107
If there is considerable contrast between light and
dark parts of the image, the exposure latitude of
the films ceases to be sufficient to register the full
tonal range of the subject in both the "light" and
the "shade". The photographer must decide
where he wishes to retain the greatest detail. For
example, a person can appear as a black silhouet-
te (underexposed) in front of a correctly exposed
landscape, or correctly exposed in front of a
"burnt-out" background (overexposed). A reading
from "light" and "shadow" and the resulting aver-
age exposure usually leads to unsatisfactory
results because delicate differences in brightness
are lost in both the light and the dark areas.
Deliberate over- or underexposure often enhan-
ces the character of a picture and can be used as
a good compositional aid.
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