bakarichavanu Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 This might a dumb or awkward question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. I've been reading and studying everything I can about exposure, and for the most part I get it. But on an engagement shoot I did yesterday evening, I kept wondering why I seemed to have to constantly adjust my exposure through out the shoot. The outdoor light was fairly even, spots of sun here and there, but it seemed like my photos were either too dark at times or too light, and sometimes right on target.( I realize that the LCD screen is not always accurate, so I try to use the histogram as much as I can.) I was mainly trying to shoot in Av priority, and was using sport metering which is something I hadn't been doing in past shoots. The spot metering, that is. But the exposure seemed be fluctuate. So I switched spot metering to normal and it seemed to help some. Anyway, I'm just wondering is it possible to get some consistency in exposure so that I'm constantly not having to fumble around with camera controls when I'm taking shots? I really want to take more control of this aspect of shooting so that I can concentrate more on composition and the like. I'm thinking I should be able to set my camera at ISO 400, f/5.6 or so, Av priority, and keep the Tv at above 125. Is this possible in a normal fairly outdoor shoot? Hope I'm making sense here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakarichavanu Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 BTW, I mainly was shooting with my Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS 30D camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Laur Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Consistent exposure usually comes from metering manually. Spot metering tells the camera to pay attention to a very small part of the scene... so a darker bit of clothing, or a shadow on a face will have it thinking the whole scene is dark. Likewise, spot metering that lands on a bit of white clothing or a sunlit part of a face will be convinced that the whole scene is very bright, and down comes the exposure. Try spot metering on an 18% grey target, see how your histogram looks (should be a dead-center spike) and then manually set your exposure to what the camera came up with. Adjust a bit from there as needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Ingold Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 The best tool for consistent exposure of people and groups is an hand-held incident light meter. An incident meter is calibrated to give good flesh tone exposure from the light falling on the subject, and completely ignores the reflectivity of the subject. This is especially important for weddings and events where the dress is primarily black and white in various proportions. If you use flash as a fill, you can often leave it on TTL, but set the camera in manual or aperture priority. For most consistent results, the flash too should be in manual mode, measured with a flash meter or by trial and error. I use a tripod for formal groups and set the focus mode to manual as well. That way I can focus once by hand without focus-recompose action, and can stay engaged with the subject without continually peeping through the viewfinder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_levine Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 It sounds like you are shooting in JPEG format? You need to research and learn how to shoot in RAW. JPEG is like shooting slides, and locks you into a narrow dynamic range. RAW is like a negative, and allows many adjustments. RAW captures can be adjusted for things like exposure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakarichavanu Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 Matt, I think you're on target about spot metering and black or white clothing because that's exactly the outfits the couple wore. First black shirt and then nearly all white outfit. So the metering seems off. I didn't know that was a reason. I've never read about the point you make spot metering and dark or white clothing. Steve, I did shoot in RAW (thank god!) and that's helped a lot with the shadows and highlight issue. In fact, these are among the best engagement photos I've taken. I'll post some later. However, I just like not to not fool around with the controls so much and just shoot. I realize that if I can keep my subjects in even light if would help greatly. Edward, yes I could have used fill light (maybe shot through a diffuser) on many of the shaded shots. But I'm always afraid that I'd take too long setting up those type of shots for my clients. It would be different I guess if I were working with a model and had an assistant. I tend to shoot pretty free form on engagement shootsﾗcapturing portraits as I go along. Thanks for the feedback, guys. It's been very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakarichavanu Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 "Try spot metering on an 18% grey target, see how your histogram looks (should be a dead-center spike) and then manually set your exposure to what the camera came up with. Adjust a bit from there as needed." This really sounds useful. Need to practice how to do it. Would using a grey card be helpful or should I try to locate a grey target in the scene where the photo is being taken? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakarichavanu Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 Here's a sample of the photos. All of them have been corrected and enhanced in Aperture, but I also included a few them demonstrate of the problems I was having with exposure during the shoot. Thanks for the feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakarichavanu Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 Here's a sample of the photos. All of them have been corrected and enhanced in Aperture, but I also included a few them demonstrate of the problems I was having with exposure during the shoot. http://picasaweb.google.com/bchavanu/EngagementPhotos Thanks for the feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Laur Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Bakari: While an incident light meter, as Edward mentions above, is the most ideal tool, you can make very good use of your camera's own meter with something like the <a href="http://www.laurphoto.com/prdr/lastolite_ezybalance.asp" target="_blank"><b>Lastolite Ezybalance</b></a>. In its simplest use, yes, it's a grey card. That can help you with both the metering (it's exactly the 18% grey that your camera wants to think of as dead-center of your exposure), and it can help you after the fact, as you process your RAW files, to get your white balance dead on. As a bonus, the flip side is white - which makes a very nice little reflector. They make various sizes... I've always been in good shape with the twelve-inch version, since it collapses down to a very small package in my bag.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Ingold Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Bakari, You seem to have missed the point, which was to set the exposure in manual mode based a reading to produce exposure for the faces, disregarding the clothing. I prefer to use an incident light meter, but a grey card and reflected reading (using the camera) would work as well. What I said about flash is that if you use it you can usually get by with the TTL flash setting rather than using a flash meter. I use fill flash all the time as a matter or course, without an assistant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakarichavanu Posted June 8, 2008 Author Share Posted June 8, 2008 I'm gonna practice with these tips. I've seen a video about the great card and I'm gonna review that. If I can learn to use it without fumbling around with the camera that would help. Just yesterday I was doing a video shoot and noticed how the photographers got through their outdoor group portraits much faster than i would have. they didn't spend much time fumbling with controls. Again, appreciate the feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tana_d. Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Shooting in Av mode was your problem. In Av mode, you pick the aperture, and the camera picks the shutter speed. It will pick different speeds based on the scene, that's why some photos were underexposed and some over. As others have mentioned, meter your scene first, put those settings in (using manual mode), and you can shoot away without changing your settings. If the light changes you will have to remeter, but if it stays the same you won't need to change anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakarichavanu Posted June 10, 2008 Author Share Posted June 10, 2008 Okay, I'll practice that more. I figure if I kept the Av at around 5.6 and the ISO around 400-600 that the camera would take care of shutter for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjoseph7 Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Electronic SLR's have this "live exposure readings" that drives allot of people batty including me. With manual mechanical cameras we never had that problem. You took an exposure reading of a subject and the needle or diode or lcd locked onto that reading. I think you should just ignore the "live exposure readings", 1/2 a stop here, 1/3 a stop there is not going to dramatically change things much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjoseph7 Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 There should be an AE lock button on your camera. You can use that to lock the exposure reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hersonrivera Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Don't spend money. Set your camera in Manual and use your LCD/histogram and adjust until you get what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakarichavanu Posted June 13, 2008 Author Share Posted June 13, 2008 Looking back on the shoot, guys, I really think it was the spot metering that was causing the confusion. But I am starting to practice more with the full Manual control. I do use the LCD/histogram, but I must admit that the LCD screen on the 30D is not my favorite. I've gotten spoiled by the larger LCD on my Canon Powershot G9, so I guess I now have a better excuse for getting a 40D or 5D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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