well crap - I am leaving and won't be here for the histogram clarification. Well, I may get to check in for a little while tomorrow before i leave. I mean that makes sense and all but I am not sure I can put it into practice yet. I will give it some effort while I am gone - Vivian said she will do the broom jump and let me take pics of her "riding" LOL - it is so good to have friends that encourage your hobbies and have fun with you. :-)

Welcome to Day 56 :) Take a deep breath .. get a cup of coffee ... and sit back and relax before reading today's challenge. Today we are going to attempt Understanding the Histogram. Now before you start hyperventilating ... give me a few minutes to explain.

One thing I want to make very very clear. The histogram is NOT the be-all end-all magic answer for exposure problems. It is more of a generalized guide.


Ok so I want to explain how the camera works as far as exposure goes. Picture in your mind 3 paint cans .. all lined up in a row .... and your camera is the painter. The can on the left is full of black paint. The can in the middle is empty. The can on the right is full of white paint.
Now here is the dilema. The painter (your camera) wants to paint everything in a nice medium grey color. Not too dark, not too light. So the painter looks at the big job ahead of him and decides he can make the color he wants by mixing the black paint with the white paint to get just the perfect shade of grey. Should be simple to do right?
So he starts mixing in the empty can ... when the final result ends up being dark grey ... he looks at it and decides he needs to add more white paint ... to get it to be medium grey. If it ends up being light grey .. he decides he needs to add more black paint to bring it back to medium grey.

So that is what happens .. the camera takes all the colors in the scene you are trying to photograph ... mixes them all together ... and tries very hard to end up with medium grey for a color. (figuratively speaking .. not literally)
If your scene is what the camera perceives as too dark it lets more light in.
If the scene is what the camera perceives as too light it lets in less light.

This is why when you shoot in program mode (P) you will notice the settings change all by themselves. It's the painter (your camera) attempting to make medium grey.

When you adjust the exposure compensation .. you are essentially telling the camera ....(the painter) to go ahead and make the color he wants .. but then add this much extra white or this much extra black because that's the color you like ... and he works for you so he should do as you say.

If you are going to look at the histogram to help you adjust the exposure the MOST important thing is that the color does not go off the edge of the display. It can be as ugly or spikey as it wants to as long as the color falls somewhere in between the 0 on the black side and the 255 on the white side.

Here are a couple visual aids to help you understand what you are looking at.

This is valuable info... When I have looked at the histogram in the past I always felt like the mountains in the middle were what I needed to be concerned with, but they are probable just color, and all I need to worry about are the lines running off the graph right????

LOL boy I must have sent everybody into shock. Don't let the histogram scare you ..... it's a free day. Just go out there and shoot whatever grabs your attention. That's my plan for the day .. After my coffee that is. I had to explain the workings of the histogram for all that wanted to know. I thought about making a separate thread about it .. but I ventured out into the forum yesterday and got called names and told to drink prune juice to sweeten my disposition hahhahaha so I'll just stick here with y'all ... the only sane people on the forum.

Isnt that something, about the other forums... I look, but often keep my thoughts to myself...

Thanks so much Photogrl for this info. It was sure something I needed and so easy to understand. Now to put it to use..lol. I did find the settings on my camera to change all the settings and exposure compensation so I am ready for today..lol. Yes I am a newbie, but a very excited one now that I know what those spikes are all about! Pictures to come later.

Welcome to Day 56 :) Take a deep breath .. get a cup of coffee ... and sit back and relax before reading today's challenge. Today we are going to attempt Understanding the Histogram. Now before you start hyperventilating ... give me a few minutes to explain.

One thing I want to make very very clear. The histogram is NOT the be-all end-all magic answer for exposure problems. It is more of a generalized guide.


Ok so I want to explain how the camera works as far as exposure goes. Picture in your mind 3 paint cans .. all lined up in a row .... and your camera is the painter. The can on the left is full of black paint. The can in the middle is empty. The can on the right is full of white paint.
Now here is the dilema. The painter (your camera) wants to paint everything in a nice medium grey color. Not too dark, not too light. So the painter looks at the big job ahead of him and decides he can make the color he wants by mixing the black paint with the white paint to get just the perfect shade of grey. Should be simple to do right?
So he starts mixing in the empty can ... when the final result ends up being dark grey ... he looks at it and decides he needs to add more white paint ... to get it to be medium grey. If it ends up being light grey .. he decides he needs to add more black paint to bring it back to medium grey.

So that is what happens .. the camera takes all the colors in the scene you are trying to photograph ... mixes them all together ... and tries very hard to end up with medium grey for a color. (figuratively speaking .. not literally)
If your scene is what the camera perceives as too dark it lets more light in.
If the scene is what the camera perceives as too light it lets in less light.

This is why when you shoot in program mode (P) you will notice the settings change all by themselves. It's the painter (your camera) attempting to make medium grey.

When you adjust the exposure compensation .. you are essentially telling the camera ....(the painter) to go ahead and make the color he wants .. but then add this much extra white or this much extra black because that's the color you like ... and he works for you so he should do as you say.

If you are going to look at the histogram to help you adjust the exposure the MOST important thing is that the color does not go off the edge of the display. It can be as ugly or spikey as it wants to as long as the color falls somewhere in between the 0 on the black side and the 255 on the white side.

Here are a couple visual aids to help you understand what you are looking at.