Lots of light and dark places?

Moropo · 11-13-2014, 05:16 PM

I'm sorry I don't know the correct lingo to explain the situation.

I was taking a picture of someone under a porch and the sun was setting on the back. As a result, the background had a lot of light but it was kind of dark under the porch. I have read on the forum that the camera (K50) takes an average reading of all the light and because of the sun, it thinks there's a lot of light, which there is but not of my subject. How do I tell the camera to "measure" somewhere specifically and not take an average?

flaviopetrone · 11-13-2014, 05:34 PM

You need to change the exposure metering setting, click the info button and move till the corner right down (if I remember well) or around there.

**Just1MoreDave** · 11-13-2014, 06:11 PM - **1 Like**

There are lots of ways to get to the same exposure settings.

Guess. Hey, it's digital, and all the controls are right there at your fingers. If you have a few seconds, you can make an adjustment to your settings to let more light in and take a shot. You can look at the result, adjust and shoot again, pretty quick with practice. The adjustments depend on what mode you start in. I'm usually in Av so I'd use exposure compensation. After some experience, your guesses get better. The way the histogram looks is helpful for adjusting the second shot. Remember to return the camera to normal settings when those shots are taken.

Spot metering. You can switch the metering mode to only meter one spot. In this case you'd use the person's face. Spot metering gives you settings for just that spot, so remember that the rest of the image is ignored. Also the metering result is a setting to photograph the spot as a middle tone. The spot meter is helpful in more controlled settings but not something that you can use without understanding it.

AE Lock. My old film camera had just this one trick. You could go right up to the person so they filled most of the frame, activate the meter and lock the settings with this button. Then back up and frame your shot. The meter is locked (an asterisk shows in the viewfinder and LCD) and doesn't change with the sun.

You could use the popup flash to illuminate the person and maybe balance out the exposure. The flash has a special setting for this, Slow-Speed Sync.

stevebrot · 11-13-2014, 07:30 PM

Originally posted by Just1MoreDave

Spot metering. You can switch the metering mode to only meter one spot.

But do remember to switch it back!!!

Steve

LensBeginner · 11-14-2014, 03:38 AM

Originally posted by Moropo

I'm sorry I don't know the correct lingo to explain the situation.

I was taking a picture of someone under a porch and the sun was setting on the back. As a result, the background had a lot of light but it was kind of dark under the porch. I have read on the forum that the camera (K50) takes an average reading of all the light and because of the sun, it thinks there's a lot of light, which there is but not of my subject. How do I tell the camera to "measure" somewhere specifically and not take an average?

The techniques for metering, exposure calculation and fill flash have been explained well in the preceding posts, I'd just like to add that, if you're shooting RAW, you have additional options.

You can expose for the light keeping the ISO low, then push the shadow (only the shadows) when developing the RAW: this results in an increased noise in the shadows, but it would still be tolerable (if you shoot at ISO100, a 3 stop push would result in a result similar to that which would occur when shooting the same scene at ISO800).

You can expose to the right. You can overexpose slightly (0.7 stops) the brightest part of the image, and then both push the shadows (but you'd need to push less than in the first example) and recover the highlights.
Remember that you'll have much more leeway in the shadows than in the highlights.

Or, you could try HDR, provided that the subject is very still and your burst rate quite high (there's still deghosting algorithms for slight movements).

Na Horuk · 11-15-2014, 07:36 AM

you are talking about highlight and shadow clipping which can occur when the contrast out there is greater than the dynamic range of the digital sensor. Use highlight and shadow correction, or HDR. But metering modes and EV+/- can help you get the image you want.

11-13-2014, 05:16 PM	#1
Moropo Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 131	Lots of light and dark places? I'm sorry I don't know the correct lingo to explain the situation. I was taking a picture of someone under a porch and the sun was setting on the back. As a result, the background had a lot of light but it was kind of dark under the porch. I have read on the forum that the camera (K50) takes an average reading of all the light and because of the sun, it thinks there's a lot of light, which there is but not of my subject. How do I tell the camera to "measure" somewhere specifically and not take an average?

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11-13-2014, 05:34 PM	#2
flaviopetrone Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Reggio Emilia Photos: Albums Posts: 1,153	You need to change the exposure metering setting, click the info button and move till the corner right down (if I remember well) or around there.

11-13-2014, 06:11 PM - 1 Like	#3
Just1MoreDave Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Aurora, CO Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,340	There are lots of ways to get to the same exposure settings. Guess. Hey, it's digital, and all the controls are right there at your fingers. If you have a few seconds, you can make an adjustment to your settings to let more light in and take a shot. You can look at the result, adjust and shoot again, pretty quick with practice. The adjustments depend on what mode you start in. I'm usually in Av so I'd use exposure compensation. After some experience, your guesses get better. The way the histogram looks is helpful for adjusting the second shot. Remember to return the camera to normal settings when those shots are taken. Spot metering. You can switch the metering mode to only meter one spot. In this case you'd use the person's face. Spot metering gives you settings for just that spot, so remember that the rest of the image is ignored. Also the metering result is a setting to photograph the spot as a middle tone. The spot meter is helpful in more controlled settings but not something that you can use without understanding it. AE Lock. My old film camera had just this one trick. You could go right up to the person so they filled most of the frame, activate the meter and lock the settings with this button. Then back up and frame your shot. The meter is locked (an asterisk shows in the viewfinder and LCD) and doesn't change with the sun. You could use the popup flash to illuminate the person and maybe balance out the exposure. The flash has a special setting for this, Slow-Speed Sync.

11-13-2014, 07:30 PM	#4
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by Just1MoreDave Spot metering. You can switch the metering mode to only meter one spot. But do remember to switch it back!!! Steve

11-14-2014, 03:38 AM	#5
LensBeginner Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Photos: Albums Posts: 4,696	Originally posted by Moropo I'm sorry I don't know the correct lingo to explain the situation. I was taking a picture of someone under a porch and the sun was setting on the back. As a result, the background had a lot of light but it was kind of dark under the porch. I have read on the forum that the camera (K50) takes an average reading of all the light and because of the sun, it thinks there's a lot of light, which there is but not of my subject. How do I tell the camera to "measure" somewhere specifically and not take an average? The techniques for metering, exposure calculation and fill flash have been explained well in the preceding posts, I'd just like to add that, if you're shooting RAW, you have additional options. You can expose for the light keeping the ISO low, then push the shadow (only the shadows) when developing the RAW: this results in an increased noise in the shadows, but it would still be tolerable (if you shoot at ISO100, a 3 stop push would result in a result similar to that which would occur when shooting the same scene at ISO800). You can expose to the right. You can overexpose slightly (0.7 stops) the brightest part of the image, and then both push the shadows (but you'd need to push less than in the first example) and recover the highlights. Remember that you'll have much more leeway in the shadows than in the highlights. Or, you could try HDR, provided that the subject is very still and your burst rate quite high (there's still deghosting algorithms for slight movements).

11-15-2014, 07:36 AM	#6
Na Horuk Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Slovenia, probably Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,186	you are talking about highlight and shadow clipping which can occur when the contrast out there is greater than the dynamic range of the digital sensor. Use highlight and shadow correction, or HDR. But metering modes and EV+/- can help you get the image you want.