There are numerous ways such a result can be avoided or dealt with depending on the medium used. B&W film, color negative, transparancy, digital, all require or may use different techniques. It's not just a matter of "stopping down." For example, one technique in B&W is to open up and then cut back on development, or maybe just cut back a bit on development, and in either case choose an appropriate grade of printing paper for the desired result. With digital, especially with a DSLR that can use RAW capture, shooting in RAW, making the exposure appropriate for the brightest part of the scene, and then making appropriated adjustments using the RAW converter may be the way to go.
The trick - if it is a trick - is to understand the range of light and contrast in the scene, how much range the media has, and how you can adjust either in exposure or processing to compensate for shadows or highlights that fall outside of that range. Shel > [Original Message] > From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Okay, stopped down more then the face would have been even darker. I don't > get how in high contrast situations it can always be avoided. > > Doe aka Marnie ;-)
