I’m talking about the histogram, of course.
Beginners are often a bit afraid of it, and I’ve even ran into pros who don’t really care much about it (which I think is pretty unbelievable). The histogram is one of the easiest way to immediately see if you’re exposure is correct. By using it while you’re taking photos you’ll be able to get away with much less post processing.
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Erin-Emely Britt
Kym
Ganimet Brija
Emily
I enjoy some of the articles but it is ANNOYING AS ALL HELL to always have to click on the next page link just because it exposes more advertisements for you to make money. I am close to deleting my like from your page…
It is a must-use tool for me on every shoot.
good quick explanation of how to read and use histograms for picture exposure
histogram is great for posed subjects or scenes that don’t change, but it’s not very helpful capturing a one-time situation. bracketing your exposures,especially if you have a fast frame rate, can help in those situations
It has never change since the first photo was taken. It is called the right exposure. It may be old school but it is what works. It is called physics. By the way it doesn’t matter how much post editig you do. If the shot is crap it is crap ! ! !
A histogram that’s “in the ballpark” is always a good start. But, if you want a perfect picture, it’s almost always going to involve some post-processing, whether it’s color, contrast or control of highlights and shadows.
At the risk of dating myself, I started out in photography with film. Using color transparency material was probably the best way to teach myself the importance of of good exposure.
Kaelie KendallMarissa Kendall
the guy in the video doesn’t seem to sure of himself there :-/
Perfect exposure is subjective. If you always expose so your histogram is center, you limit yourself. High Key and Low Key are 2 examples of lighting styles that deliberately ignore this “rule”.
Here is the whole article for you. Use your histogram to make sure you’re not clipping any detail.
However, if you are photographing a dark skinned person in a black tuxedo, and it is outdoors at night (what I did a few weeks ago) the histogram weighed heavily to the left, and almost nothing on the right (highlights). The sample photo of the lady with the camera is another example of why this doesn’t always work. Though the histogram showed details lost in the whites, what’s more important, the lady’s face, or the clouds? I think we’d all agree that her face is of primary importance for exposure.
If you used your histogram technique on that image, you would have details in the highlights, but her face would be very dark.
To take your exposure issues, (and white balance) to a whole new level of excellence, do a custom WB and expose using a gray card, or similar device. That really speeds up my workflow. I can edit 200 portraits in about 15 minutes (in Adobe Lightroom).
The histogram is a JPEG image. Not RAW.
I use it religiously in the field and tethered in the studio. You’d have to be crazy not to.
This information is good but is not totally correct.
as long as you stay in one spot all day
Great tip! Thank you, Ethan! Merry Christmas!
I learned photography with film 40 years ago, used a light meter, this is useless . Lear the basics and this will not be an issue. Author states she started photography in 2009, she has so much to learn, won’t learn with auto features, try manual focus and exposure.
Comp. wouldn’t let the video play.
shoot from the gut… go with your mojo….. that is art…..
Wow. Eliminate 90% of post-processing? Sounds like a snapshooter to me. Definitely never going to be an Ansel Adams (who spent hours in the darkroom perfecting his prints).
HUMMMMM— INTERNET server closed content.. HUMMMMM
Histogram is important… very important. But, this video keeps emphasizing “proper exposure”; there is no such thing. One does not want to shoot so that the histogram is primarily in the middle. One should shoot so that the histogram is where you want it to be; this may or may not be the middle. That “proper exposure” concept always gets newbies off to a poor start.
try that with film
I check the white balance if I think about it.
I want to take pictures. Not really interested in being a computer genius.
Wouldn’t call it a “trick”. I look at the histogram all of the time. But this is just the beginning, getting your exposure right. There’s still a number of “tricks” to go.
I find that you can hardly ever go wrong spot metering in Manual mode, and this is what I teach all of my students. Yes, you’re forced to make a decision with each shot to select a shutter speed and aperture appropriate to the situation, but then isn’t that what photography is all about?