Interior scene with windows, daytime

[James B.]

When shooting interior scenes on a sunny day and the exterior is clearly visible, is there an accepted amount of ND reduction that should be applied to the window(s)?

Of course the camera being used makes a huge difference and I will be shooting wiht a 5D.

 

[Terry VerHaar]

You are going to have to meter the exterior and try and bring it within the range of the sensor as compared to the interior. From there, it's about acheiving the look you want. Sunny exterior is typically f/8 or f/11 so you are probably talking 2-4 stops of ND. Of course, it also depends on how much light you are throwing on the interior.

 

[Curt Pair]

When shooting interior scenes on a sunny day and the exterior is clearly visible, is there an accepted amount of ND reduction that should be applied to the window(s)?

Of course the camera being used makes a huge difference and I will be shooting wiht a 5D.

I agree with Terry. We live in Arizona, and the windows are generally 3-5 stops difference! We like to use 1.2 ND on the windows to help even it out. Sometimes, we have to take it even further... up to 1.8 or even 2.1, depending on the F-stop we're shooting the interiors with...

If you are hiring grips in your area to help, chances are they have experience and are willing to help.

 

[Yousuf Abbasi]

I agree with Terry. We live in Arizona, and the windows are generally 3-5 stops difference! We like to use 1.2 ND on the windows to help even it out. Sometimes, we have to take it even further... up to 1.8 or even 2.1, depending on the F-stop we're shooting the interiors with...

If you are hiring grips in your area to help, chances are they have experience and are willing to help.

How can you use "1.2 ND on the windows" without underexposing the interior? You would have to use the ND on the entire scene (unless you're talking about a grad ND, which may not be suitable for the scene or if there is camera movement involved).

What I'd do is: expose for the interior, light it up as much as possible (then stop down) so there is only a couple stops of overexposure on the windows, and maintain correct exposure (in RAW) on the interior. Nothing wrong with overexposing a window as long as everything else looks good (see attached example - notice how windows are overexposed, interior is perfectly exposed using mostly natural light)

 

[Aaron Sena]

They are referring to using ND Gel applied to the windows rather than glass in front of the lens.

 

[David Mullen ASC]

It all depends on what level you can or want to light to inside versus how bright you want the windows to be outside. You don't want to overbalance or it looks a little fake, which is why using a camera with a lot of dynamic range is nice because you can hold detail outside without having to overnight the interior or use too much ND on the windows.

 

[Justin Chin]

It's more important to know what things will look like outside the windows. How any sunlight may or may not hit the items (or sky) outside the windows. I spot meter for that (given the time of day I'd like to shoot) and then balance that with how I'd like to expose the interior.