How to use lighting optimisation to rescue detail in any shooting situation

Best camera settings for preserving detail in high-contrast scenes

Tired of losing detail in high-contrast conditions? Try these dsler tips and learn how to use your camera’s lighting optimisation feature for preserving that detail in any situation you may find yourself.

Many cameras have a widget that helps to extract additional detail from your images. Auto Lighting Optimization (Canon) or Active D-Lighting (Nikon) makes a post-shot adjustment of the highlight and shadow areas to improve the tonality of an image by restoring detail in the brightest and darkest parts of the picture.


Standard setting

This is the default setting (found in your camera’s shooting menu) and will bring out detail in the shadow areas of most images without being too obvious. Improvement in the highlights is hard to see, but is evident on the histogram on the back of the camera.
Low setting

When set to Low, the effect is subtle, but it does brighten up the darker portions of the picture and add a little more vibrancy to darker colours. The difference between Low and Standard is slight, and in most cases there’d be no reason to switch to Low.
Strong setting

Great for ‘standard’ scenes to extract detail in dark and light parts of the shot and make the picture ‘pop’, but it can look over the top with some images. It’s best avoided if shooting at high ISO settings, because it often introduces noise in the shadows.