Exposure Problems (Page 2): :sm24: :sm24: Does sound like exposure compensation is where this will go (so far), but a sample jpeg would help.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

CHG_CANON wrote:

A few ideas:

1. Attach an example JPEG from the camera that demonstrates the exposure issue. Be sure to store the original. In digital photography, the camera writes a host of technical details into the image file that we can download along with your original image and analyze (EXIF data). We can see the image and the exposure and the exact camera settings and can help you understand what happened.

2a. Take an image in full auto. Review the settings selected by the camera. Switch to either Aperture or Shutter priority and adjust to the same settings. Assuming you have the ISO fixed (not auto ISO), you should be able to create the same image as the camera did in Auto. Depending on the mode, you can then begin to adjust the Aperture or Shutter as desired. You should achieve the same exposure with the adjustments as the camera will dynamically adjust other aspects of the exposure triangle. In Aperture mode, for an example, if you open the aperture, the camera will quicken the shutter to compensate.

2b. While using Aperture or Shutter priority mode and setting the Aperture or Shutter to the desired values for your composition, use Exposure Compensation (EC) to modify the overall exposure making it either brighter or darker. I believe the EC tool will prove to be the control you need to employ to achieve success in the Aperture, Shutter or Program modes.

3. In digital photography, having the exposure at 'zero' in the view finder is rarely the desired result. Rather, you should be using the camera's histogram and highlight warnings (aka blinkies). Your highlight warnings should not be occurring or should be minimal, depending on preference. Your histogram should have a bias to the right, up to the point the highlights are blinking. As suggested in 2b, use EC to shift the exposure to the "left" or "right" when the technical details of an image are viewed in the histogram or the meter. Make an EC adjustment and view the details again until the desired exposure is achieved. Then, begin working on composition and focus of your images as the exposure is set until the light or scene changes.

4. Use your manual to find and understand the dials on the body and menus in the camera to operate / enable the suggestions above, if needed.

A few ideas: br br 1. Attach an example JPEG from... (show quote)

Does sound like exposure compensation is where this will go (so far), but a sample jpeg would help.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

CO wrote:

crazydaddio above makes a good observation. There could be a lot of variation in spot metering mode. If the camera is in spot metering try switching to matrix metering.

Ditto for centre-weighted metering. Stick to matrix metering till you understand the other modes better.

lloydl2 Loc: Gilbert, AZ

from the symptoms you describe I suspect you have either a +/- value set in exposure comp. exposure comp does not automatically go back to zero after you use it..

Nikon1201

Go to YOU TUBE and watch videos about your camera in AP SP Manual also about ISO , depending on the lighting you may need to use a tripod . U Tube will give you the answeres you need

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

lloydl2 wrote:

from the symptoms you describe I suspect you have either a +/- value set in exposure comp. exposure comp does not automatically go back to zero after you use it..

Actually, I suspect that the OP is using spot metering and not center weighted (or similar evaluative metering) and is not using exposure compensation correctly, if at all.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

allend wrote:

I'm new to photography. I took my Nikon D3400 out to snap some pictures today. I tried Shutter Priority and Aperture Priority. All photos were either underexposed or overexposed.........badly. I could not get the light meter to center on any photos. If I went up or down and f-stop or shutter speed it threw the light meter either too high or too low. I know this is probably something elementary I'm doing wrong. Any help would be appreciated.

"Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_6?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=understanding+exposure&sprefix=unders%2Cstripbooks%2C212&crid=SWSWP4FSCXPM&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Aunderstanding+exposure)

Get it. Ready it. Study it. Learn it.

P.S. Youtube can be useful for certain things... to learn a specific technique. But setting exposure and using the various exposure-related controls of a modern camera is WAY too complex a subject for a short video to cover.Buy the book! It may be the best $15-$20 you ever spend on your photography!

SteveR Loc: Michigan

JeffDavidson wrote:

Do you have the EV set to other than "0?"

This could very well be the problem. I was having the same problem and called Gil at Arlington Camera. That was his first guess and he was right.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

SteveR wrote:

This could very well be the problem. I was having the same problem and called Gil at Arlington Camera. That was his first guess and he was right.

According to the OP the exposure isn't consistently high or consistently low. I think we'll find that he has the metering set to either spot or centre-weighted.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

Please attach an example photo so we can can check the settings. Choose file and check store original.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

R.G. wrote:

According to the OP the exposure isn't consistently high or consistently low. I think we'll find that he has the metering set to either spot or centre-weighted.

It is amazing what different meter settings can give you drastically different results.

BebuLamar

What really confused me that the OP said "If I went up or down and f-stop or shutter speed it threw the light meter either too high or too low". I believe in either A or S mode the meter is not visible.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

BebuLamar wrote:

What really confused me that the OP said "If I went up or down and f-stop or shutter speed it threw the light meter either too high or too low". I believe in either A or S mode the meter is not visible.

The plot thickens.... If the D3400 is the same as the D5200 there is only one adjustment wheel, and in manual mode, to change from adjusting shutter speed to adjusting aperture you press the exposure compensation (EC) button while turning the wheel. On the other hand, when in A or S mode, if you press EC while operating the adjustment wheel it adjusts the exp. comp. and the adjustment appears on a scale very similar to the exposure meter scale. Could it be that he's seeing an exposure compensation adjustment but thinks that it's a metering alteration because he thinks that he's looking at the exposure meter scale? (The EXIF data will reveal all...... ).

CO

allend wrote:

I'm new to photography. I took my Nikon D3400 out to snap some pictures today. I tried Shutter Priority and Aperture Priority. All photos were either underexposed or overexposed.........badly. I could not get the light meter to center on any photos. If I went up or down and f-stop or shutter speed it threw the light meter either too high or too low. I know this is probably something elementary I'm doing wrong. Any help would be appreciated.

You really should post some of these photos. Post one underexposed and one overexposed photo. Be sure to check the "store original" box. We will be able to see the Exif data. I think your problem could be solved definitively.

allend

Thanks everyone

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

R.G. wrote:

According to the OP the exposure isn't consistently high or consistently low. I think we'll find that he has the metering set to either spot or centre-weighted.

Though my guess would be spot since center weighted would be a bit more forgiving.