lights

[RobBenton]

I have a shot at a catalog for a lighting company. They want to shoot all digital. Some dusk shots would be required, so I went out and did some tests. I get a dark line around the outside of the lights. www.rdbmultimedia.com/lights.jpg
Does anyone know how to avoid this?
Thanks, Rob

[RobBenton]

Dan
I did more testing and it is sharpening. Best to sharpen in Photoshop when shooting lights.
Appreciate the tip.
Thanks, Rob

[DanMcDonald]

Rob;

Without knowing what camera, etc. you are using I can't say for sure, but it looks like in camera sharpening.

Sharpening is done by increasing contrast between areas of differing density. When you have an extremely light area bounded by a dark area, you will get the hard line edge. My suggestion is to turn off in camera sharpening and try again.

Dan McDonald

[Michael_Palumbo]

I just did a digital shot that was not quite the same, but the same principal would apply. Because there is a vast difference between the ambient light and the emmited light from the lamps, I would suggest shooting a series of shots at dusk. With camera mounted on tripod of course, shoot some brackets while the ambient light is going from bright to dark. You can then load into Layer Masks in Photoshop and just paint in the parts that need more detail. You can get the best of both worlds and you will accomplish the look of the lights being lit. If you care to check the shot that I did using this technique here is the link: http://www.mpphotography.com/digiP12.htm

[RobBenton]

Thanks Mike, works great.
PS Liked the sample, great shot.
Rob

[Billy_Suratt]

Rob,

What camera are you using?

[RobBenton]

Billy
A DCS 560