Learning about snow
Mar 30, 2015 11:49:02 #
Mar 30, 2015 12:24:12 #
Thanks for the supportive comment!
I'll be going over that pass again today, so maybe I will get some more PIX!
I'll be going over that pass again today, so maybe I will get some more PIX!
Mar 30, 2015 13:58:04 #
wolfiebear wrote:
Like the title says. . .I am trying to learn how to shoot snow. .. . lots of contrast in this instance.
Wonderful compositions. I love snow and mountains. You can go back after your post and label each one #1, #2 ect. Always when the majority of the picture is snow you want to set the camera at +1 EV (exposure value). All cameras want to make bright white turn to dirty grey. It is very hard in pp to correct for this. I would have liked to see the picture from the camera, but you downloaded the Photoshop copy. The next thing I do when shooting snow is adjust my white balance. David
Mar 30, 2015 14:15:42 #
Wolfe, Thank you for accepting my comments with thick skin.
1. When you look at the picture on your LCD screen. Even if you are shooting in raw what comes on the screen is Jpeg that is what the camera will show you what your pic would look like in Jpeg form'
2. I mentioned to try using a circler poloriser so you can position the darker part of of the filter over the over the dark snow and it will make it lighter and get rid of the blue. That shot is a hard shot to get right there is too much contrast difference.
3. The other way to do it is to bracket the shot so you get one shot that is average {what the camera sees} one a stop over
and one a stop under and then stack them in post processing
What type of software do you have
1. When you look at the picture on your LCD screen. Even if you are shooting in raw what comes on the screen is Jpeg that is what the camera will show you what your pic would look like in Jpeg form'
2. I mentioned to try using a circler poloriser so you can position the darker part of of the filter over the over the dark snow and it will make it lighter and get rid of the blue. That shot is a hard shot to get right there is too much contrast difference.
3. The other way to do it is to bracket the shot so you get one shot that is average {what the camera sees} one a stop over
and one a stop under and then stack them in post processing
What type of software do you have
Mar 30, 2015 14:25:21 #
wolfiebear wrote:
Like the title says. . .I am trying to learn how to shoot snow. .. . lots of contrast in this instance.
Looks to me like you got the snow thing down pat :thumbup:
Mar 30, 2015 18:00:07 #
wolfiebear wrote:
I set it all manually by what I think will work. . .considerably over what the camera would meter to make the snow 18% grey instead of white. I tend to be pretty close . . .
What does throw me is the darn LCD screen. I go to looking at that in the bright light to see if my exposure is dead on, so sometimes I readjust my settings based on what I think see in the LCD screen (which is usually wrong). . . only to find out I was right in the first place. AH-ahhaha
What does throw me is the darn LCD screen. I go to looking at that in the bright light to see if my exposure is dead on, so sometimes I readjust my settings based on what I think see in the LCD screen (which is usually wrong). . . only to find out I was right in the first place. AH-ahhaha
The LCD is either a curse or a blessing, depending on what you have it display. If all it is used for is to look at the image itself... that is a real curse! Configure the camera to show you information, not the picture! Look at the histogram and/or a highlight indicator (I'm not familiar with the Canon 5DII, so I'm not sure exactly what it has or how to configure it).
Never ever judge color, brightness or contrast by looking at the LCD display of a preview image. That just does not work. (It doesn't work very well on a really good full sized screen, so how can an itty bitty screen be helpful!)
wolfiebear wrote:
Now, I pose a question for you:
You mention how in #2 some of the snow reads "right"
but the shadow part does not. I believe it is a delicate balance where the eye needs to be fooled into "feeling" it looks accurate.
So how would you propose to expose it so the highlighted part reads correctly, but the shadow part is still correct too? Is that possible?
You mention how in #2 some of the snow reads "right"
but the shadow part does not. I believe it is a delicate balance where the eye needs to be fooled into "feeling" it looks accurate.
So how would you propose to expose it so the highlighted part reads correctly, but the shadow part is still correct too? Is that possible?
Our eyes are easy to "fool", they adjust to give us the most useful "reality". Cameras don't.
You are right about how using the meter reading directly will cause white snow to be 18% grey. The light meter averages an area, and never shows the peak values. Snow is very nearly pure white and it is critical to get it close but never so bright that it clips. Trying to figure that out looking at the image itself is not possible; trying to figure that out with a light meter is a tricky process; doing it with an histogram is relatively easy!
One problem with your scenes and metering is that with dark trees and bright snow the meter reading will fluctuate wildly depending on how much if each the meter can see. You can't just set Exposure Compensation to +1 EV, because the next scene will be more snow with fewer trees and it should be set to +2 EV. Then the next on will be less snow and more trees and EC should be +0 EV. If you use the meter to set exposure you have to make a judgment call on every single exposure!
The histogram will let you set exposure perfectly. Take a shot and look to see what the histogram shows. Put everything into Manual Exposure and turn off AutoISO. It may take a couple tries, but when the right edge of the histogram is just back from maximum, it's nailed. As long as the light stays the same it will make no difference how the scene changes!
The only times to change the settings are when the clouds move and cause more or less obscuring of the sun, or if you shoot a scene that is entirely in the shade as opposed to direct sunlight.
The color of light is interesting too. The light directly from the sun is a warmer color than light that is filtered through and reflected off the sky, and that is warmer than light reflected from clouds. So if the bright sunny slopes illuminated by direct sunlight look right, the shadows will be illuminated only by light filtered by much more atmosphere, and will look more blue. The bright white snow however, might also reflect a lot of a bright blue sky! So there are a number of ways to get a lot of excess blue into snow pictures.
Shoot RAW! You can adjust White Balance later. Just realize that you can't change the light that exists when the picture is taken. If White Balance is changed to make one part of the image warmer, it makes other parts warmer too, even if they don't need it.
Mar 31, 2015 00:58:03 #
Very nice shots, especially the second. So where in the Rockies were you shooting? Leadville?
Mar 31, 2015 00:59:54 #
LarryN wrote:
Very nice shots, especially the second. So where in the Rockies were you shooting? Leadville?
Third is very nice also.
Mar 31, 2015 02:18:51 #
wolfiebear wrote:
Like the title says. . .I am trying to learn how to shoot snow. .. . lots of contrast in this instance.
Wolfiebear, I am no expert and what I'm about to say is said in no way as a critique but as something that may be of help.
1. In the first shot, if possible, use a tripod and take a shot with bracketed exposures. -2, 0 ans +2 EV. then blend them in Photoshop. I think just a little more detail in the foreground would add interest.
2. I don't get to shot much snow but sometimes whit sand is similar. Try reducing exposure a little from what camera says as the bright snow always tends to fool the camera's exposure meter.
3. As they are I liked everyone of them.
Mar 31, 2015 03:20:09 #
wolfiebear wrote:
Like the title says. . .I am trying to learn how to shoot snow. .. . lots of contrast in this instance.
In the first picture, try *AE lock. Press the * button to lock the exposure,then recompose and take the shot.It should brighten up the dark area. Ray.
Mar 31, 2015 10:23:23 #
infocus wrote:
Wolfiebear, I am no expert and what I'm about to s... (show quote)
Your number 2 suggestion is to reduce the exposure. The camera makes bright white to dirty grey snow. So you want to increase the exposure to make snow bright white. David
Mar 31, 2015 12:20:12 #
Thick skinned???? Just running off at the mouth with quasi-meaningless praise does nothing to help me progress. I appreciate your astute and constructive comments.
:-D
1. When you look at the picture on your LCD screen. Even if you are shooting in raw what comes on the screen is Jpeg that is what the camera will show you what your pic would look like in Jpeg form'
Yeah. . .but this is only true if you can actually see the bloody screen, LOL. When in bright light I have yet to figure out how to see anything reasonable on an LCD and it throws me for a loop trying to figure out what I am actually looking at. I'm not about to wear a hood quite yet when we can just set good exposures manually.
We can also use the +/- exposure buttons, and I do at times, but I am also working on learning to simply set my Fstop and be correct and know what I am doing, so I am resisting that at the moment. (Maybe that is not wise?)
2. I mentioned to try using a circler poloriser so you can position the darker part of of the filter over the over the dark snow and it will make it lighter and get rid of the blue. That shot is a hard shot to get right there is too much contrast difference.
Oh, okay. Got it. Makes total sense. (I do not have any polarizers yet. . .. just getting my gear together.)
3. The other way to do it is to bracket the shot so you get one shot that is average {what the camera sees} one a stop over
and one a stop under and then stack them in post processing
What type of software do you have[/quote]
I have been using PHOTOSHOP, but am new to using it with photography.
I thought about stacking images to use HDR toning in some areas but not the rest. (I don't like a lot of the HDR adjusted images I have been seeing. . .yucky-poo) Computer issues taking front stage at the moment, I have yet to get this far. . also do not know how to set AUTO BRACKET yet. .. .so lots of work to do on my end figuring out what is what.
:-D
1. When you look at the picture on your LCD screen. Even if you are shooting in raw what comes on the screen is Jpeg that is what the camera will show you what your pic would look like in Jpeg form'
Yeah. . .but this is only true if you can actually see the bloody screen, LOL. When in bright light I have yet to figure out how to see anything reasonable on an LCD and it throws me for a loop trying to figure out what I am actually looking at. I'm not about to wear a hood quite yet when we can just set good exposures manually.
We can also use the +/- exposure buttons, and I do at times, but I am also working on learning to simply set my Fstop and be correct and know what I am doing, so I am resisting that at the moment. (Maybe that is not wise?)
2. I mentioned to try using a circler poloriser so you can position the darker part of of the filter over the over the dark snow and it will make it lighter and get rid of the blue. That shot is a hard shot to get right there is too much contrast difference.
Oh, okay. Got it. Makes total sense. (I do not have any polarizers yet. . .. just getting my gear together.)
3. The other way to do it is to bracket the shot so you get one shot that is average {what the camera sees} one a stop over
and one a stop under and then stack them in post processing
What type of software do you have[/quote]
I have been using PHOTOSHOP, but am new to using it with photography.
I thought about stacking images to use HDR toning in some areas but not the rest. (I don't like a lot of the HDR adjusted images I have been seeing. . .yucky-poo) Computer issues taking front stage at the moment, I have yet to get this far. . also do not know how to set AUTO BRACKET yet. .. .so lots of work to do on my end figuring out what is what.
Mar 31, 2015 12:29:21 #
raysass wrote:
In the first picture, try *AE lock. Press the * button to lock the exposure,then recompose and take the shot.It should brighten up the dark area. Ray.
What is the "*" button?
What is *AE lock ?
I know it's real simple, but I have not had my coffee yet. Could somebody reword what he is saying so I could understand it?
Thanks,
Inga
Mar 31, 2015 17:16:08 #
LarryN wrote:
Very nice shots, especially the second. So where in the Rockies were you shooting? Leadville?
Yeah. . I live up towards Weston Pass, just outside of Leadville. . . Nice country if you like it High and Dry and frozen a good part of the year!
Mar 31, 2015 17:23:21 #
Meives wrote:
Wonderful compositions. I love snow and mountains. You can go back after your post and label each one #1, #2 ect. Always when the majority of the picture is snow you want to set the camera at +1 EV (exposure value). All cameras want to make bright white turn to dirty grey. It is very hard in pp to correct for this. I would have liked to see the picture from the camera, but you downloaded the Photoshop copy. The next thing I do when shooting snow is adjust my white balance. David
1)What were you showing me in the chart from your camera settings?
2) Also, I understand COLOR TEMPERATURE in Kelvin very well. Is it safe to assume it is the exact same thing as WHITE BALANCE, but that it is called WHITE BALANCE when you set it from inside the camera, instead of picking different films and floods to accomplish the same thing?
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