How important is it to get the "correct exposure"?
Mar 31, 2019 07:42:49 #
I think sometimes the key to good exposures is learning all you can about the capabilities of these DSLRS.You have to learn the tool before you can use it. There is much to learn just about the camera before getting it right.
Mar 31, 2019 07:46:03 #
petego4it
Loc: NY
I mostly agree with Bill R above. My first rule is "get the shot" so I'm happy to use automation freely and normally shoot Auto A. Long ago with film learned how important proper exposure is to max the subtleties and the impact. Still true, tho less so, in digital. Also fairly quickly learned that my eyes only guess. Therefore, for what I think will be specials, including people, I bracket either a half or a full stop. No real cost to this except time. You'd be amazed, as I often am, how often the best shot, preferable to anything I can do in post, is a bracketed one, and btw, especially the unders contrary to ETR. Try it for yourself.
Mar 31, 2019 07:51:10 #
Mar 31, 2019 07:53:13 #
Pixelstan77, I wish I had said "Light is our Language." But I didn't and you did. Unless that is a quote from someone else, I think you should trademark it. Light indeed is our language. However, I am not saying that exposure is THE most important factor in crafting a fine image. It is one of several, as others have ably pointed out here.
Mar 31, 2019 07:58:18 #
petego4it wrote:
I mostly agree with Bill R above. My first rule is... (show quote)
Interesting that you bring up bracketing. I don't use it much (should use it more!).
Bracketing would seem to make it less important to "nail" the exposure.
Mar 31, 2019 08:02:49 #
rgrenaderphoto wrote:
Yes, "getting it right" is important, but in this digital day, not as important as it was with film. As long as the image is not blown out, you can rescue it in post.
So Manual is important, Aperture priority is important, Shutter priority is important and Program mode is important. What is more important is getting the composition right. That's something thast is not easily fixed in post.
So Manual is important, Aperture priority is important, Shutter priority is important and Program mode is important. What is more important is getting the composition right. That's something thast is not easily fixed in post.
Mar 31, 2019 08:08:41 #
mizzee
Loc: Boston,Ma
To me the correct exposure is that which produces the image that pleases you. That's why today's cameras give us so much control.
Mar 31, 2019 08:08:57 #
It sure is fun sometimes looking at the range of opinions here on "The Hog" for any subject. These folks are very talented and skilled and we are all photographers. So why the "wildly" differing views.
Photography is an Art. "Painting with Light". Look at all of the wildly different styles of painting there are. All of this depends on what the individual wants to get out of the craft.
First, "You" decide what is "correct exposure." Do you like blocked-up shadows? Do you want blown highlights? Do you want everything in the scene to be exposed the way you like? Many of the artist/photogs here "want it all" and have become very proficient using Focus Stacking, HDR, Multi-shot Panos, Post-Processing software, et al. I envy them their skills and their patience.
But that isn't me. Since my days as a slide shooter, I have always viewed photography as a way of challenging myself. That is why I do not shoot RAW (I know. I have already caught a bunch of "flak" from Hogs about that). I shoot JPG specifically because it doesn't allow as drastic moves in PP as RAW does. I shoot for SOOC images (I don't always nail it. Always room for improvement). It is right "for me" that my photo images be more about my technique and the capabilities of my camera than about prowess with PhotoShop/Lightroom/Topaz, etc.
About your question: It is YOUR image. YOU decide what is "Correct Exposure" and then YOU decide just how important it is. IMHO.
Photography is an Art. "Painting with Light". Look at all of the wildly different styles of painting there are. All of this depends on what the individual wants to get out of the craft.
First, "You" decide what is "correct exposure." Do you like blocked-up shadows? Do you want blown highlights? Do you want everything in the scene to be exposed the way you like? Many of the artist/photogs here "want it all" and have become very proficient using Focus Stacking, HDR, Multi-shot Panos, Post-Processing software, et al. I envy them their skills and their patience.
But that isn't me. Since my days as a slide shooter, I have always viewed photography as a way of challenging myself. That is why I do not shoot RAW (I know. I have already caught a bunch of "flak" from Hogs about that). I shoot JPG specifically because it doesn't allow as drastic moves in PP as RAW does. I shoot for SOOC images (I don't always nail it. Always room for improvement). It is right "for me" that my photo images be more about my technique and the capabilities of my camera than about prowess with PhotoShop/Lightroom/Topaz, etc.
About your question: It is YOUR image. YOU decide what is "Correct Exposure" and then YOU decide just how important it is. IMHO.
Mar 31, 2019 08:15:57 #
Gene51 wrote:
....If you shoot..... fully expecting to do some post processing to bring out the best of the image, it is properly exposed, even if the unprocessed image looks dark or light......
Best answer so far. It is your intent that determines what is "correct", and that includes the PP that you intend to do. ETTR doesn't produce exposures that look right SOOC, but it does give the optimum starting point for producing low noise images (provided you know how to PP them appropriately). Exposing to protect the highlights is going to produce various results depending on how bright the highlights are and how close they are to ambient light levels.
Any exposure that's going to produce blown highlights can't be described as a correct exposure, which is why it's important to understand the factors that can lead to blown highlights. One of those factors is the fact that some of your camera's metering modes have significant limitations. Cameras can get caught out.
Mar 31, 2019 08:18:29 #
Mar 31, 2019 08:21:55 #
Mar 31, 2019 08:30:01 #
Mar 31, 2019 08:36:02 #
I found out that i like my shots 0.7 under exposed.i do bracket my shots according to my subject.Is that "correct exposure"?
Mar 31, 2019 08:38:36 #
Richie G wrote:
I found out that i like my shots 0.7 under exposed.i do bracket my shots according to my subject.Is that "correct exposure"?
Do ya like 'em? Then, Yes.
Mar 31, 2019 08:39:49 #
I agree with Petego4it, and BillNikon...(except for his camera choice-heehee)...
1st is to get the shot, including in Auto if necessary. With a missed shot, you have nothing, good, or bad...
2nd, then I go for what suits my eye... I will often bracket a couple shots bright and dark, and I will even try a couple in HDR mode... Live subjects (birds or animals) will often move, and change my options.. But landscapes and buildings- knotholes and nests- plants and trees, etc, don't move...
I don't do portraiture, weddings, or micro-macro... (8 eyeballs and follicle counts on ants are not my cup of tea, yet).. The "exposure options" in those areas are different than what I shoot...
1st is to get the shot, including in Auto if necessary. With a missed shot, you have nothing, good, or bad...
2nd, then I go for what suits my eye... I will often bracket a couple shots bright and dark, and I will even try a couple in HDR mode... Live subjects (birds or animals) will often move, and change my options.. But landscapes and buildings- knotholes and nests- plants and trees, etc, don't move...
I don't do portraiture, weddings, or micro-macro... (8 eyeballs and follicle counts on ants are not my cup of tea, yet).. The "exposure options" in those areas are different than what I shoot...
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