though i knew the zone theory, still, a face has is bright potion and dark potion
which potion should i use to set as a standard for exposure adjustment?
and these 2 exposures which 1 do ur perfer? thanks
I think you'd start with a calibrated monitor of course. There's some white balance difference between those 2 shots.
Then I'd check for clipping of highlights, unless it's an effect I'm looking for. And then I'd adjust it until it looks nice to me. Second one to me looks too bright. Even the first one seems too bright. Maybe they don't clip the highlights but still look too hot to me.
Of course I could be "all wrong", and you should do it the way you like it of course.
The standard is "natural." Either you remember what it actually looked like, or you use a neutral standard in the photograph, such as a gray card. The first image looks closer to what natural probably was, but as mentioned, it's probably still overexposed.
