How do I deal with bright lights?

[HappyCynic]

Here's the situation. I have a dimly lit wall and in the middle of the wall is an alcove. Within the alcove is the subject I want to photograph. Around the edge of the recessed area are bright omni-directional bulbs that light up the subject really well but doesn't provide any illumination to the wall. How do I get a good shot such that the subject isn't over-exposed but at the same time, the surrounding wall isn't under-exposed? (Essentially, how do I dampen the effect of the lights without losing too much detail of the dimly lit walls?) Would a polarizing filter or other filter work (even though the camera will pretty much be pointed at the lights)? Will playing with the aperture help? Or am I just plain out of luck?

[ConsAreLiars]

1. You can either even out the lighting by adding more illumination to the walls, or

use a tripod and take three or so shots, one at the metered exposure, one two stops over and a third two stops under, and then use software like Picture Windows Pro's Transformation/Stack Images Tool to combine the best portions of all three exposures. or go up to 10, if needed, but 3 should be plenty for the situation you describe. Other software packages probably allow something similar.

[HappyCynic]

3. Any one shot solutions?

Is there anything I can do in a single shot rather than combining several different ones?

[Shipwack]

5. Well, there's a one shot solution, but not what you want...

...I think.

Shoot in RAW, and then manipulate the image in two or three duplicate layers, then blending them.

I think you're wanting something that doesn't require that much manipulation, though.

I posted another solution further down the thread.

[Mugu]

2. Unless I'm reading your question wrong,

which is always a distinct possibility, the only issue is what color to gell your flash so your white balance is correct.

You're not trying to overpower the existing light, but rather to add a bit of fill to illuminate the wall.

[HappyCynic]

4. Too far for flash

I forgot to mention that the wall's just outside of flash range (I'm shooting from across the street). So, unfortunately, I can't use the flash (or anything else, really) to provide extra illumination for the walls.

[Shipwack]

6. Actually, it's not too far away for illumination...

Set the camera on a tripod.

Set the aperture to its minimum.

Take a long term (5 seconds?) exposure.

Use a high intensity spot light to "paint" the area around the alcove that you want brightened. A spot light should be able to reach across the street.

Here's an example of what I mean...

http://www.aguntherphotography.com/blog/painting-with-light.html

[HappyCynic]

7. Thanks

Thanks for the info. It's just the info I needed. It's a workable solution to get it done in a single shot so I can't really ask for more.