AV News 200 - May 2015
A d o b e P h o to s h o p – C o rre c tin g E x p o s u re
Keith Scott FRPS
Question: When was the last time that you 'meticulously' metered a scene to
ascertain either the ambient light falling on the subject (incident light reading)
or the reflected light from the lightest and darkest parts of the subject (contrast
range) before pressing the shutter button? Do you make considered
adjustments to your exposure readings to
allow for difficult lighting situations or to
properly render detail in either highlights or
shadows areas? Do you have a favourite
metering mode permanently set on your
camera, and always depend on this when
pointing the camera towards the subject
matter? Do you frequently need to adjust
exposures using Photoshop or other software
to help recover important detail from
incorrectly exposed images?
Many photographers equipped with modern
cameras seem to depend solely on their
camera's metering system without giving
subject exposure requirements much thought.
To be fair modern camera metering systems
with their various metering modes and
metering patterns do generally work quite well
when used sensibly i.e. with a little forethought
and interpretation. Whatever type of meter you
use whether its hand held or built into your
camera it cannot think or be expected to know
what the finished result should be, and
therefore is not infallible.
Readers who were involved with general
photography and/or Audio-Visual for many
years may fondly remember the days of
conventional film photography, when the
practitioners of the craft actually needed a
good working knowledge and understanding of exposure. Slide films
(transparencies) were notorious for having little latitude especially towards over
exposure where highlight detail was so easily lost. Furthermore each roll of
expensive 35mm slide film was limited to either 12, 24, or 36 frames. With each
exposure costing money great care was taken to use the 'most appropriate
exposure'. The practice of bracketing exposures was a costly last resort.
Therefore each exposure, and probably composition was more deliberately
considered before pressing the shutter button. Of course with large capacity
media cards now available the practice of bracketing in difficult lighting
conditions does not cost money and is therefore more practical and affordable.
However there is no substitute for getting the most appropriate exposure in the
first instance, which saves time, storage space, and frustration.
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