Understanding Exposure

[Brooks]

Here's another example where an automatic exposure is preferred because of the shooting situation. Sometimes you can't look through the camera and you can only spare one hand to take the picture.

The combination of tones in this scene just happened to work out to an "average " meter reading.

This time I chose Shuter Priority and let the camera choose the aperture.

[jfrancho]

Composition was by no means any part of this; for me, this was one of those "tricky exposure" scenes due to the dramatic variances of the elements.

I know. That's why I mentioned it. I know we are trying to limit the scope of the discussion, but the fact remains that composition can, and often is, the solution to a tricky exposure.

[jfrancho]

Originally Posted by Brooks

Here's another example where an automatic exposure is preferred because of the shooting situation. Sometimes you can't look through the camera and you can only spare one hand to take the picture.

The combination of tones in this scene just happened to work out to an "average " meter reading.

This time I chose Shuter Priority and let the camera choose the aperture.

That's awesome...
Along with your great examples supporting AE in certain circumstances, I'll add this tiny bit of advice: I often put my camera in P mode, Evaluative metering and ISO 400 before storing it. This way, I can grab it and take a fast picture without worrying about anything other than the clicking the shutter.

[expensive_hobby]

Originally Posted by jfrancho

That's awesome...
Along with your great examples supporting AE in certain circumstances, I'll add this tiny bit of advice: I often put my camera in P mode, Evaluative metering and ISO 400 before storing it. This way, I can grab it and take a fast picture without worrying about anything other than the clicking the shutter.

Now that is a NOVEL idea! Do you know just how many wasted images I have because there was no time to look at my settings!?!?!?!

[expensive_hobby]

Originally Posted by cyclohexane

The general rule for handholding is that one can handhold any particular lens at a shutter speed of 1 over the focal length or faster. For example, if I have a 50mm lens, then I can safely handhold it at 1/50 second or faster.

Of course, practical experience will show that there is some deviation from the rule, and of course you have to factor in the size/weight/balance of the equipment.

That notion is brilliant if you ask me!

(I can be very easy to please wouldn't you say? )

[Brooks]

Originally Posted by jfrancho

That's awesome...
... I'll add this tiny bit of advice: I often put my camera in P mode, Evaluative metering and ISO 400 before storing it. This way, I can grab it and take a fast picture without worrying about anything other than the clicking the shutter.

That IS a great idea!

[Max@Home]

Originally Posted by jfrancho

Along with your great examples supporting AE in certain circumstances, I'll add this tiny bit of advice: I often put my camera in P mode, Evaluative metering and ISO 400 before storing it. This way, I can grab it and take a fast picture without worrying about anything other than the clicking the shutter.

...storing ?? do you STORE your camera ??

seriously, great 'tiny bit of advice'

...for those who store...



Max@Home

[jfrancho]

in the camera bag.....smarty pants!!!

[Jason Hermann]

Here's an example from today I thought was pretty tuff lighting conditions. The white flower's had a beam of sun on them and the road in the background looked pretty bright. First I took a shot at my cameras normal flat exposure. Then I chimped the LCD screen / Histogram and saw the bright white flowers blinking. Based on that info I lowered the exp comp -2/3 and took the shot again. I also had it on the regular metering mode.

I took the shot in Av mode at f/2.0, 1/1000sec, Canon 50mm. Raw image un-edited:


Here is the edited version:



I pretty much went for the underexposure/ recover in post approach

Jay

[expensive_hobby]

Marvelous Jay! Just marvelous! As I get a firmer grip on this, I'm thinking in circumstances like that I'd rather underexpose and recover just as you have stated. Thanks for posting examples!

BTW: Did you enter it in the 8/1 50mm thread? I think you should!

[Jason Hermann]

Thanks EH I did enter and this is 1 of my images from today

Jay

[KellyL]

Jay, I would be interested in the details of your post processing work.

[JohnC]

Really nice job on recovering/fixing the wagon cart of flowers. The only thing I don't like is the road in the background.

[aam1234]

Originally Posted by KellyL

Jay, I would be interested in the details of your post processing work.

Me too.

[Jason Hermann]

Thanks JohnC

I did what I do to pretty much all my images for the most part.

I run the TLR sharpening scripts.

I do a threshold adjustment layer to find the brightest and darkest areas. Then a curves adjustment to get the levels correct referencing the points from the threshold step.

Then I used the shadow Highlight adjustment on a duplicate layer to bring back a little of the scene while masking out the bright areas with a soft brush.

Then I used another curves adjustment layer to fine to the brightness increase with a mask.

I also cloned out the wires up top and the garbage can on the right.

Then I added a Hue/ Sat layer and raised it up. Thats it

If you want more details with pictures and stuff you can check out the HRD tutorial in the HDR section. Just skip over the HDR part and look at the Photoshop editing portion of the tutorial that makes up the last half or so

Jay

[KellyL]

Thanks for sharing Jay. I will be looking in to this. What are TLR sharpening scripts?

Question for the thread: What would Jay have done differently to get a better original exposure of the cart? Or was a better exposure possible?

[KellyL]

Jay....great tutorial. I found the TLR sharpening. Thanks for the pointer.

[jfrancho]

Kelly, here are some links to my sharpening work flow:
http://www.photocamel.com/forum/imag...harpening.html
http://www.photocamel.com/forum/imag...ts-images.html

[KellyL]

Thanks John! All help is appreciated.

[felix.reichardt]

Worm, thanks for describing your workflow. I might try that out for one or the other image.

Is the sharpening the first in your workflow? What I have learned is that should be the last part in PP. (Maybe I misinterpreted your workflow).

Cheers