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04/26/2006 03:31:30 PM · #1 |
So I am occasionally taking shots of people in full daylight that are wearing white. Now I assume that shooting raw would help with this a lot, but as I don't want to spend alot/any time really in post processing other then some cropping, as these aren't super important shots and I take a lot of them, what are the settings I should look at adjusting to avoid blowing out the details?
I've been shooting ISO 200, Av mode with an aperture of 8, and bringing the exposure down 1/3 stop. I've been procceding thinking that adjusting the expsore is the way to control this, but should I be actually looking at some other approach? Will too much stopping down of the exposure turn the whites grey?
And conversely, again without using raw, if the subject is wearing black, how do I best preserve detail there? I think I'm running into DR issues sometimes?
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04/26/2006 03:33:28 PM · #2 |
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04/26/2006 03:39:08 PM · #3 |
Try shooting weddings outdoors with the groom in black and the bride in white, ofcourse you have to compromise and if you want to live and/or ger paid you better compromise toward the white.
Your best bet is to learn to use your histograms. If you are shooting for white and seeing a spike to the far right of your histogram you are losing detail. Inverse goes for black.
Ideally, you'd have your subject hold a grey card in the light they are posing in and set your exposure from there, but this can't always be done. Another way is to spot meter several areas of the photos and compromise on the exposure.
Message edited by author 2006-04-26 15:40:09.
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04/26/2006 03:42:23 PM · #4 |
| It depends on the situation probably. I was in White Sands and it was soooooo white and bright there that I had to overexpose by +1 to counteract the meter, otherwise everything was dark. |
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04/26/2006 04:42:45 PM · #5 |
Just remember this: Your camera's meter wants to turn everything to 18% gray. So if you meter off the white, the camera will try to expose it such that it will turn out gray. If you really want it to be white - then you need to over expose.
Likewise, if you meter off of something black, the camera will try to turn it gray. So you'll want to underexpose it to turn it black.
What if your subject is moving and the meter may or may not read the subject? Well.. if you know the lighting conditions in advance, measure the light first with a gray card and set your exposure ahead of time using Manual. Then you can shoot all you want without having to worry about it.
Tip: Fill the entire frame when shooting the gray card. You should see a spike in your histogram dead center. If it's to the left, increase exposure until it's in the middle. If it's to the right, decrease exposure. |
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04/26/2006 04:44:20 PM · #6 |
Your in camera meter sees everything at 18% gray. So if you go outside and shoot a piece of white paper at the suggested aperture, and then do a black piece of paper (filling the viewfinder each time) you will get two lovely photos showing gray paper.
So you need to over expose the white and underexpose the black. 1 stop maybe. Just don't blow the highlights. Shooting RAW makes this easier as you can shift the exposure by 2 stops either way without degrading the image. You'l likely lose the detail in the black - it's how digital works - I just read this yesterday and already forgort the details...but digital records more tones in the highlites than in the shadows (4056 vs 125 at the extremes).
If the subject will stand still and you use a tripod you can take two exposures, or take that RAW file and process it twice - once for the highs and once for the lows.
it was done on this image - often how you can get dramatic skys and still have detail in the foregrond
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04/26/2006 04:44:49 PM · #7 |
| In spite of what I just said - I would still check the histogram after taking one real shot just to make sure your exposure isn't going off either end. (sometimes the detail you want is in the highlights, so underexpose a little, sometimes it is in the shadows, so over expose a little, just don't let the "important stuff" go off the end of the histogram) |
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04/26/2006 05:06:42 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by dwterry:
In spite of what I just said - I would still check the histogram after taking one real shot just to make sure your exposure isn't going off either end. (sometimes the detail you want is in the highlights, so underexpose a little, sometimes it is in the shadows, so over expose a little, just don't let the "important stuff" go off the end of the histogram) |
My image is on the bleeding edge of blow out. as it was i had to PS her face to lighten it up (this is just one of many shot this day) I got very good at doing some things in PS from this shoot!
I now have a light meter and a camera with a spotmeter, so this issue should not be repeated...yeah right. 2 weddings in May...one I know teh formals will be outside as the church is TOO small...I am hoping for overcast!!!!!!
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04/26/2006 05:12:29 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:
2 weddings in May...one I know teh formals will be outside as the church is TOO small...I am hoping for overcast!!!!!! |
Pray for overcast and for goodness sakes (and possibly your life LOL) make sure not to blow the detail in the wedding dress.
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04/26/2006 06:16:12 PM · #10 |
Pray for BRIGHT overcast and for goodness sakes (and possibly your life LOL) make sure not to blow the detail in the wedding dress.
Originally posted by fotomane_forever:
Pray for overcast and for goodness sakes (and possibly your life LOL) make sure not to blow the detail in the wedding dress |
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