Photographing White (Wildlife) (Page 2): :sm24:...

raymondh Loc: Walker, MI

gvarner wrote:

Your meter will try to render white as grey and thus underexpose it. Most suggestions say to use exposure compensation at -1.0 or -1.5 to get the white back to being white. The same applies for snow. Be sure to shoot in RAW to give you some more options in post. That’s my two bits.

JeffDavidson Loc: Originally Detroit Now Los Angeles

I totally concur on purchasing Steve Perry's books. They are most helpful. Practice always helps.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

gvarner wrote:

Your meter will try to render white as grey and thus underexpose it. Most suggestions say to use exposure compensation at -1.0 or -1.5 to get the white back to being white. The same applies for snow. Be sure to shoot in RAW to give you some more options in post. That’s my two bits.

No. You have this backwards. The camera sees WHITE, underexposes to make it gray. You need to dial in a plus (+) exposure to turn it white. I just just a white mat board on Auto, then program then Aperture priority. Identical results on all three. White board turned gray with an under exposure of 1.5 stops. Dialed in +1.5 and BINGO. The mat board magically turned white. If your frame is filled with white, camera goes for gray. It white (bird) is sitting in front of a darker background, camera may try to brighten the shot and over expose the bird. That is when you would use a minus (-) adjustment, to bring it back down. This is a common mistake.
...Cam

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

tiphareth51 wrote:

Requesting help please! I am having difficulty photographing birds (both large and small) that are primarily white in color. In some areas the white is blown out while other areas seem okay. Is exposure compensation the answer to this problem? What do you pro's recommend? Your suggestions are very appreciated! Samples below. Thank you. Nikon D750 with 200-500, F5.6 lens.

When shooting, assuming you are using your exposure point, put your exposure/focal point directly on the brightest part of the scene, so the most white part of the animal that you can see. The metering will then be set for that. This is, of course, difficult to do when shooting wildlife (and I do shoot wildlife). However, with practice you can get pretty fast with changing the exposure point. If you leave it in the center I believe you will need to meter as others have said. Also, remember that animals are three-dimensional and there will be times when you just cannot get all of the white to work out just the way you. Plus, processing each individual area will help to correct some issues if the white is not completely blown out.

newnanphoto Loc: Atlanta, GA

via the lens wrote:

When shooting, assuming you are using your exposur... (show quote)

GregWCIL Loc: Illinois

CamB and via the lens have it right. It so much depends on if your exposure meter is seeing just the swan or averaging the whole scene.
Thus, I suggest you try manual exposure. Take an auto test shot, check the settings it used as a starting point. Then fine tune it from there.
Shoot in raw so you capture max dynamic range, check for blinkies, then adjust in post processing to make the bird white.
Show us your results please.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

1 quick sentence. Spot meter and under expose a stop

TomV Loc: Annapolis, Maryland

I shoot with a Sony with an EVF and thus get a picture of the adjusted photo prior to the shot.
I shoot fully manual so I can adjust the params individually. In the case of a white bird, I usually use a lower iso and increase my shutter speed to get the details I want without overexposure.
Does this guarantee perfection? Of course not, but I think the results are usually pretty good.

An example included here.

(Download)

tiphareth51 Loc: Somewhere near North Pole, Alaska

Perfect shot. I will try your suggestion. For now the bird migration is over so it may be a while. Thank you for posting.

tiphareth51 Loc: Somewhere near North Pole, Alaska

I want to thank everyone for their suggestions and techniques. Unfortunately the bird migration season is over for now so it will be a while before I get to try something different. On a brighter note, I have learned a lot from your comments and suggestions. I have been experimenting with changing the white balance, shooting in manual and various metering modes. Hopefully the beaver will be out and I will get some practice. Thank you everyone .. you are very appreciated!

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

tiphareth51 wrote:

Requesting help please! I am having difficulty photographing birds (both large and small) that are primarily white in color. In some areas the white is blown out while other areas seem okay. Is exposure compensation the answer to this problem? What do you pro's recommend? Your suggestions are very appreciated! Samples below. Thank you. Nikon D750 with 200-500, F5.6 lens.

Spot metering.

tiphareth51 Loc: Somewhere near North Pole, Alaska

Spot metering and exposure compensation work for me. Steve Perry covers this in one of his outstanding books.

theodorephoto

I agree blinkers are good. The best rule I’ve used protect the highlights when they are gone they are gone. My2cents

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

tiphareth51 wrote:

Requesting help please! I am having difficulty photographing birds (both large and small) that are primarily white in color. In some areas the white is blown out while other areas seem okay. Is exposure compensation the answer to this problem? What do you pro's recommend? Your suggestions are very appreciated! Samples below. Thank you. Nikon D750 with 200-500, F5.6 lens.

Meter for exposure directly on or as close as possible to the brightest part of the white subject. You still may need exposure compensation.

Bill P

CamB wrote:

As soon as you arrive on site, bang off a couple of frames and then check your Histogram. Make adjustments as needed. Often with birds you are shooting with a lot of background showing and if the mater is grabbing information from that it can throw off your subject if it is just a small part of the frame. I shoot lots of Eagles flying against dark woods. I underexposure at least one stop to hold the whites.
...Cam

Underexposure is the same trick that has been used throughout the film years, but that little bit of wisdom has evaded the web. I suspect you are using the in camera meter. Don't. Use a good old fashioned incident light meter. An incident meter, never a spot meter, and your troubles are over.