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Do You Use Your Histogram
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Jun 29, 2020 22:38:43   #
Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York
 
BooIsMyCat wrote:
.......

Do you use your histogram in your photography or is it a tool that is overlooked and left alone in the Menu section of your camera?


I am pretty much a newbie to digital cameras. I bought my first one around 2011. I would glance at the histogram now and then not really understanding its intricacies. Now I spend a little more time when setting up or reviewing a shot. I am slightly more experienced than before, but not by much.

Happy Shooting!

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Jun 30, 2020 05:35:32   #
billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
 
BooIsMyCat wrote:
I have been reading up on the use of histograms and find one issue missing - motion.

Most articles end with something like: "Never use your LCD for exposure again!" or something to that effect but, can you expose your image using the histogram when your subject is moving? Sounds pretty obvious but, for beginning photographers, this glaring omission could frustrate the daylights out of the newbie.

Do you use your histogram in your photography or is it a tool that is overlooked and left alone in the Menu section of your camera?
I have been reading up on the use of histograms an... (show quote)


Histograms are a tool I use in landscape photography when I have the time to use them. I have found that histograms can be off when shooting white birds against a black background and for other unique lighting situations.
Instead of a histogram, I look at my first exposure in the morning and adjust my EC to adjust exposure to the way I like the image to look.

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Jun 30, 2020 05:35:52   #
w00dy4012 Loc: Thalia, East Virginia
 
rmalarz wrote:
Rarely, if ever, use the in-camera histogram. I use the histogram in the very first steps of processing.
--Bob


I'm with you.

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Jun 30, 2020 06:04:18   #
BruceS
 
Yes.

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Jun 30, 2020 06:56:36   #
BooIsMyCat Loc: Somewhere
 
Scruples wrote:
I am pretty much a newbie to digital cameras. I bought my first one around 2011. I would glance at the histogram now and then not really understanding its intricacies. Now I spend a little more time when setting up or reviewing a shot. I am slightly more experienced than before, but not by much.

Happy Shooting!


The histogram is a very useful tool for shooting flowers and close-up photography.

Check out a book by John and Barbara Gerlach (Amazon) - Close Up Photography In Nature.

Enjoy your camera!

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Jun 30, 2020 07:59:29   #
Architect1776 Loc: In my mind
 
BooIsMyCat wrote:
I have been reading up on the use of histograms and find one issue missing - motion.

Most articles end with something like: "Never use your LCD for exposure again!" or something to that effect but, can you expose your image using the histogram when your subject is moving? Sounds pretty obvious but, for beginning photographers, this glaring omission could frustrate the daylights out of the newbie.

Do you use your histogram in your photography or is it a tool that is overlooked and left alone in the Menu section of your camera?
I have been reading up on the use of histograms an... (show quote)


Do not use in camera.
Rarely in post.
Just do what I like and to heck with all others.
My photos are for my enjoyment not for sale so no stress just have FUN taking snapshots.

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Jun 30, 2020 08:05:18   #
CaptainPhoto
 
I find it interesting that some never use the histogram and state that they make exposure adjustments in post processing. If you have overexposed the image or underexposed the image all the post processing in the world is not going to bring back the the blowout elements of the photo. I use my on-camera or live-view histogram to get the best exposure I can. I do tend to shoot ETTR.

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Jun 30, 2020 08:44:35   #
Tomcat5133 Loc: Gladwyne PA
 
BooIsMyCat wrote:
I have been reading up on the use of histograms and find one issue missing - motion.

Most articles end with something like: "Never use your LCD for exposure again!" or something to that effect but, can you expose your image using the histogram when your subject is moving? Sounds pretty obvious but, for beginning photographers, this glaring omission could frustrate the daylights out of the newbie.

Do you use your histogram in your photography or is it a tool that is overlooked and left alone in the Menu section of your camera?
I have been reading up on the use of histograms an... (show quote)

Reply
Jun 30, 2020 08:46:16   #
Tomcat5133 Loc: Gladwyne PA
 
Histograms are used in video often. I know if my LED is showing the right final image
by experience with whichever camera I am using. That is the good part of mirrorless cameras.
Good luck.

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Jun 30, 2020 08:52:46   #
gsmith051 Loc: Fairfield Glade, TN
 
I use the histogram in processing. Hardly ever when shooting.

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Jun 30, 2020 08:57:58   #
bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA
 
BooIsMyCat wrote:
I have been reading up on the use of histograms and find one issue missing - motion.

Most articles end with something like: "Never use your LCD for exposure again!" or something to that effect but, can you expose your image using the histogram when your subject is moving? Sounds pretty obvious but, for beginning photographers, this glaring omission could frustrate the daylights out of the newbie.

Do you use your histogram in your photography or is it a tool that is overlooked and left alone in the Menu section of your camera?
I have been reading up on the use of histograms an... (show quote)


I use histograms all the time to confirm proper exposure in the camera and during editing both in Lightroom and Photoshop. It is the surest way to confirm proper exposure settings. It is especially important for a newcomer such as yourself to learn and use histograms as part of learning the exposure triangle and how to manually set your camera; a basic required skill.

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Jun 30, 2020 09:05:25   #
gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast
 
A moving subject may create an ever-changing range of exposure situations involving light and shadow. Matrix metering May help with that. The key word is "may".

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Jun 30, 2020 09:10:12   #
camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.
 
Well, I am sure by now a newbie is totally confused with the myriad of answers the OP has received. A question like this is going to generate lots of answers and we are all different and we all have our own ways of doing our photography.

A histogram, and it has been said already is an aid to exposure and distribution of pixels in the image. A color histogram gives an excellent indication for the colors in the three channels, red, green and blue. It seems to be the most accurate.

With my mirrorless cameras I often look at the histogram, not so often with my dSLR bodies. Editing in post does not make miracles, if the bright areas are blown off no processing is going to bring them back and other tonalities will be also affected. Expose for an important bright area and the chances are excellent the exposure will be OK for ALL tonalities. Film is different but we are not discussing film here. If using my dSLR bodies I find the exposure difficult then I look at the histogram in camera and do the same if exposing to the right.

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Jun 30, 2020 09:25:00   #
brent46 Loc: Grand Island, NY
 
I use it when editing raw files.

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Jun 30, 2020 09:29:09   #
Architect1776 Loc: In my mind
 
bpulv wrote:
I use histograms all the time to confirm proper exposure in the camera and during editing both in Lightroom and Photoshop. It is the surest way to confirm proper exposure settings. It is especially important for a newcomer such as yourself to learn and use histograms as part of learning the exposure triangle and how to manually set your camera; a basic required skill.


My camera has a cool little screen on the back I can look at and study for exposure.
Really a wonderful invention.

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