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Nikon exposure bracketing
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Apr 7, 2021 10:40:35   #
Lance Smith
 
My D750 is not showing exposure differential in the in camera hdr setup.

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Apr 7, 2021 10:57:14   #
larryepage Loc: North Texas area
 
bbrown5154 wrote:
https://imaging.nikon.com/support/digitutor/df/functions/hdr.html
Note: You have to save it as a JPEG its not available if your saving it as a RAW file.


That must be specific to the D750. There's no HDR option in that location or anywhere close to it on my D850, at least not with the current firmware.

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Apr 7, 2021 10:59:57   #
larryepage Loc: North Texas area
 
.

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Apr 7, 2021 11:17:51   #
bbrown5154 Loc: Baltimore, MD
 
larryepage wrote:
That must be specific to the D750. There's no HDR option in that location or anywhere close to it on my D850, at least not with the current firmware.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGK43jn33qk

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Apr 7, 2021 11:45:51   #
Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC
 
"...Move the model to better lighting or use fill flash..."
gvarner actually in strong back-lighting scenarios I have found a large reflector to be a stellar tool also... A white 4'x6' collapsible is a very cost effective modifier that typically remains a neutral component in the color balance equation.

That said even with an effective lens hood and Nikon's latest Nano Crystal Coatings veiling flare can be and oft is a challenge... Below is use of a large reflector in strong back-lighting... Not much of a fan of veiling flare however beauty is in the eyes of the checkbook holder.

Hope this helps...
Or is at least food for thought...

A White 4'x6' Collapsible Reflector
A White 4'x6' Collapsible Reflector...
(Download)

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Apr 7, 2021 11:57:38   #
gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast
 
Thomas902 wrote:
"...Move the model to better lighting or use fill flash..."
gvarner actually in strong back-lighting scenarios I have found a large reflector to be a stellar tool also... A white 4'x6' collapsible is a very cost effective modifier that typically remains a neutral component in the color balance equation.

That said even with an effective lens hood and Nikon's latest Nano Crystal Coatings veiling flare can be and oft is a challenge... Below is use of a large reflector in strong back-lighting... Not much of a fan of veiling flare however beauty is in the eyes of the checkbook holder.

Hope this helps...
Or is at least food for thought...
"...Move the model to better lighting or use ... (show quote)


Nice shot. It’s all about managing the light. My problem is that I generally know what to do but I rarely take the time to do. An inveterate snap shooter. 🥴🥴

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Apr 7, 2021 12:04:59   #
amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA
 
Alphabravo2020 wrote:
I was playing around with HDR mode over the weekend in an attempt to deal with back-lit subjects in direct sunlight. I kind of gave up when I couldn't get the HDR function to enable on my D850 and also I read that this situation is better dealt with using bracketing.

So I'm testing out bracketing and I'm wondering if the intent is to be able to selectively stack the variously exposed images in post. Also, if I shoot in manual and get 3 frames of a scene at 0, +2, and +4, I presume this means that the ISO is adjusted and not aperture or shutter speed. Anyway, can I stack these in Photoshop somehow? I'd appreciate if anyone knows a good tutorial.

Related question. I imagine that if I want to use bracketing to deal with a back-lit subject such as a model in direct sunlight, that the success is somewhat dependent on the capture rate of the camera. At 7 or 9 fps for the D850, I'd guess that the subject and background should be pretty static for the stacking to work effectively in post.

Also, when setting up the shot, is there a way to tell how far underexposed, say the shadowed face of the subject is using the exposure meter in the viewfinder...to help decide what bracketing steps to use? Once you get past two steps the viewfinder no longer indicates how far the exposure is under/over. I guess I could count wheel clicks above a properly exposed background to get proper exposure on, say, the shadowed face of the subject.

TIA. I'm thinking I will buy Steve Perry's book and see if that helps.
I was playing around with HDR mode over the weeken... (show quote)


Perhaps the reason you couldn't enable HDR was because you were shooting RAW files?

I don't have D850 so don't know for certain, but many (most? all?) cameras can only do in-camera HDR with JPEGs.

You can do HDR from RAW files, but will need to do it in post-processing, after converting the files from RAW into something workable. One advantage of doing this is that you can do the HDR work with 16 bit TIFFs (or PSDs or whatever), instead of 8 bit JPEGs.

Bracketing can be used to create the set of files that will be used for HDR.

Be warned, with the 46MP resolution of your D850 the files will be large. You'll fill up memory cards and hard drives rapidly doing a lot of bracketing. Plus when you're compiling a bunch of image to make an HDR image you may see your computer bog down due to the hefty work load. How much depends upon your computer... it's processor, RAM, graphics card, and what software is used to compile the HDR.

You're correct... With some exceptions the subject and scene must be stationary. You also need to be using a good, stable tripod to have hope of the images matching up well.

You have to learn to judge how much variation from the metered reading is needed... Or use a spot meter to measure the various light levels in the scene and be able to more carefully plan your exposures. At a minimum, you'd need to take a reading of the lightest and darkest areas to determine how extreme the range is, then create your set of images based on that.

"High dynamic range" techniques are often associated with rather "other worldly" looking images, but it also is a technique that can be used for more realistic looking images. It's up to you and what you're trying to accomplish. I sometimes shoot bracketed images or use dual or triple processed images to open up shadows and tone down highlights in images in relatively subtle and realistic ways. That's essentially HDR processing.

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Apr 7, 2021 12:12:04   #
Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida
 
Thanks R.G. ......that was very helpful for me as well. It is good to know these many ins & outs with as they are often not apparent to us as we strive to achieve a desired effect.

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Apr 7, 2021 12:16:47   #
Hamltnblue Loc: Springfield PA
 
For people it’s probably easier to shoot one shot without the subject. Then take your shots with the subject in it with the subject exposed properly. Merge the 2 in post.

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Apr 7, 2021 12:23:34   #
Alphabravo2020
 
Great advice here. I did just get a reflector which I will try if I have an assistant.

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Apr 7, 2021 12:27:56   #
R.G. Loc: Scotland
 
Blair Shaw Jr wrote:
Thanks R.G. ......that was very helpful for me as well. It is good to know these many ins & outs with as they are often not apparent to us as we strive to achieve a desired effect.


You're welcome.

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Apr 7, 2021 12:28:45   #
larryepage Loc: North Texas area
 
bbrown5154 wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGK43jn33qk


I know. It's in the manual (pp. 182ff). I've just never found it in the menu. It shows to be close to the tail-end of the Shooting Menu on the D850. I'll look again tonight. I used HDR all the time when I was using my D200 (not in-camera, though), but then pretty much stopped when I got the newer cameras and started using raw. Thanks for being patient as I look for it. To me, the usefulness is determined by how the camera does the tone-mapping to fit the finished product back into an 8 bit JPEG envelope.

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Apr 7, 2021 13:15:54   #
speedmaster Loc: Kendall, FL
 
quixdraw wrote:
Why not just use fill flash? It has worked for a very long time in that situation.


Fill flash will deal with small and close subjects. When you are dealing with farther or large subjects fill flash won't cover you. Try for instance a backlit rock about 20, 30 meters from the camera.

Bracketing is a very good way to solve the issue.

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Apr 7, 2021 13:44:10   #
vbhargava Loc: San Diego
 
On the front on my D750 is a button BKT, depress it and rotate the dial 1 till you see 3, 5, 7 ... etc. (# of frames) If you dial the dial 2 it will display .3, .7, 1 ... etc. (exposure steps) by selecting this it will take bracketed photos. Now to get multiple shots with one depression select continuous high speed (Hc). This permits shooting bracketed exposures with a single press of the shutter.

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Apr 7, 2021 13:46:28   #
Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio
 
Alphabravo2020 wrote:
I was playing around with HDR mode over the weekend in an attempt to deal with back-lit subjects in direct sunlight. I kind of gave up when I couldn't get the HDR function to enable on my D850 and also I read that this situation is better dealt with using bracketing.

So I'm testing out bracketing and I'm wondering if the intent is to be able to selectively stack the variously exposed images in post. Also, if I shoot in manual and get 3 frames of a scene at 0, +2, and +4, I presume this means that the ISO is adjusted and not aperture or shutter speed. Anyway, can I stack these in Photoshop somehow? I'd appreciate if anyone knows a good tutorial.

Related question. I imagine that if I want to use bracketing to deal with a back-lit subject such as a model in direct sunlight, that the success is somewhat dependent on the capture rate of the camera. At 7 or 9 fps for the D850, I'd guess that the subject and background should be pretty static for the stacking to work effectively in post.

Also, when setting up the shot, is there a way to tell how far underexposed, say the shadowed face of the subject is using the exposure meter in the viewfinder...to help decide what bracketing steps to use? Once you get past two steps the viewfinder no longer indicates how far the exposure is under/over. I guess I could count wheel clicks above a properly exposed background to get proper exposure on, say, the shadowed face of the subject.

TIA. I'm thinking I will buy Steve Perry's book and see if that helps.
I was playing around with HDR mode over the weeken... (show quote)


Use spot metering and take the pic of the subject then use matrix and take the same pic focusing on the same spot. Stack them in post. Works fairly well. If you are using a tripod it will work GREAT. Steve Perry has a great free video on the subject.

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