Mixed lighting and uneven exposures are challenges you’re bound to face, especially in event photography where lighting conditions are unpredictable. Here's how to fix them in Lightroom.
Coming to you from Gareth Evans with Park Cameras, this practical video tackles the complexities of working with varying color temperatures and tricky exposure levels in a single photo. Evans uses an example from an event shoot to demonstrate the challenges of balancing bright and dark areas, while dealing with light sources of different color temperatures. One of his initial tips is considering a black-and-white conversion when color inconsistencies become overwhelming. Though not applicable for every photo, this option can simplify the editing process and bring focus to contrast and texture without worrying about mismatched colors.
In this tutorial, Evans starts by addressing noise in shadowed areas, even at a moderate ISO setting like 800. Using Lightroom’s Denoise tool, he cleans up the image while preserving detail in the darker parts. From there, he recommends enabling profile corrections to reduce vignetting and distortion, followed by straightening vertical lines to correct perspective issues. These foundational edits create a cleaner starting point for further adjustments.
Next, Evans focuses on global adjustments to balance exposure across the image. He reduces highlights to control bright background areas and lifts shadows to reveal more detail in darker regions. Subtle tweaks to clarity, vibrance, and saturation help even out the overall tones. For color corrections, he adjusts the temperature and tint to compensate for the mixed lighting, using a careful balance of cooler tones and green adjustments to offset excessive magenta in certain areas.
The real transformation begins with targeted masking. Evans uses radial gradients to selectively brighten the subjects while slightly cooling the color temperature for a more natural look. By layering masks over specific areas, such as faces and clothing, he isolates the subjects from the background, ensuring they stand out without overexposing them. He then inverts another radial gradient to create a subtle vignette, darkening the edges of the image to draw the viewer’s eye toward the center.
To enhance separation between the subjects and background, Evans applies a lens blur effect in Lightroom. This tool mimics a shallow depth of field, creating a professional-looking bokeh effect that softens the background without making it distracting. The result is a polished image where the subjects remain the focal point.
Throughout the process, Evans emphasizes how small, incremental edits can drastically improve a challenging image. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Evans.
Alex, this article provides a fantastic breakdown of how to tackle tricky event photos, particularly when dealing with mixed lighting and uneven exposures. Gareth Evans’ approach to using global adjustments, targeted masking, and creative problem-solving—like black-and-white conversion for extreme color inconsistencies—is invaluable for event photographers looking to refine their workflow. The emphasis on small, incremental edits is a crucial takeaway, reinforcing that even the most challenging images can be salvaged with the right techniques.
One great example of this in a fashion show setting is dealing with the unpredictable lighting on the runway. Often, stage lighting casts harsh shadows or creates inconsistent color temperatures across different areas of the model’s outfit. A common issue is when one side of a model’s face is bathed in cool blue light while the other is hit by warm tungsten, creating an unnatural look. By using Lightroom’s masking tools, photographers can selectively adjust the color temperature of different areas—cooling down the overly warm sections while warming up the blue-lit parts—to achieve a more balanced and natural skin tone. Additionally, lens blur effects can be useful in post-processing to subtly soften distracting background elements, keeping the focus on the garments.
Would love to hear how other event photographers handle similar challenges—do you rely more on in-camera adjustments, or do you fix most lighting issues in post?
Paul Tocatlian
Kisau Photography
www.kisau.com