A simple node group for the Compositor which automatically balances the exposure of Blender.
EV Compensation: Balances the exposure of the scene considering the average exposure.
Metering Area: Adjusts the size of the exposure metering area.
This product is provided under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal License.
1. Download the latest version of Blender
2. Create a new project and go to File ‣ Append
3. Select the .blend file that contains the node group (Auto_Exposure.blend)
4. Select the NodeTree folder
5. Select Auto Exposure and press Append
6. Done! Now, the Auto Exposure node group will appear in your node groups.
Absolutely flawless, and really clever solution. Thank you for this.
Edit: Adding an improvement to this - since the Levels node averages pixels that are brighter than 1.0 too, and throws their values in the mix, bright spots can drastically dim the scene even if it's not needed.
By adding a new input node for an image, and plugging it into the Scale node's input within the group, you can input a normalized version of your render while leaving the original image plugged into the RGB curves node at the end, this way the image that controls the exposure won't contain pixels brighter than 1.0, but you can retain your highlights.