Scene Too Dark or Too Bright
Auto exposure changes the whole look
Also known as: Unreal too dark · Unreal auto exposure · Unreal eye adaptation · Unity exposure · Scene too bright Unreal · Fixed exposure Unreal
Quick answer
A scene looks too dark or too bright when auto exposure keeps changing the camera's brightness to match what it sees. To lock it in Unreal Engine, add a Post Process Volume, set it to Infinite Extent, and in Exposure set Min EV100 and Max EV100 to the same value, or use Manual metering and adjust Exposure Compensation. In Unity, add an Exposure override to a Volume and set it to Fixed. Then adjust the lighting to look right.
How to fix it
Set exposure first, then light the scene, since changing exposure later changes the look of every light. Use a reference to choose a value, such as a sunny exterior around EV 14 to 15 and an indoor room a few stops lower. Check the directional light and sky intensity as well, and compare in a neutral gray room. Stable exposure makes it easier to judge materials and colors.
Tools that use Scene Too Dark or Too Bright
See also
Exposure
Overall brightness of the camera image
Tonemapping
HDR → display-range remapping
Color Grading
Final color and contrast look of the image
Physical Light Units
Lux, lumens, candela and nits
Volume (Post-Processing)
Unity post-processing and lighting overrides
Baked vs Realtime Lighting
Precomputed or calculated every frame