steve49 Loc: massachusetts

yep.
I am talking about in the editing software I use
ill look through the links..
just kind of wondering if there is some editing sweetspot that the histogram will lead me to.

thanks for the posts. helpful info here.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

The histogram on your camera back helps you to figure out if you have under or over-exposed your shot. If the "mountain of data" in the histogram pushes up against the right side your shot could be overexposed, if it pushes up against the left side it could be underexposed. This only applies to the "normal" type of shot, not a shot you are doing that is specifically intended to be overly dark or overly light, that histogram would look different. Some cameras, my D500 for example, will actually allow me to shoot a range that includes more stops than the camera histogram can show,so it's important to know what you specific camera will do. In this case the camera histogram would show that the photo is over or under exposed but that may not be the case. This is the most important function of your camera histogram. I can be out shooting, take a quick look at my camera histogram and not the actual photo, and know that I've got the shot in an acceptable range. Shooting too dark when shooting in RAW can create a problem as most of the color information for a RAW (or any photo) is stored to the right side, or lighter side, of the histogram. When shooting in RAW you will be better served to shoot toward the lighter side of the histogram but you must watch carefully any white in your subject as it can be overexposed without the histogram showing that if the white is very small, maybe the white on the belly of a bird, for example. When shooting in JPG it's best to stay in the middle range of the histogram as you will get the most color possible that way.

In editing the histogram shows if you have blown any highlights or you have too many shadows or darks and you can then edit the print to correct the problems. The histogram also shows you if your colors are spread throughout the photo or bunched into one section or place in the photo. The middle of the histogram is your midtone ranges in the photo and most photos need a large range of midtones to have good color, again unless you are shooting for a specific look, for example a high-key photo.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

(Let's try this again.)

For me, because I often shoot in manual, the histogram indicates if I'm close to where I should be... but only if near perfect photo settings are what I want in the first place.
(EG: Custom work might might need custom adjustments.)

marki3rd Loc: Columbus, Indiana

He is not the one that asked the question!!!!

hcmcdole

Let your eyes dictate the "sweet spot". There is no right or wrong although there are probably best practices like any other discipline. The histogram is another tool at your disposal. I use it in LR to move the different areas of the histogram (shadows, highlights, blacks, whites, exposure) to what I find pleasing to my eyes. You can also use the sliders for those different settings under "Basic" to do the same thing. Other photo editors do similar things...

steve49 Loc: massachusetts

I have been making these adjustments by "look".
I get the concept now,.. will look at the graph with more information.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

The on screen histogram is a poor-complicated excuse for the on screen needle light meter used in film cameras. Really what are you going to do if the red is too far right... nothing.... the old needle said "overall the exposure is fine... if the needle is centered on 0." You as the photographer decided if you wanted to go up to capture a dark object or down to capture details of a bright object. SIMPLE

Of course the ISO was set for the film and all other adjustments were on screen telling you what your finger tips just did on the f and speed controls knobs and lens rings... of course focus was also best done on manual. The old Pentax K-1000 is an example of an excellent example of how photographers have back slid with cameras that have a 1000 + 1 readings and adjustments. No not an old foggy wanting old times back... just a realistic assessor of "progress?"

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

That is not a realistic discussion. More like a fairy tale to explain the unknown!

The built in highlight blinky and histogram display on most modern cameras is very well engineered and (except for setting studio flash lighting ratios) is the most advanced light metering system available. It is also complex and non technically inclined photographers often do not understand it well enough to make use of it.



If the red histogram is too far right (climbing up the edge of the graph), the JPEG image produced by the camera is over exposed even if the fairly simple minded match needle says otherwise. The needle is wrong.

That happens very commonly when people shoot bright red flowers! What they get is a dull image with no detail in those overexposed red parts of the flower. What a shame! With an histogram that flaw is obvious. The exposure can be reduced. Or the JPEG engine can be changed to produce less contrast or less saturation too, if shadow detail is also important. It's just a matter of learning how to use the tools available...

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

Histograms give me the tonal range of the picture and I use it to expose to the right

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Some links -

http://www.diyphotography.net/what-are-histograms/
http://petapixel.com/2015/07/01/a-primer-on-reading-and-using-histograms/

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

Don't use it when shooting?????? That's exactly when you SHOULD be using it. In fact as you review each picture, especially in difficult light, you should be eyeing this after each shot. Getting back home on your computer to find you have climbed either of the goal posts and you are sh*t out of luck. Find this out as you shoot so you at least try another shot.

OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

I'm amazed at how many don't have a clue, what it shows, and how to interpret the info it has to offer. Regardless which one , be it on camera, in LR,PS, using it in levels, curves, whatever...I'd bet most don't know there are individual R G B histograms...
I know many a pros that don't use them, and many that do, but rest assured...those that don't, they know why it's there and what it's for.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

Many good YouTube videos on in camera and post processing histograms. The histogram is just a way of displaying the quantity and relative color or lightness vs darkness distribution of the pixels captured by your cameras sensor. That is why it is useful in helping to evaluate the exposure of your image.

Best,
Todd Ferguson
Harrisburg, NC

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

Agree. If one is working in consistence light it's only necessary to chimp the first few shots and hopefully those are practice shots so you don't lose a real opportunity while your zeroing in. Thereafter stopping to look at every shot will help you miss more shots then help. The only disadvantage of your review set to show histogram is you get a smaller picture to review. I have on occasion left my camera in manual focus from a previous night shooting and you can't see that until you are home with out-of-focus. Suggesting you verify the auto focus is alive and well and then set the back to show histogram.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

It shows the distribution of tonal values for each channel. Taken together, it will average the channels into a single histogram.

Lots of useful information can be gleaned from a histogram, even if you shoot raw, as long as you consider that the histogram typically reflects the values in the jpeg rendition of the image.

It will show black and white clipping (muddy shadows and blown highlights), but it will also show you if any of the three channels are clipped - when you look at the histogram for the individual channel. If the blue channel is clipped (blown and with out detail), the blue histogram will show one or more flat-topped peaks against the top edge of the histogram. You have several choices here, one of which might be to dial back the exposure a bit to try to bring the channel(s) out of clipping.

It will also show if your image is going to be dark or bright low key/high key - indicated by a large distribution of data on the left and right respectively. A histogram with lots of dark and bright areas will have two main "peaks" on either side.

For those shooters that like to get the most data on the image with the least noise, you can gauge by the histogram how much additional exposure you can add to the scene without blowing out the highlights. Low to medium contrast scenes (where there are gaps between the data on both sides of the histogram) can often benefit from additional exposure, often being able to add 1 to 2 stops before highlights are lost, considerably improving the detail and noise in the shadow areas.

Last, and probably not least, the histogram will quickly let you know if the dynamic range of the scene is beyond the camera's ability to capture it. You will see lots of data across the histogram, and both left and right sides will have data pressed against the borders. Here you can either make a creative decision to save the highlights or the shadows at the expense of the other, or do an HDR capture, which is made easier by being able to see how much under and over exposure you need to capture the whole range of contrast.

The function of the histogram in software is similar to the camera, allowing you to make creative corrections and adjustments based on how data is distributed on the histogram.

I hope this starts to answer your questions.

Here are some links with visuals:

http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-read-and-use-histograms/

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/histograms1.htm

http://www.techradar.com/us/how-to/photography-video-capture/cameras/histogram-photography-cheat-sheets-for-achieving-perfect-exposure-1320846

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXK6ena5Fk8