My camera gets confused and usually under-exposes!. How can I fix this!? What setting should I use!? I use a FujiFilm bridge camera!.
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Position:Home>Visual Arts> How to photograph black dogs at dusk?Question: How to photograph black dogs at dusk!? My camera gets confused and usually under-exposes!. How can I fix this!? What setting should I use!? I use a FujiFilm bridge camera!.
Thanks!Www@QuestionHome@Com Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: The basic problem for this type of photograph is that light meters are calibrated for an "average" range of black, white and intermediate gray images (light meters are generally color blind)!. Most cameras are set to calculate an exposure with a range between 12% and 20% gray so, when a black subject is photographed it would normally be OVER-EXPOSED not under-exposed!. In general this type of photograph will need to be made using manual settings!. If you are using the Fuji FinePix S100FS take a meter reading of the dogs using the spot meter mode, make a test exposure, look at the result and adjust the Shutter/F stop manually until you have the desired detail in the darkest part of the image!. The S100FS also has a Dynamic Range setting which could be set to a higher value to help get the best image capture!. You might also consider shooting in RAW format to increase your processing options!. To further diagnose this situation it would be helpful to see some examples of problem images, to know the exact camera model and what the camera settings and light conditions were!. Dusk is a tricky (but wonderful) time to shoot because the light changes so quickly!. I am in central Pennsylvania (same latitude as Ohio) and in the fall I shoot soccer games at dusk, there is often a light fall off of 3-6 f stops in the span of about one hour before it is too dark to play soccer!. also, your images need to be evaluated on a calibrated monitor and if they are made in RAW mode tweaked with a RAW processor before being converted to jpg or tiff!. HTH!. Email me if you want more specific help!.Www@QuestionHome@Com One thing that you might consider - a rim light or edge light can create a really nice separation of your subject from your background, especially with a dark subject in dying light!. This doesn't have to be anything fancy, but even just shining a lamp or flashlight from behind and to the side of the dogs can create a nice effect!. Just make sure it is angled away from your lens, so you don't get any flare!. You definitely need to set your shutter speed and aperture manually to get the kind of exposure you are seeking!. Www@QuestionHome@Com Black animals absorb light like black holes! Cross lighting (two lights 45 degrees angles) are your best method of capturing a photo of a black haired animal!. Now at dusk, I would imagine you would need side lighting plus a strobe to get an accurate image!.Www@QuestionHome@Com It's best if you can set up the camera for manual exposure!.!.!. put it on a tripod, set the shutter speed to 1/8" of a second at the largest f-stop!. On your camera, that would be f/4!.5 or f/5!.6Www@QuestionHome@Com |