📷 To darken a photo 🚫 To limit experience

to underexpose

1 7.7

To give a person or thing too little contact so they do not develop

verb
/ˌʌndərɪkˈspoʊz/

: subexponer

The photographer decided to underexpose the image to achieve a more dramatic effect.

Examples

For a dark-complected model with dark hair, this low-key subject is normally photographed with mid- to dark-tone clothing and background and should be underexposed slightly to create a completely different mood.

Academic text (1993)
He realized that if he continued to underexpose his photos, they would appear too dark.
To prevent the highlights from blowing out, she chose to underexpose the bright landscape.

Antonyms

to overexpose

2 6.1

Give someone or something too much light, attention, bad influence, causing damage

to overexpose

2 6.0

Make a photo or film too bright by too much light

How Exposed

to overexpose

2 6.1

to expose

6 5.2

to underexpose

1 7.7

Surface Forms

underexpose infinitive

underexposed past

underexposed past participle

underexposing present participle

underexposes third person singular

Morphology

underexpose = expose (transparent) = under + expose

The verb is transparently formed by adding 'under-' meaning 'insufficiently' to 'expose', giving the general sense 'expose insufficiently'.

Etymology

Underexpose comes from under- 'not enough' and expose 'to show'. A helpful way to remember it is that it means to give something too little light or too little attention, so it is seen or affected less than it should be.