Help with metering and correcting

[sydneysnana]

Baker is growing fast and I am still working on learning my camera. I find that I often get the white on his coat too bright. What is the best way to edit? I have looked at levels.... Also, open for suggestions on how to better shoot him

Thanks
Michelle

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1uOWIlRYnpYcRfVbLuvhwrgUoIVq0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1uOWIlRYnpYcRfVbLuvhwrgUoIVq0)

[JonE]

Yes, Levels. However, the white area looks to be blown out. If it's blown out, then you can't recover any details in the white space no mater how you adjust the image. You have to capture all the white details n the image when you shoot it, or you cannot get them. Make sure you have "highlights" mode turned on in your camera if that's available to you. After you shoot check that highlights are not flashing in the white area, indicating overexposure. If they are, then turn down your exposure (either smaller aperture or faster shutter time) and reshoot. If you do not have a highlights mode, see if you have a histogram that you can view after each shot. The histogram will show highlights are being blown out if you see that large numbers of pixels are pushing up against the right side of the graph. A nice curve without pushing pixels off the top or bottom end is what to shoot for.

The reason this happens is not because you're bad, but because of the way the cameras work. When in auto mode, they try to get as much of the photo as right as possible and to do this compromises have to be made. So to get the blacks, the camera turns up exposures but then this can result in overexposing whites. This is a typical problem when shooting a bride and groom (when wearing black and white).

Different cameras have different biases. The bias of my Nikon D50 is definitely to overexpose, so rarely does Auto work correctly and it's generally best not to use auto but to use one of the other modes and turn down the metering or else work in manual mode and adjust settings until the meter in the view finder is 1-2 stops below "normal". (my what a long sentence!)

Make sense?

[nu2scene]

Lots of great information from JonE. The white on the dog is very over exposed compared to the rest of the photo. It almost looks like it was taken with the flash turned on or something.

The problem is, that when it's so over exposed, there is no color left in those pixels. They are totally white. So you won't be able to tone them done. They can only be that white with no detail in them at all.

Maybe try metering off the white of the dog only. Move in closer so the white part occupies much more of the frame in the view finder, and meter off that. Then back up and recompose and shoot with those settings. That might turn out too dark now overall. But at least it'll be easier to compensate in elements, and brighten the pic up.

The blinkies in your lcd help a lot. If you have flashing, you need to lower your exposure like JonE stated. Doing that really helps in nailing the exposure.

[sydneysnana]

Thank you sooooo much for answering my post. That helped alot. I don't have a highlight mode, but know about the histogram. I also went to a camera shop and decided I was trying to use to many of the settings at once when I don't know what I'm doing yet. So this morning I went back to P mode and I am seeing better pictures. I have the Canon Rebel XTi and find the Auto to be more underexposed than anything else. I really want to perfect settings for Baker (puppy) since I take so many pics of him.

Oh I have another question about "metering off of". I've never been quite sure how to do, but reading nu2scene post I think I get it. I am to fill the frame more with his white and take note of the settings showen in the viewfinder, then.....use Manuel to set those????

Thank you again
Michelle

[nu2scene]

Yes that's what I meant. When you are farther away from the puppy, and you aim your camera at him, your camera depending on the model and how it's set up, meters for everything in the frame. The background, the foreground the subject.....everything. Then it comes up with the exposure. So if your subject has lighting on it that is different than most of the parts in the frame, the exposure of the subject might be off. If your subject is small compared to the rest of the frame, the meter will think it's not that important, and when everything else is averaged out, much less consideration is given to your subject. Because it occupies less space in the frame overall.

So to counteract that, you fill the frame more with your subject. So now all the other stuff is no longer effecting the meter. You're basically only metering your subject. You then note those settings, and then set those settings and shoot.

You can play around and see what the differences are. Sit down and meter like you are about to take a pic of your puppy from your normal distance. Note what settings you get. Now get up and stand right next to where your dog is. Make sure he stays in the same spot, so the lighting is the same in both readings. Now meter again with him filling the whole frame. Now see if the readings are different. I'm willing to bet they will be off by a good amount.

But remember that when you shoot with the settings metered off your subject from close up, your exposure for the background might be off when you recompose and shoot. But at least, you will have your subject exposed better, and that is really the point of the pic anyway.....the subject.

In any event, this is where the art part comes in. You'll have to play around with it, and you'll pick it up.

[ljameso1]

When metering off white, use manual and adjust the settings so that the exposure on the bottom of the view finder says you are overexposing by 1 and 1/2 stops. If you put it at the "right on spot" the white will come out gray. Camera meters are set to expose for mid tones and because white is brighter by 1 1/2 to 2 stops must open up when metering off. Black is -1. Other colors range between depending on if is brighter or darker than mid tones.