The original, unprocessed RAW file below has highlights that, while too bright, do contain detail. The exposure was 1/15 second at f/5.6 and ISO of 640. Other than this, no other light or fill was used for the shot. The light on the model's back is the refrigerator light being reflected back onto her from a nearby wall. The intensity and color of the room light can be seen in the upper corners of the photo below. The photograph is lit entirely by the one, refrigerator bulb plus a very small amount of natural room light from a distant window. This is the final image combining both the Nikon Capture NX-D adjusted file and the Adobe ACR adjusted file with moderate Photoshop adjustments applied to the combination. Nonetheless, an image processed with this technique will have more of a three dimensional quality and more extensive detail in both highlight and shadow ranges, not dissimilar to a subtle use of HDR, but without the false look that HDR often imparts. Frankly, I probably could have come very close to this final result using just ACR and Photoshop alone, a testament to the range of the Nikon camera sensor. It is a composite of two images - one processed in NX-D to bring out the fullest dynamic range, and the other processed in ACR to achieve good contrast as befitting such an actual scene, while also maintaining some of the shadow and highlight detail. The room was completely dark save for some very low ambient light coming from a distant window. For this demo, I decided to use only the single, normal bulb that is inside the refrigerator. Normally, I would light this with some small flash units hidden inside the refrigerator and balance this light with some exterior bounce lighting for the overall scene. Nonetheless, I decided to give it a go, and set up a scene with a model looking into an open refrigerator at night. The Nikon cameras - in this case a D750 - are just so good that, if the exposure is set to obtain detail in both highlights and shadows, there is enough information to deal with the file in regular post-processing. To perform this demonstration here I had to purposely take a photograph that would be pushing the range limits of the camera.
#NIKON CAPTURE NX D FULL#
I rarely need to use this technique anymore because the native dynamic range of modern Nikon digital cameras is so extensive that a native RAW file is all that is needed to obtain a full tonal range of highlights and shadows.
#NIKON CAPTURE NX D SOFTWARE#
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned a technique I sometimes use to achieve the most amount of dynamic range from a scene taken with a Nikon camera by processing the RAW images twice, once with Nikon's Capture NX-D software where I have access to Active D-Lighting controls, and also in ACR (Adobe Camera RAW) where I have more experience and more tools to bring out the best in any image.