Your histogram gives you information about the tonal range in your images. Keep the tones within the length of the histogram axis and you'll be fine but if it shoots off either side you'll lose data that you can never retrieve. Certainly you've taken shots where the whites were blown out, pull one up on your computer or shoot one on purpose, and look at the histogram in camera or in Photoshop. See how it is clipped on the right side? The highlight data in that image will never be salvagable...it's blown. The same is true of clipping shadows but that isn't considered by many to be as bad because we don't expect to see detail in shadow areas. If your highlights are clipping underexpose your image until they are no longer clipping (dial in -1/3 stop or so, check it as it may require more) and fire away. You will be able to brighten the image back up in Photoshop and the best part is that you'll have data in your highlights. I shoot with the Canon 10D and in my histogram window the blown areas flash black on the actual image so they are very easy to see. Lea ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tim Holmes" <W8TAH@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: "List for Photo/Imaging Educators - Professionals - Students" <photoforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2004 5:06 AM Subject: Re: Fw: Suggestions and Recomendations needed > Deen et al. > > Could some of you comment a bit more on the histograms. I am generally > familiar with them in the at, as I understand it brightness is across > the x axis and number of pixels at a given brightness is on the vertical > axis. I am not, however familiar with how to interprete the results into > better pictures. Again, this has been part of my intended course of > study, but I am having to compress the schedule dramatically to get > everything in before this shoot. > > Tim Holmes > Fine Light Photography > > Deen Hameed wrote: > > > > >At 2004-10-19, 08:37:05 Deen Hameed (deenhameed@xxxxxxxxxxxx) wrote: > > > > > > > >>Tim, it's easy enough to use the D70 as a rough and ready flash meter. Steps below: > >> > >> 1. Set up the lights as you like. > >> 2. Set the camera on Manual Exposure Mode > >> 3. Shutter Speed to 1/125 > >> 4. Aperture to f8 > >> 5. Take a shot > >> 6. Play the image & bring up the histogram (push the selector right) > >> > >> > > > > oops... i forgot to put in here... > > ***. adjust the aperture if required to the correct exposure *** > > > > > > > >> 7. The histogram should be as close to the right as possible without any clipping > >> > >> > > > > Deen > > > > > > > > > > > > >
