexposed and had a blue-ish tint. The first thing I did was bring the ISO to the lowest setting (33), however this wasn't shown in the video. Next I adjusted the shutter speed, previously at 1/33 to 1/2000. This fixed the overexposure because shutter speed is the amount of light the camera takes in. A higher shutter speed creates a shorter exposure. Lastly, I adjusted the white balance since it was slightly off, changing it from 3150K to 3950K, this made the image warmer to capture what the scene actually looked like. In the far left, bottom corner of the screen lays the histogram. When the film was overexposed, the curves on the graph were completely to the far right. As I changed the shutter speed, the curves moved more towards the middle of the graph and gained height. This proves that the histogram accurately measures overexposure and can be very useful during production of this film. 

Applying what I learned resulted successfully. Now that I have tools to help me target overexposure, and have a deeper knowledge of the camera settings I can adjust, I can effectively capture the look I want to create in my current and future productions.  


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