Exposure????? (Page 2): I ran the photo thru AdobeCameraRraw on Auto. It took the exposure down .34 of a stop. I think it is slightly overexposed only because of the window area, being...

par4fore Loc: Bay Shore N.Y.

Rod Clabaugh wrote:

Being somewhat new to photography I have a question. When it comes to taking photos how can you tell if a picture is under or overexposed? Isn’t a little subjective? I find the task of photo editing daunting because I’m not sure if I should change a picture or not. It really handcuffs me sometimes because I don’t want to ruin a photo.

I ran the photo thru AdobeCameraRraw on Auto. It took the exposure down .34 of a stop. I think it is slightly overexposed only because of the window area, being so bright it distracts.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Rod Clabaugh wrote:

Isn’t a little subjective?

Totally. It's called artistic expression. Exposure is in the eye of the beholder. Read about high key photography.

https://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/the-complete-beginners-guide-to-shooting-high-key--photo-2949

R.G. Loc: Scotland

There is no right or wrong as far as overall brightness is concerned, and that is something that's easily adjusted in post processing. Part of the skill of PP is getting the different levels looking right.

Lifting the shadows brings out detail and that can seem like an improvement, as can lowering the highlights, since that too can reveal details and it can bring the brights into a range that seems more comfortable to the eye. However, lifting the shadows (and the blacks) and lowering the highlights (and the whites) all have the effect of reducing the overall contrast. Too much of that can leave an image looking flat (lacking in depth) and lacking in drama. On the other hand, adding too much contrast can push the darks into becoming too solid and pronounced, and it can push the brights into becoming too glarey and diffuse.

It's all a balancing act. You want the detail to be visible but you also want the depth and drama that comes with having sufficient contrast. If the image responds well to adding lots of contrast you can mitigate the worst of the unwanted effects by reining in the Blacks and/or Whites.

Lifting the shadows and lowering the highlights is usually OK if you use the Blacks and Whites to keep the contrast from dropping too much, plus you can add contrast via the slider. Sometimes the only adjustment you need is a little extra contrast or a slight shift to the overall brightness level.

As others have noted, your pic is overexposed because the highlights are blown - and that's something that's not so easily fixed in post.

Paulco2 Loc: Gettysburg PA

Just a thought on your reluctance to do post processing. You can keep your original as you shot it by duplicating it and do your post processing on the duplicate. That way your can learn the capabilities of your post processing software without endangering the original. You may or may not like the processed image better than the original but you have a choice. As others have said above, you alone are the judge of which version better suites your purposes.

Good luck on both your shooting and learning!

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

If you use a program such as Lightroom, you can’t ruin the photo because it’s a non-destructive editor. If you want you can go back to the original image and start over or just back up a step or two.

TucsonDave Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Rod Clabaugh wrote:

Being somewhat new to photography I have a question. When it comes to taking photos how can you tell if a picture is under or overexposed? Isn’t a little subjective? I find the task of photo editing daunting because I’m not sure if I should change a picture or not. It really handcuffs me sometimes because I don’t want to ruin a photo.

You have received some great advice in answer to your question. I suggest you follow up with additional reading. There are very good videos available and books. Steve Perry has both. You didn't mention the type of camera you have, but Steve's E-book "Secrets to Exposure and Metering for Nikon" and Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure, 4th Edition" are both good references for your library. Steve also has several videos on this and other subjects. Have fun and keep learning!

uhaas2009

The cats ear creating shadows and here noise is in available light. If you expose for the shadow the cats noise will be overexposed. If you expose for the noise the shadow will be dark.
In your situation I wouldn’t change anything on this picture.
Next time the cat is in the same spot ( watch for morning light, midd day and sun down light) underexpose and overexpose some frames and see what results you like better. .....

BebuLamar

it's overexposed to me but if you don't see that then it's fine. Exposure is about exposing to get the image you want.

REJ Loc: Ontario Canada

Kozan wrote:

Rod, I think it is slightly over-exposed. But just slightly. And over or under exposure really depends on how you feel about the image. In general, you never want to blow out important details. Some parts of the image can be blown out (no detail), and some part can be so black there is no detail. As long as they are not important parts of the image.

The reason I say it is a little over exposed because I think you more detail in the fur in the middle of the cat. As shown on my monitor, a little area has no detail. So I would have darkened the image a little, maybe half a stop or even a full stop.

But again, may I suggest that you go into your editing software and view the image with different exposure values. Start with it dark and then gradually lighten it up until you feel it is perfect. If the image imparts the feeling you want it to, then it is the perfect exposure for that image.

There is no absolutes here. Some responses from folks on UHH will tell you Expose To The Right on the Histogram. and that's fine for grabbing all the detail from the whites. On some photos, you will need to go into your editing software and reduce the exposure for you to get that FEELING that it is correct.

I used to think a good picture had good detail in the dark areas, good middle gray, and good light areas. That is not the case. You could have an image that is LOW KEY where most all of the image was dark, with a small amount of middle gray tones. So, in that case, Exposure To The Right (ETTR) would not provide the proper image.

Take your image of the cat and play with it in Photoshop or whatever editing software you have and see if darkening would provide a better mood to the image.

This may be a lot more response than you wanted, but again the bottom line is that You like the exposure you got. Don't worry about what other people think. If you think it's the proper exposure, that's all that matters.

And yes, it's a fine image as is, but I think it could be improved...

Stan

Rod, I think it is slightly over-exposed. But jus... (show quote)

This is the best reply to a new user that I have seen in a long time, I guess there is still some hope for this failing forum. REJ.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

I hope that with so many different answers the OP is not very confused by now. I am going to add my 2 cents for what it is worth.

Exposure is a flexible term. It is also a subjective term. If you are photographing a landscape with a dark blue sky and in your final image the sky is not deep blue the exposure was not right. I am saying that the exposure of your subject is right on when what you saw or wanted in an image appears as you have envisioned. I can see an image that appears dark to my eyes, underexpose I would say but if the photographer that made the image underexposed it on purpose he got that underexposure as part of his or her artistic feeling.

I like the image of the cat. It is a high key image and as such some of the bright areas will be overexposed. As long as the photographer likes it like that or planned to have it like that it is perfectly fine with me. May I suggest that you learn the basics of exposure and there are plenty of resources available to learn from books to photography classes. I keep as a reference a book written by the late Bahman Farzad called "The Confused Photographer's Guide to Photographic Exposure and the Simplified Zone System" a book with a long title that was written with easy to understand terms and full of information about how to expose the subject. This book is my favorite and I am sure other books do a similar job.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Rod, to me this is is an example of a bit too much additional exposure. There is a lack of detail in the cat's face and a part of the back. It's possible that detail is there if your initial capture was in RAW. Processing will bring that detail into view.

That said, if you like the appearance of the photo, then it is exposed correctly for you.
--Bob

Rod Clabaugh wrote:

Being somewhat new to photography I have a question. When it comes to taking photos how can you tell if a picture is under or overexposed? Isn’t a little subjective? I find the task of photo editing daunting because I’m not sure if I should change a picture or not. It really handcuffs me sometimes because I don’t want to ruin a photo.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Then there are artists who are technically skilled. That technical part can play a huge amount in the artist's success in portraying the subject.
--Bob

bsprague wrote:

There are artists and technicians. An artist simply looks to see if the photo looks like what the mind's eye saw. The technician will try to measure everything to determine perfection. It is exposed properly if you like the look.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Another way to look at it is the kind of tone you want in the dominant color of your main subject. If the color is green, you expose differently if you want a darker tone of green or a lighter tone of green. I see tone as being the same thing as shade. The sensor will try to render any tone as a neutral 18% shade of grey. With such harsh light, your meter is going to have a very hard time to balance all of those tones to neutral grey. When you can, try to balance the tones by changing the light before you meter. If you can’t, then compose to take the best advantage of the light that you have.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Rod Clabaugh wrote:

How do I send an attachment including the exif info?

The EXIF data that does appear in the attachment all relates to APPLE rather than the camera. The file renamed to 'JPEG' rather than 'jpg' also is a giveaway of Apple's involvement. Is there some form of 'revert to original' command that lets you undo or save-as the original? Apple is pretty aggressive in taking control of your image files. The only other source of the original file and data is the file on the camera card

williejoha

I totally agree with CHG CANON. Since cats are usually pretty steady when they are focused on something, I would lower the ISO to as low as possible while still being able to be steady. This would improve overall sharpness. Like Paul said, you seem to have a willing subject. Go back and retake the shot applying all the advise stated here. Good luck, I am looking forward to see the retake.
WJH