Underexposure
Also known as: underexposed, too dark
An image that received too little light, so it looks dark and muddy. Brightening it later reveals noise, banding and dull colors in the shadows.
Updated
What it means
Underexposure is the opposite of overexposure: the camera did not collect enough light for the scene. The picture looks dark, colors lose richness, and shadows fill with noise. Faces and important detail can sink into murk.
It is common in forests, at dusk, indoors, under bridges and underwater, and when a bright sky in the frame tricks the camera into darkening everything. Some photographers underexpose slightly on purpose to protect highlights, which is fine as long as it stays mild.
Unlike blown highlights, dark areas usually still contain some information, but recovering it always means a loss in image quality.
How it works in practice
To avoid it, use positive exposure compensation when bright areas fool the camera, allow a higher ISO ceiling in dim light, and keep the shutter speed reasonable rather than extremely fast. A light source, a different angle or simply filming earlier in the day often helps more than settings.
If footage is slightly underexposed, lifting it in the edit works well, especially with 10-bit files. Raise exposure or midtones gently rather than shadows alone, so the image stays natural.
Check exposure on a large screen after the first session of a trip, then adjust settings for the rest.
What to watch out for
Brightening very dark footage brings out noise, color blotches and banding, especially in 8-bit files from small sensors. The darker it was, the worse the rescue looks.
A dim screen at night makes footage look brighter than it is. Footage that looked fine in a dark tent can be too dark on a laptop. Use a histogram if your camera offers one.
Protecting highlights is good, but going too far creates the opposite problem. Small sensors gain little from deep underexposure, so aim for correct exposure on the subject. A balanced clip edits far more easily than one you have to rescue, and it holds up better after platform compression.
How RawClip handles it
RawClip does not brighten clips, so dark footage stays dark in the final edit. Upload well-exposed clips where you can, and the AI picks the strongest and clearest moments for your highlight.