Baby Photos

Have you ever taken a great picture on a white background (such as snow) and had it turn out too dark? How about a gorgeous portrait by a large tree with a face that is totally blown out?

When this happens most people just say, “darn!” and either delete it or try to “fix” it on their computer. Some people assume the camera made a mistake, some people blame it on bad luck. 

I am going to tell you exactly why this happens and what you can do to prevent it.

The camera is doing what it has been programmed to do… it is up to YOU to provide the additional information needed for the camera to make adjustments. It doesn’t matter how well you frame your picture or how perfect your timing was if your picture is not exposed correctly.

So what the heck is a histogram?

Simply, a histogram is the graph that shows you how much of each shade there is in a picture, ranging from 100% bright to 100% dark. [Note: Some cameras such as the Canon 30D also have a three channel RGB histogram... we are not going to talk about that at all.]

So… here’s what it looks like!

The left side, 0, is pure black. The right side, 255, is pure white. The picture this came from would have had a full range of light-to-dark. 

While you look at this histogram, imagine mixing all the light-to-dark bars together in a blender to reach an AVERAGE. In this picture, it would end up in the middle. While it’s true the highest point of the hill is a little lighter than the middle (a little to the right), there is a dip after that that makes up for it. See what I mean? It’s important to note this, I will explain why later. 

Let’s look at an example with a picture:

Check it out - the histogram is different for this type of picture. Not a lot of light bars - not a lot of light in the picture. The black spike confirms that the small amount of black I see in the picture is actually black - not grey.

Mix it all up and you will NOT end up in the middle on this one… this picture has more dark than light.

You with me so far? Here’s an example of the OPPOSITE!

Did a lightbulb just go off in your head? I hope so! Let’s move on…

Your camera makes an assumption that every picture you take will blend to medium grey. Obviously, that is not true. Some pictures will be darker… some pictures will be lighter. In the case of the snow-pictures-gone-grey, your camera is just assuming your picture is too white, so exposing it for less time. You will see this more in a picture with more snow then a close up with a little snow.. because more snow is more white in the picture, so your camera compensates with more dark. In the tree picture with the washed out face, your camera is mixing up all the bark and shadows and assuming your picture is too dark. To make up for it, it exposes your picture for more time, resulting in the blown out face. 

Somebody out there is going, “This lady is crazy! My tree pictures are too dark, not too light!” Yeah, I know who you are, too. Your tree pictures are backlit… look if you don’t believe me! ;P Your camera is seeing all that light coming in the background and assuming it should expose for less time - again, to make middle grey.

So what shooting mode makes this happen? ANY MODE THAT YOU ARE USING THE BUILT-IN METERING, INCLUDING MANUAL.

To see your histogram, pull up in picture’s info on your camera screen. Some cameras will even let you set it to pop up every time you take a picture - I do this with all of my cameras. On my 30D all I have to do is press the “Info” button. Check your manual for specific instructions. 

Now that you know how to look at it and what it means, you should start using it right away, every time. Before you take your picture, think to yourself, “does the picture I see in my head mix to middle grey, lighter, or darker?” Make adjustments by overexposing for lighter and underexposing for darker. If you are away from a computer and don’t trust yourself yet, you can bracket exposures (see your manual). By doing this from now on, you will ensure that you have 100% correctly exposed pictures! Woo hoo!

One more thing: Pictures with mostly dark are called Low Key. Pictures with mostly light are called High Key. Some photographers are obsessed with achieving flawless High Key. For example, Michelle Haley who was interviewed in earlier post The Art of Lighting actually sets up three strobes to achieve this.

Happy shooting!

 

 

Similar Posts:

• How To Use a Flash to Take Great Kid Photos- Part 1 of 3
• Let It Snow! Scrapbooking Baby’s First Snow
• How To Use Flash - Part 3 of 3
• How To Photograph Graduation
• What The Heck Is White Balance?