The Reason People's Pictures Look Dark

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bedheadben

bedheadben

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I was thinking, everyone is telling me, and a lot of other people that their pictures are dark, well there is a good reason they are dark, and it has to do with the color of the background of this board. Here is an example:

untitled28pg.jpg
untitled36br.jpg


Okay, so, in the image on the left, the gray box in the middle looks brighter, and on the right, the gray bok in the middle looks darker. Well, both of the gray boxes are actually the same color gray, it is just your eyes see the color differently when it is surrounded by light or dark colors. The only way to see what an image really looks like is to view it on a neutral gray background.

So next time think about it before you tell someone their image is too dark.

Thanks, Ben.
 
No not really, it's more of an optical illusion. BTW, the black border will looks smaller than the white one too because black makes things look thinner.

My pics are usually dark period even with the exposure on max. :grumpy:
 
Um...

No.
They usually are too dark because then everyone's pic would look dark.
And EkMatt we're born on the same day ( not year though )

EDIT: And even if it was just an illusion, we still see them too dark. So now, brighten the pictures in your gallery ;)
 
bedheadben
I am right, if there is a darker frame, the picture looks brighter, and if there is a lighter frame, the picture looks darker.
Click to expand...

Even if you are correct....

(1) The contrast between the white and black is much greater than the contrast between the gray and black, which means the right one stands out more.

(2) Your whole argument is null b/c when I open pictures I don't look at the background color of the screen, I look at the picture... which is big enough that a 'visual illusion' is basically nothing.

(3) My pictures take up the entire screen - so even if your argument *was* true it certainly wouldn't work with anyone who doesn't resize them.

(4) No one seriously is going to believe this. Just brighten your pictures up and accept that they are too dark, unless you are going for a shady dark underworld style in which if I were you I'd take my pics at different locations.
 
I think it would work if the picture was grayish, but I don't think it applies to a colorful pic. Those kind of illusions dont really work on a pic 20 times bigger.
 
No , as above , the WHITE border overalls the response to brightness and the BLACK lends the opposite drama to the gray interior .
A light non-white border of diminished magnitude would be optimum for enhancement . Blue is also good that way .
 
Are people who are saying "no" blind? It is true.. the grey in the white border looks darker.
 
bedheadben
I was thinking, everyone is telling me, and a lot of other people that their pictures are dark, well there is a good reason they are dark, and it has to do with the color of the background of this board. Here is an example:

untitled28pg.jpg
untitled36br.jpg


Okay, so, in the image on the left, the gray box in the middle looks brighter, and on the right, the gray bok in the middle looks darker. Well, both of the gray boxes are actually the same color gray, it is just your eyes see the color differently when it is surrounded by light or dark colors. The only way to see what an image really looks like is to view it on a neutral gray background.

So next time think about it before you tell someone their image is too dark.

Thanks, Ben.
Click to expand...



I disagree with you here:

It all depends on the combination of contrast and brightness. If you turn up the exposure in GT¤ all the way, your picture will look too bright yet too dark. Like you forced in a to obrightened picture in a too dark one. The problem as well is that in GT4, everything looks so colorfull when actually on a PC, it doesn't look far from B&W. The key is too just use contrast and brightness, both of these tools, which are easy to get, have an incredibly big influence on your pictures.

I'll give you a hell of an example later today, when I come home 👍


Oh and Rayquaza, some people will not like it you to bring up such an old thread again but then, I would like to place my opinion on this so I'd appreciate if this thread could be open a little longer (if planned on closing it 👍)
 
Well i know it is kind of stupid, but i just HAD to comment since people didn't see the difference.
It is yet a matter of brightness contrast tough.
 
Hello Ben!

I just browsed through your gallery and I have to say that most of your pics I´d say are dark but that´s perhaps more because of a personal preference. That´s alright.
But some of your pics are really too dark.

Although I have to agree the darkness or brightness of the background is an important factor for the presentation of a pic (sometimes I make pics in different versions: with a black frame, with a white frame or with a grey frame, just to judge it right), the too dark appearance of some pics is not so much a problem of a black or white background as you say.

Please let me explain it:

On the TV screen a photomode pic looks like this:

That looks OK.

But if you transfer the pic to your PC it will look like this on the PC monitor:

Way too dark! The corresponding histogramm clearly shows that the pic is not quite balanced:



To have a brighter pic on your PC monitor, you have to push up brightness while you shoot the pic in photomode already (use +0.7EV or even +1.0EV). Then the pic will look like this on the TV screen:

Too bright, but...

...on the PC monitor it will look like this:

That´s about right.The histogram show it´s better balanced.



If you want us to understand that it´s your personal taste to make your pics dark, that´s OK, that´s another cup of coffee. But overall I think that some people telling you to brighten up your pics might have to do with the problem explained above. Plus it´s just a hint to achieve a better (technical) quality.

Nevertheless, just my two cents.

Prost! :cheers:
 
Exactly 👍

+Rep 👍

Also, the differences between how GT & any photo editing software program change the color and brightness on your picture is huge as well. Now I'll ask bjc-3000 if I can take up an example of it since he beat me in posting those examples :lol:
 
The TV has a much more relative contrast than a standard PC monitor. The explanation of bjc... just exact. Everyone who had a graphic card with a TV out connection, can check how different the same image is shown in both screens. That's not only a GT4 effect. In fact, I remember a comment of Polyphony developer saying GT4 is set up for perfect performing at every TV (Big, small, wide, LCD, bla bla)... but just a TV :).

Veteran thread btw :lol:

Salu2.alexwrc
 
bedheadben
I was thinking, everyone is telling me, and a lot of other people that their pictures are dark, well there is a good reason they are dark, and it has to do with the color of the background of this board.
Click to expand...

Well I thought it had something to do with the contrast/Brightness on my TV compared to the computer screen. i.e. You don't realise how dark a picture is on the TV until you transfer it to computer.
 

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