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12/02/2003 03:47:39 PM · #1 |
These are probably just personal mental blanks, but in case they help people. Some of the stupid things I did until I've realised that they were stupid:
o Using exposure compensation with evaluative/ matrix modes
o Setting a white and black point in every picture I process
o Using clone and healing brushes in normal mode to remove dark or light spots
more to follow - feel free to add your own :)
Message edited by author 2003-12-02 15:51:51. |
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12/02/2003 04:00:05 PM · #2 |
I think I know why on the first two, but not the last one.
Originally posted by Gordon:
These are probably just personal mental blanks, but in case they help people. Some of the stupid things I did until I've realised that they were stupid:
o Using exposure compensation with evaluative/ matrix modes |
because the evaluative mode will compensate for your exposure compensation?
Originally posted by Gordon:
o Setting a white and black point in every picture I process |
because every picture doesn't always have a black and white point.
Originally posted by Gordon:
o Using clone and healing brushes in normal mode to remove dark or light spots
more to follow - feel free to add your own :) |
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12/02/2003 04:09:50 PM · #3 |
Originally posted by Gordon:
These are probably just personal mental blanks, but in case they help people. Some of the stupid things I did until I've realised that they were stupid:
o Using exposure compensation with evaluative/ matrix modes
o Setting a white and black point in every picture I process
o Using clone and healing brushes in normal mode to remove dark or light spots
more to follow - feel free to add your own :) |
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>snip Setting a white and black point in every picture I process
I have taken three Photoshop workshops over the past six years and setting the white and black points has always been at the top of all the guest speakers 'things to do list'.
I also try and do this to most every shot I process. I will admit to not always doing this but I have good intentions. :)
Message edited by author 2003-12-02 16:10:19. |
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12/02/2003 04:57:48 PM · #4 |
Another one I remembered:
o Taking pictures with a tripod slung over a shoulder (adding extra weight and hence even more shake) |
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12/02/2003 05:03:06 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by goodtempo:
o Using exposure compensation with evaluative/ matrix modes
because the evaluative mode will compensate for your exposure compensation?
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Pretty much - its more a case that you don't know what the evaluative mode has picked as the exposure - so you could be adding to its compensation twice, or it could be cancelling out the adjustment you made - or it could change entirely if you move the camera slightly - it might as well be random at that point.
Originally posted by Gordon:
o Setting a white and black point in every picture I process because every picture doesn't always have a black and white point. |
Yup - and making them have them can be unnatural - took a long time for that one to sink in - as someone else mentioned, a lot of books talk about doing this almost all the time - even though most of the time it shouldn't be done.
Originally posted by Gordon:
o Using clone and healing brushes in normal mode to remove dark or light spots
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If you use the lighten or darken mode it works a whole lot better - use the tool for what you are trying to do, not more. |
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12/02/2003 05:04:39 PM · #6 |
How about:
- Getting too close on a macro shot and touching the plant or object to your lens/filter
- Trying to take pictures in the rain without benefit of cover
- Forgetting that I had autobracketing on, taking a picture and then pointing the camera down while it takes shots 2 and 3!!!
Message edited by author 2003-12-02 17:14:38. |
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12/02/2003 06:15:14 PM · #7 |
Trying to take an action shot and realising that I have the 10 second timer on... waiting 10 seconds for the timer to take the photo... setting the camera in position for another action shot... DOH! I left the timer on!
(repeat 4 or 5 times)
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12/02/2003 06:19:20 PM · #8 |
hahahahaha. I've done that so many times after taking shots in the studio.
I also leave the camera in Miror lock up ... once in a lifetime snapshot ... snap ... black viewfinder ... wtf ... aaaahhhhhh miror lock up!
Originally posted by Konador:
Trying to take an action shot and realising that I have the 10 second timer on... waiting 10 seconds for the timer to take the photo... setting the camera in position for another action shot... DOH! I left the timer on!
(repeat 4 or 5 times) |
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12/02/2003 06:25:38 PM · #9 |
Once I set the timer on my camera to take a picture of my wife and I in the park. Just before I tripped the shutter, which would have given me 10 seconds to get in position with my wife in front of the lens, a stranger offered to just take our picture for us. I said thank you, and gave him the camera. He snapped the picture, but the timer was still on! It started beeping, and really startled the guy - I think he thought it was a bomb, or something. Anyway, the next one he took was pretty good.
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12/02/2003 06:28:00 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by Konador:
Trying to take an action shot and realising that I have the 10 second timer on... waiting 10 seconds for the timer to take the photo... setting the camera in position for another action shot... DOH! I left the timer on!
(repeat 4 or 5 times) |
Ben, Good thing with the 300D, if you do this you can simply push the self timer button and I believe it cancels the shot so you don't have to wait for the 10 seconds. :-)
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12/02/2003 06:28:17 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by Jacko:
I also leave the camera in Miror lock up ... once in a lifetime snapshot ... snap ... black viewfinder ... wtf ... aaaahhhhhh miror lock up! |
I hate it when I do that! I always think the camera broke because you hear the mirror go up... and that's it... I'm always like "oh no!" and then I realize what is wrong.  |
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12/02/2003 06:47:00 PM · #12 |
Actually the evaulative metering does not compensate for exposure compensation, it works teh same way as using center or partial metering. It's just not as meaningful as the other two, but it still works. Basically it takes what the matrix metering give you, and reduces the exposure or increases the exposure, which is sometimes helpful as i find on the 10D the matrix metering often blow out highlights, so a -1/3 is often ideal.
Originally posted by goodtempo:
I think I know why on the first two, but not the last one.
Originally posted by Gordon:
These are probably just personal mental blanks, but in case they help people. Some of the stupid things I did until I've realised that they were stupid:
o Using exposure compensation with evaluative/ matrix modes |
because the evaluative mode will compensate for your exposure compensation?
Originally posted by Gordon:
o Setting a white and black point in every picture I process |
because every picture doesn't always have a black and white point.
Originally posted by Gordon:
o Using clone and healing brushes in normal mode to remove dark or light spots
more to follow - feel free to add your own :) |
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12/02/2003 07:39:03 PM · #13 |
I am repeatedly guilty of "leaving the timer on", especially when I've been out taking shots at night.
Sometimes, at the end of a nights shoot I'll experiment with ISO 800 or 1600. The next day I inevitably end up shooting at least 4 or 5 frames in full sunlight at ISO 800 or 1600 before changing it back to 100.
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12/02/2003 07:50:30 PM · #14 |
| never reading my camera manual...and still havent |
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12/02/2003 07:57:46 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by paganini:
Actually the evaulative metering does not compensate for exposure compensation, it works teh same way as using center or partial metering. It's just not as meaningful as the other two, but it still works. Basically it takes what the matrix metering give you, and reduces the exposure or increases the exposure, which is sometimes helpful as i find on the 10D the matrix metering often blow out highlights, so a -1/3 is often ideal.
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The problem with that is, you don't know what the meter is metering for, and it can change with small shifts of the scene. At least with the other modes you know its an medium grey meter every time. It quite often works, but it isn't at all reliable. I'm getting much more consistant results using other methods.
(note that the camera manuals often actually caution against using any compensation in meter modes too)
Message edited by author 2003-12-02 20:00:23. |
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12/02/2003 08:00:43 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by Gordon:
These are probably just personal mental blanks, but in case they help people. Some of the stupid things I did until I've realised that they were stupid:
o Using exposure compensation with evaluative/ matrix modes
o Setting a white and black point in every picture I process
o Using clone and healing brushes in normal mode to remove dark or light spots
more to follow - feel free to add your own :) |
I've just realized I'm stupid. I have no idea what you are talking about. Oh well, I take nice pictures anyway :)
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12/02/2003 08:56:39 PM · #17 |
Yes Center Metering is more effective if you want to spend the time to do metering (i.e. find a patch for your meter or a spot with partial metering), but for action shots, i still prefer using matrix metering and a -1/3 compensation, as long as the high lights are preserved, you can adjust it later (pending noise issues at high ISOs, that may change things)
Originally posted by Gordon:
Originally posted by paganini:
Actually the evaulative metering does not compensate for exposure compensation, it works teh same way as using center or partial metering. It's just not as meaningful as the other two, but it still works. Basically it takes what the matrix metering give you, and reduces the exposure or increases the exposure, which is sometimes helpful as i find on the 10D the matrix metering often blow out highlights, so a -1/3 is often ideal.
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The problem with that is, you don't know what the meter is metering for, and it can change with small shifts of the scene. At least with the other modes you know its an medium grey meter every time. It quite often works, but it isn't at all reliable. I'm getting much more consistant results using other methods.
(note that the camera manuals often actually caution against using any compensation in meter modes too) |
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12/02/2003 09:06:26 PM · #18 |
Hmm let's see what kind of stupid things that I'm guilty of....
- Forgetting to turn on the flash for my flash shots
- Leaving the ISO at 800/1600 and then realising it only after taking the shot
- Using auto contrast and auto levels in Photoshop
:)atwl
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12/02/2003 09:14:28 PM · #19 |
| How about, realised is spelled realized? |
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12/02/2003 09:24:31 PM · #20 |
How about you realise that us Canadians and Brits spell it Realise.
Originally posted by Zeissman:
How about, realised is spelled realized? |
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12/02/2003 10:46:52 PM · #21 |
How about the classic - leaving the lens cap on after turning the camera on in which case the lens cannot extrude properly and the camera gets totally pissed off at me and beeps like crazy.
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12/02/2003 10:48:17 PM · #22 |
-forgetting to change the picture size back from, say, high-compression or small to low or non-compression. I hate doing that.
-leave an ND filter on and wonder why the exposure is so long even though the light is ample.
-forgetting to recharge the batteries before a longish shoot.
-decide on not taking the tripod.
-fogetting to bring a memory card - especially after the current use one has been inserted into the computer for editing.
-forgetting to reset exposure, or flash, compensation.
I feel so stupid when I realise I've done these. And I've done them so often that the feeling increases.
Oh, by the way, exposure compensation is okay for use with matrix/ evaluative metering. Unless I've seriously misjudged the reason for having compensation, it's only useful with these types. In spot mode, you do the compensation yourself. In AE modes, you up or down the compensation based on what you know the problems to be. For example, if you're shooting snow in AE, you'll know that the evaluative meter will underexpose, so you compensate up by a stop and a half or so. In spot mode, you'd simply choose a particular metering area yourself, then adjust as you feel.
With my Minolta, the histogram runs before shooting. With that, I can generally see if compensation is required or not, or whether I'm better off shooting in manual mode. |
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12/02/2003 11:41:27 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by paganini:
Yes Center Metering is more effective if you want to spend the time to do metering (i.e. find a patch for your meter or a spot with partial metering), but for action shots, i still prefer using matrix metering and a -1/3 compensation, as long as the high lights are preserved, you can adjust it later (pending noise issues at high ISOs, that may change things) |
Yup - basically I decided if I was going to take the time to be actually considering the exposure (to the extent of using compensation) I should at least use a metering mode where I know what I'm basing the compensation on. I still use matrix modes when I'm not worrying about metering or making deliberate exposure choices. |
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12/02/2003 11:46:47 PM · #24 |
Originally posted by Koriyama:
Oh, by the way, exposure compensation is okay for use with matrix/ evaluative metering. Unless I've seriously misjudged the reason for having compensation, it's only useful with these types. In spot mode, you do the compensation yourself. In AE modes, you up or down the compensation based on what you know the problems to be. For example, if you're shooting snow in AE, you'll know that the evaluative meter will underexpose, so you compensate up by a stop and a half or so. In spot mode, you'd simply choose a particular metering area yourself, then adjust as you feel.
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spot/ partial and center weighted modes all expose for a mid tone/ grey scene - they just vary the sampled area.
Matrix and evaluative modes don't meter for a mid tone - they evaluate the scene based on the sampled results. It might expose for a mid tone - it might think it recognised a 'beach scene' or a back lit scene. You don't know. It might have already applied a +1 compensation, which you add some more to.
Its a gamble that sometimes pays off - but matrix modes try to work out the correct exposure - you can't reliably bias that further, because you have no sense of where it is starting from. The other modes are significantly different in that they _all_ meter to a mid tone, so you can then bias them with confidence, by understanding which part of the scene was sampled.
Spot mode is an auto exposure mode too. There is a difference between the meter mode you use, and the exposure mode you use (e.g., Manual exposure, Aperture priority, Shutter priority etc, are independent of the meter mode used)
In your snow example, you know that
spot, meter and partial modes will under expose by about 1.5 stops
(pulling the white snow to grey)
A matrix mode might well expose correctly. Or it might expose one stop over, or half a stop, or it might expose like a typical grey scene.
You dial +1.5 in to a spot, meter or partial mode, and you'll get the snow right. You dial +1.5 into an evaluative or matrix mode and you might get it right, or +2 stops, or +3 stops - and it can vary based on small changes in scene, depending on the stored scenes in the camera memory.
That's why it was a stupid thing that I realised I was doing.
Message edited by author 2003-12-02 23:49:30. |
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12/03/2003 01:39:02 AM · #25 |
Originally posted by Gordon:
You dial +1.5 in to a spot, meter or partial mode, and you'll get the snow right. You dial +1.5 into an evaluative or matrix mode and you might get it right, or +2 stops, or +3 stops - and it can vary based on small changes in scene, depending on the stored scenes in the camera memory.
That's why it was a stupid thing that I realised I was doing. |
I get it now. Thanks. :)
Here's my metering method. Gordon, if you can pick holes in it, I'd be happy.
1) Choose aperture and aperture priority
2) Spot meter the most important photo element using that
3) (sometimes quick change to b&w, or squint my eyes, if I can't see exactly) compare the chosen spot with my print out of 20 black to white squares
3) evaluate by comparing with the histogram
4) switch to manual and dial in the exposure settings
5) adjust manually
6) shoot
I do all of this in a few seconds. However, recently, I've been factoring in blowouts or pitch black areas and avoiding them where possible.
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