Understanding Exposure

[Crotographer]

Wow, I just took an aspirin and re read your post. it has been so long since I thought about what I was ACTUALLY doing.

You guys always speak of f stops. That's 6 down from A stop. A stop rhymes with Aesop. There is no such thing as D stop. Unless you have to apply the brakes.

Therefore, if Aesop applies the brakes on D stop and you're short one stop then you have a bus stop. At that point, shoot. ( In Black and White)

Hey, it's been a long day.................

[kgphoto]

Thank you, thank you. I will be here all week. Try the fish.

[Max@Home]

Originally Posted by KellyL

...and some of those smilies, I wondered, where would one use some of those??

in the Kiss My Camel Forum! Where else ??



Max@Home

[Max@Home]

Originally Posted by jfrancho

I understand what your saying, too. They have to live their own life, and learn from their own mistakes. However, some mistakes can be avoided through good parenting.

...just to make sure: I have nothing against good parenting!



Max@Home

[KellyL]

So since this is becoming chatty... how's the school year treating you Kelly? It looks like they are keeping you busy.

School year is going great. Kids are so much better than last year. We have a large population that has moved in the area from Caprini Green in Chicago. These are folks who are looking for a better life than the ghetto/public housing in Chicago had to offer. Government helped them move in. I'm all for trying for that better life, but man...the kids brought a lot of baggage with them. We have to be vigilant for street gang activity, fights, lieing, stealing, disrespect, disrespect, disrespect. If the kids would have left their street smarts back in Chicago, my world would be easier. I didn't sign up to teach in an "inner city" school. Those folks deserve combat pay. I was ready to quit. The stress was awful. This year, much better. Don't have as large as a pocket of uncivilized street kids in my classes. Don't get me wrong. I ended up being one of their favorite teachers, and some of the kids have even sent me emails over the summer. It is all about building relationships and trying to change lives. Oh yes, and then we throw in a little academics in there. But every day I would come home to my girls and think, "My kids at school got the better part of me." It was draining.

Thanks for asking.

[KellyL]

Wow, I just took an aspirin and re read your post. it has been so long since I thought about what I was ACTUALLY doing.

Some of us are trying to get where you are, Anthony!

[Worm324]

Originally Posted by KellyL

Don't get me wrong. I ended up being one of their favorite teachers, and some of the kids have even sent me emails over the summer. It is all about building relationships and trying to change lives.

I would have bet $1000 bucks on that just from your posts in this thread alone

Best,
Jay

[jfrancho]

Originally Posted by Max@Home

...just to make sure: I have nothing against good parenting!



Max@Home

You'll have to talk to my sons in 20 years, to get my evaluation, I just make this stuff up as I go.

[expensive_hobby]

Originally Posted by jfrancho

You'll have to talk to my sons in 20 years, to get my evaluation, I just make this stuff up as I go.

[harryd]

So since this is becoming chatty

I just wanted to say I have really enjoyed this thread and have been trying to understand a lot of what your talking about but lots has been over my head.
With the help of this thread I was able to capture this shot, I hope I metered it right I think I may have underexposed the models just a touch .

[jfrancho]

Yep, you did, and it looks great.

[kgphoto]

In a discussion on another forum as to whether or not using a Whi-bal as a replacement gray card would be a good idea, I had this thought. What do you think?

I have been thinking, that this idea is somewhat skewed.

While you could use the Whi-Bal as a density reference, to use it as a replacement gray card probably is not a good idea. Here is why.

An incident light meter is calibrated to return 18%(+/- company parameters, some say 12-15%). So if you use an incident meter for some readings and the Whi-Bal for reflected readings, you will have to compensate between them.

It is probably better, after calibrating your camera and lens combo and your light meter to give proper exposure, to take a reading of the Whi-Bal and compare it to the luminosity values in PS for a best exposed image and then you can use that value for the luminosity for the Whi-bal as a comparison point for future images. If the value is different in future images, by bringing up or down to your target value, it would bring the rest of the exposure in line.

Of course, this only applies if the Whi-Bal is in the mainly lit area of your photo and not in a shadow or highlight or experiencing glare.

All in all, perhaps it is just better to properly calibrate your meter to your camera and use that instead. This way you can use the incident reading for the average and the reflected for the range of exposure of the scene to see what needs to be modified or sacrificed.

[JDArt]

Originally Posted by harryd

I just wanted to say I have really enjoyed this thread and have been trying to understand a lot of what your talking about but lots has been over my head.
With the help of this thread I was able to capture this shot, I hope I metered it right I think I may have underexposed the models just a touch .

That's a great shot, too.

[Worm324]

Awesome exposure work!! Well calculated for sure Silhouettes are tuff!

Jay

[Max@Home]

Originally Posted by harryd

HarryD, Great Shot! ...wonder how it would look in B+W...



Max@Home

[harryd]

I don't know, what color do you think it is now? I will have one of what Max is having !

[Dean Johnson]

Originally Posted by harryd

I don't know, what color do you think it is now? I will have one of what Max is having !

LMAO!

[felix.reichardt]

Harry, I love this shot !!! ... even with underexposed the models and blown sky ...

Originally Posted by harryd

I just wanted to say I have really enjoyed this thread and have been trying to understand a lot of what your talking about but lots has been over my head.
With the help of this thread I was able to capture this shot, I hope I metered it right I think I may have underexposed the models just a touch .

[kgphoto]

Kelly,

Here is an experiment for you to try. Shoot it in RAW + JPEG with the JPEG settings all on "normal".

Take a model, your daughter, and put her in an outfit that allows the following: Hair on her head, a white collar, a large patch of skin, either a cheek, bare midriff or thigh, and a variety of colors and tones.

DO NOT CARE what she looks like or will it be a great portrait of her. These are test shots only. Well after you take and evaluate these shots, go back and apply the learned info and make a good portrait as a thank you and a graduation gift.

Take one image of her facing the sun. Record the whole shot info. Use a spot meter(handheld) to record the color of her skin, the white collar, a gray card, various color spots on her clothes. Write them down so you can check them on the next images and compare them later. Take one image with your exposure determined by an incident reading dome and one image with a reflected reading off the gray card. Do not tilt the card to get a reflection.

Use an open grassy area as the background.

Keeping the exposure the same,then move around her in 45 degree increments and repeat the process. As you start to get cross lighting and shadows and highlights created by the sun, measure and record both the the shadow and highlight values as well as the main color, but don't change the camera settings!

So meter the bright spots on her collar, the dark and the medium. Do this to her skin and color, etc. Write them down. Eventually you will be on her other side with the sun behind her. Make sure to use a gobo and/large lens hood to keep flare off the lens. Don't take shortcuts here. It only will take few minutes to run this test.

Repeat the circle, but this time add manual flash.(OH - did I not mention to do this test with the Camera on Total Manual and preferably on a tripod?) (Did I need to?)
Using your flash on manual and your manual metered flash contributions only, set your flash to 2 stops under the ambient light. IE if the ambient light is 125 @ f:11, set your manual flash to meter out at 5.6.

Finally once you have more than 3/4 of her in shadow, set your flash to the same f:stop AS THE DIRECT SUN EXPOSURE FROM THE BEGINNING.


Now look at the images on your computer, but don't adjust the exposure. If the first image exposure is off - RE-SHOOT. If the exposure is fine, then look at and evaluate the images. See what you like and don't like and then think about the relationships and what you could do to tweak the images to look the "best" to you. Post your results on another thread called Exposure test.

[KellyL]

Kirk,

This looks like a very enlightening experiment. Thanks for the assignment. I will have to check in to this.