My PHOTOGRAPHY HISTOGRAM CAMERA Technique || The Landscape Photography Journals E3
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- čas přidán 26. 08. 2024
- This video teaches my photography histogram camera technique while out on a shoot in the desert.
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TAGS: #photographyhistogram #histogramcamera
Hi Everyone, I just released over 100 new photos from the past 6 months of non-stop backpacking, mountain climbing and travel. You can find them here ---> photos.davemorrowphotography.com/Latest-Work
Thanks in advance for any comments. I'm headed out on a snowshoe photography trip & will answer any questions / comments when I return next week:)
Thanks for looking & watching.
Enjoy the week.
Dave
Stunning images Dave. Look forward to learning more about B&W photography.
Dave Morrow Amazing photos! You are such a serious photographer.
@@sontjer Thanks!
As a guy who is tied to an office all day and then jets out on weekends to shoot whatever I can.....I really enjoy your excursions to surreptitiously go along with you on your journeys. The great thing is that your instructional videos are thorough and explicit to detail. Thanks for taking the extra time to do such a fine job of putting these videos together.....So very much appreciated.
You're welcome Mark! Enjoy the vids. Dave
I've been taking photography lessons since 1995 to 2015, but your videos have taught me more than all my 20 years of trying to master photography and photoshop. My Aha moment came when I realized all my previous instructors short changed me by suggesting to shoot for the best exposure on site so there's less editing in Photoshop. You sir are the man who takes photography to new heights by utilizing all that new technology has to offer in digital cameras and Photoshop editing programs.
Love it! Thanks for letting me know. Glad you like the vids. More learning material here: www.davemorrowphotography.com/2013/01/tutorials-photography-post-processing.html
Enjoy,
Dave
One of the best if not the best video in explaining Histograms and how to use them in a scene and expose for the highlights. Thanks Dave
Your videos have really helped me set up my new camera for settings including RGB histograms and the blinkies, and better understand the use of live view and the info button and the auto focus back button. Thanks Dave!
Your videos are too long and I ENJOY THAT.. I been watching your videos the past two day and I have learned so much... Thanks... Subscribed...
Thanks Cesar. That's great. I like long in-depth videos as well, when I learn.
I really appreciate the thoroughness in your videos. I have learned alot after just two videos. Keep 'em coming! But most importantly, keep living your dream!
Thanks man! You as well:)
Well spoken Dave, and I truly appreciate the love you have for the outdoors, and respect the knowledge of photography you have, in teaching us, so we can end up with great results ourselves. I often find myself wanting to ask you a question on a particular image, but realizing you certainly don't have the time for such things, or that's all you would be doing, and not enjoying the life you've chosen and love of the outdoors, rather than answering questions. I'll watch further of your video's, of where I may find those answers! I've been following you for a good long time now, and unfortunately my age isn't allowing me the ability to forage to such beautiful spots, along with having to fulfill the wishes of my wife/partner, who prefers to travel in our motorhome. It does give me that ability to take an abundance of shots of the many locations we travel through though, and meet some exceptional individuals along the way, leading to a quality life, but different than yours. Both are wonderful of course, and I'll further try and facilitate photography education through yourself and a few other chosen photographers I follow! Thanks for your time, and stay safe Dave.
LOVE watching this channel. Not only it's educational in learning ways to maximize DSLR performance but also it shares the beauty of nature through your observation and your recording in the field.
You know I have seen a lot of videos explaining how the histogram works, but I have learned more from this video than any other. Well explained and very informative. This is the first time I have seen a vlog by you and I will watch many more. Thanks for the knowledge.
Great to hear it Raymond. I have them all organized over on my website, along with free PDFs on shooting techniques, here: www.davemorrowphotography.com/2013/01/tutorials-photography-post-processing.html
Enjoy & have a good day,
Dave
I appreciate the technical aspects very much, keep it up!
Thanks Scott!
Dave, great respect for all you do.
I admire you a lot.
It is an absolute pleasure to listen to all your explanations.
Your commitment to photography is unbelievable.
Thanks a lot for all.
Thanks 👍
I am loving watching your Journal series - both the adventures, the photo set-ups and the post-processing. An excellent way to teach us mere mortals all your techniques. Thank you.
i really like this way of viewing and adjusting the histogram on location until it's just right. No more guessing games. Love ypur passion and dedication. Thank you.
Thanks Vina.
This vlog explaining the ettr method is by far the very best one I have watched. I have seen numerous other’s on CZcams which have been frustratingly difficult to interpret,others have been either misleading ,confusing, or so poorly explained.However this is so detailed and informative that you cannot go wrong. Thank you for sharing this information Dave, I have recommended many friends to watch this.
Thanks Nick. Here is the second part: czcams.com/video/NQU4_CzvHLQ/video.html
Enjoy buddy & thanks for sharing.
Hi Dave! Just want to tell you, that your videos are a huge help in understanding exposure, using the histogram, hyperfocal distance and so on... Even by vaguely remembering some of your tips I could instantly shoot landscapes with grabbing much-much more detail.
I cannot thank you enough!!! Watching your videos revitalized my want to go out and capture landscapes. You are awesome!
Hi Peter. Thanks for letting me know. I love to hear that! Enjoy
Excellent ETTR video. I scoured the internet to get a real world tutorial and was surprised at finding hardly anything. The theory was explained but nothing in the field. Your video was a Eureka moment for me. Well done.
That's great. I'll make another ETTR video in the future labeled as so that goes into more technical details. Enjoy the day!
This journal is great. With the videos and the PDF on your website I learn a lot. Nobody goes into technical details like you, thanks for that.
Thanks. Honestly, I wouldn't enjoy anything non-technical, so it's great to hear you like it as well. Anything you want to learn about in the future?
Thanks Dave... I really appreciate how you continuously go back to the histogram for shooting to the right before taking the shot but NOT overexposing the image, i.e., the blinkies...
It has taken me years to get out of the habitual habit of trusting what I see on the LCD screen, which is simply a jpg image as I understand it. Great for the point & shoot crowd but close to worthless for getting the maximum amount of pixels for post work...
Very well illustrated & explained for the average dummy like myself to absorb it!
Enjoyed your Photo Portfolio too...
Bill Farr... :-)
Excellent video and to the point! It's been a long time since a photography video on CZcams could hold my attention for that long and actually educated me. So, a big thank you!
Thank you for the simple explanation of exposure compensation and using the histogram.
I think you do an awesome job "on the fly" non scripted and no BS. I feel I'm right there with you! I'm having a blast learning from you. I'm always looking forward!
Thanks Dave! This is awesome stuff! Real Stuff! Rich and Rare!
haha. Great comment. Thanks Charles.
I know what a histogram is and I had my "method" all dialed in. But now...now I think I can actually read a scene using the histogram. That's huge! I can't wait to get out and use the skills you've taught in this video. Thanks again, and I can't wait to see the post-processing phase of these photographs.
Maybe you already have this planned, but how do you decide your WB? I see that you're selecting a specific Kelvin temp (9090 in the last video and 7690 in this one). I've been too chicken to try picking my own, so I've been sticking with daylight or auto.
Thanks again for the quality training!
I'll Kelvin in next weeks vid:) You're welcome
Excellent overview of how you set up your focus for optimal detail, and exposure for collecting the most data.
Thanks.
Dave,
I am enjoying your photography journals. Thank you for taking the time and energy to produce them. Your note to your listening audience about how much time you will spend doing the post-editing is great. Yeah, 20 minutes post-editing limit seems to be just fine.
I have to give you 5 stars for your pointing to the NO DRONE sign. I think people feel that by employing drones, their photography/video will be better/enhanced. However from what I have learned from you is that the secret ingredient for capturing all those pesky pixels and being creative with them post-edit time, is understanding the histogram.
Keep up the great journal entries. And, again, thank you for being so generous.
Catherine
10 STARS FOR NO DRONES! haha:) Glad you enjoyed the video
I have to tell you Dave, I watched this video last night and POOF! It was like an epiphany! I had heard the term "expose to the right" before, but never understood what it meant. I've looked at histograms for the "blinkies", but never really 'read' it. You showed me exactly how to read it and, after I'm finished reading Ansel Adams' zone books, I'm sure will tie this all together. Because that's basically what the histogram shows. Which zone from left to right and how much of the scene is in that zone. I'm so psyched now. I can't wait to get out and give it a go this weekend. Thanks!
That's what I love to hear! Good stuff. Thanks for letting me know. Have fun!
thanks Dave, so great again !
Thank you very much Dave Morrow for this video.
You are a great teacher. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Dave
I commented earlier about not being able to set up the histogram to adjust when trying to expose to the right. I updated the firmware on my D800 and now its working exactly as you talked about in your video. I cant wait to get out and try this new (to me) technique. Thanks for all that you do to help educate us that are not so experienced.
Awesome! Glad to hear it. You're welcome Michael.
Excited to have found your channel. You are an excellent teacher, so easy to follow along. Have rarely used exposure compensation and now finally get it. Thought I knew histograms, but you make it so much clearer! Also enjoy joining you for lessons at these stunning locations, no backpack needed! 😀
That's awesome Kathleen:) Nice to meet you.
Hi Dave, this is the first of your videos I've seen, and I am now subscribing. I am new to photography and learned more from this one video then the other fifty or so videos about photography I watched over the past week. Thanks a lot! :)
Now, I have one question: Why are you using exposure compensation rather than manually setting the shutter speed?
You're welcome.
It's covered in this free course & my Expose to the Right Video. www.davemorrowphotography.com/free-video-series
@@DaveMorrow Thanks!
Very interesting video Dave. I learned quite a bit that I will try to apply to my own landscape photography. An issue I have is selecting my aperture. I love waterfalls and moving waterfalls and use long exposures to photograph them. I do use ND filters to slow shutter times but also have been using smaller apertures to give me more time. But I may not fully understand depth of field. You used f/11 in this video. I would have thought you'd need f/18 to get a sharp depth of field. You may want to discuss this topic in future videos. Keep up the great adventures.
Thanks. This article discusses depth of field & my through process: www.davemorrowphotography.com/depth-of-field-photography
thanks dave,this is the best schooling! i have had on the histogram,love your vids,i will continue to follow you,thanks again,
Dave, These videos are great! I love the step-by-step approach and all your good explanations of why your do what you do. The PS follow-up is great also as I need to learn those skills as well.
I'm really enjoying your video journals. Thank you Dave.
You, Sir, are a genius and a master Teacher!
Thanks buddy.
I just discovered your channel and subscribed and gave you my email for your tutorials. GREAT channel. Just what I am looking for. I wish I was as young as you. I travel to the parks, but never do too much hiking, as I am 68. I shoot a Nikon D850 and a bunch of good lenses. Looking forward to new tips, which I have already got from the little I have watched.Thanks.
Thanks Jeffrey. Start getting out on some short hikes that are within your confidence range than increase your distance slowly. This is the method that all endurance athletes use. Most of us don't just jump right in. Slow, steady, long term growth:) You got it!
Great explanation of the histogram. I never really thought of that pushing to the left to gather as much detail as possible until you mentioned it in another vlog.
I like your technical approach.
I would really like to have a long roadtrip in US.
Thanks from Sweden.
Thanks Jens!
very nice ... think i will stop shooting full manual and try apperture priority instead for my landscapes
Two thumbs up Dave. A lot of useful information here. Thank you
I'm really liking this series - thanks Dave.
Nice video, Dave.
Thanks buddy.
This is very helpful. Thank you, Dave.
Thanks Dave for your latest video, I learned so much about histograms and ETTR. Keep up the great work
Great video as usual Dave, bookmarked and will come back to it. Having taken your workshop this summer it makes it so much more personal having spent some time in the field with you and the other students.
Good to hear from you Steve. Thanks so much.
I learn something new every time.........thanks, Dave.
Brilliant as usual Dave. I watch quite a few videos on line but yours are always the ones I look out for. Even when I think that I know the subject well, I always pick up something new. Happy New Year.
Thanks Allan. I really appreciate that. Its good to hear feedback. HNY to you too buddy.
Hi Dave... just found your channel. So glad I did, The best and most detailed explanation that I've ever seen of the Histrogram and how to best use it. Thank you and keep up the great work.
You're welcome. Thanks for letting me know:)
The best explanation of a sometimes difficult subject thanks
Thanks buddy!
Great video on the Histogram- Always learn something new!! Keep up the great work!! Much appreciated!
Thank you.
You're welcome, Francis.
I always learn, you teach on the histogram. you helpful for all...,👌👍 Thank you! Dave.
you mentioned that you shoot f/8 or f/11 typically. Your lens has a sweet spot for sharpness but it differs per lens and if using a zoom it will be different for each setting. I like what you are doing....BTW I retired as an aerospace engineer and have been doing photography for over 50 years.
Correct. Thank you!
Here's my article on that, which is linked with the video: www.davemorrowphotography.com/depth-of-field-photography
Take care,
Dave
Thanks for sharing your knowledge, I like your way of explaining,in details that I have not seen anyone did. Thank you again.great job,!
Best youtube I have watched on shooting and in camera histograms thanks a heap
That's great to hear. You're welcome.
Another great video Dave. You area very good instructor with clear and concise information explained in manageable terms. What metering mode do/did you use? i.e. Evaluative, Spot, Center weighted etc.
Thanks Matt. center weighted avg, largest diameter setting.
My first comment in you tube and it goes to u buddy.... subscribed... eager to see many more in future
Hey Naveen, Nice to meet you buddy:) I'll have a new project coming out in the next few months. For now check out all the video series on my website: www.davemorrowphotography.com/landscape-photography-journals
excellent video. well explained about reading the histogram prior to shooting......subscribed!!
Dave, really informative overview of using the histogram, had a couple of lightbulb moments there listening to the explanation. Also confirmed another valuable lesson at the end there and that is the best Whisky comes from Scotland (well being Scottish, I can't say anything else). Look forward to the next episode already. All the best
haha. I think Rich and Rare is Canadian. We can blame them!
Dude your a G! Glad I found your channel. Can't believe you bought whiskey in a plastic bottle. Loving the histogram tuts. Its just where I am in my learning curve ATM. I was just thinking about it in post, you brought a whole new level to the histogram. Expose to the Right, locked and loaded. Peace
All G's buy whiskey in a plastic bottle. Glad you enjoyed the vids!
Such a useful video.
Glad it was helpful!
@@DaveMorrow The location is so serene. Is this Death Valley?
Hi Dave, appreciate your efforts in making these educational videos on the field. I noticed that the follow on video for this episode seems to be missing. Not sure if it was inadvertently deleted?
Hey.. Thank you so much for this quality content.. I have watched lots of vid on CZcams and yours a defo the the best.. U go really into details and practical advice.. wish I could offer u a beer!!! Keep up the good work...
Thanks Dave! Cool behind the scenes and informative. I have already learned a lot from your pdfs on your website. Looking forward to seeing more behind the scenes vids like this!
You're welcome & Thanks! Glad someone is reading the PDFs! I didn't know anyone reads anymore;) I just updated them last week, FYI. Just go back to the members library page. Enjoy the day!
Yes! haha. I've referred a few people to them too who are learning landscape photography, or photography in general. I'll check them out again. Definitely helped up my photography by understanding things on a deeper level. Thx again!
Well explained, as always.
Hey Dave...liking the new series of tutorials a lot. In the current video you talked about parts of your camera set up, especially assigning a function to the toggle button. Also you were able to bring up the red, green and blue channels for the histogram both in live screen mode and image review. It would be nice to know how you did those two things.
Thanks Tom:) It will differ camera to camera so I don't teach it. You can google your camera and RGB histogram to find out.
Great video - you included a lot of little lessons throughout. Thanks for the discussion of back button focus benefits/technique, hyperfocal, choosing a high contrast focus point, dune photography, etc. etc. Neat. Nice way to spend your New Years! And now I have yet another reason to save my pennies for a new camera - discovered my D7000 does not have histograms in live view. Oh, and Wild Turkey bourbon for meee....
Of course, when you change exposure compensation in Aperture priority, your shutter speed is changing. So what is the difference between just changing your shutter speed vs. changing the exposure compensation? What is actually occurring by changing the EC that doesn't occur when you change shutter speed?
Also, when composing for a panorama, would you expose the same way at the brightest part of the sweep, or ....?
Good stuff here, Dave. Am learning a lot.
Glad you're enjoying it. Watch the rest of my videos in the series & read this guide. It will come together: www.davemorrowphotography.com/exposure-triangle
Just great tutorial!
So the width of an area in the histogram directly correlates to how much detail it holds? That was new to me but it makes perfect sense as it's a wider range of tones - I'm glad I found this channel - keep it up!
I'm not really sure what you mean by detail. Full technical writeup on the topic here --> www.davemorrowphotography.com/exposure-triangle#Histograms_Tones_Luminosity
Glad you found the vids:)
Well, each channel (R, G and B) has 256 possible values per pixel (might be more in camera, depends on how many bits per channel), the X axis of the histogram represents these 256 different values and its Y axis shows how many pixels have that particular value. That in turn means that the wider an area in the histogram is, the more different tones it contains and vice versa, if I compress that area I reduce the range of possible values so pixels that had slightly different tones before now have the same value.
Dave, very informative video, you didn’t used to be an expose to the right shooter right? The way you are working the histogram now makes a lot sense. Looking forward to more videos.
Thanks:) I've always exposed for the highlights, but have slightly changed my shooting workflow:) Hope you're doing well, Bruce!
Thank you for this amazing video.
NEW SUB!! THANK YOU
A very very well explained vídeo, cheers Dave.
Thanks!
Man! You look so much like captain Barbosa.
Very useful, inspirational channel man, keep up the good work.
Thanks Mr. Morrow! :)
You're welcome Mr. Morrow!
My understanding is that the histogram is from the Jpg file and not the Raw file. Therefore you can expose beyond the right with Raw, and recover in post. True?
To adjust histogram I need help. Essentially you are just adjusting your exposure? Plus or Minus. Yes. IF so then I could accomplish the same result if I bracket the exposure for the shot? This I do all ready.
What I used to do in film only when the camera was locked down on a tripod and marked is as follows. Shoot the foreground exposing for shadows and highlights. If people were in the shot expose for flesh tones and bracket as well. Then do a shot of the back ground. This process would be done mainly in back-lighted situations. Then cut the two in development/post and combine for the effect. It still amazes me what we did with film. 35mm Kodachrome 25 and he likes for national advertising campaigns that is some instances would make it to BILLBOARDS..
Great Video as always. You helped with the menagerie of digital photography. Pre and Post in that damn Photoshop or Corel.
Used to love editing film. Go to the edit room loop it on the light box, Then to the projector and project 15 foot by 6 images on the wall. Now I sit naked adjusting every damn level on a screen from a raw file. When I would just get the damn shot send it to the lab and then edit it. Not including all the pre color correction prior.
All answers to your questions --> watch all my videos. www.davemorrowphotography.com/landscape-photography-journals Read all my written guides: www.davemorrowphotography.com/photography-fundamentals
PS: Experiment and shoot everyday. The answers always tease themselves out.
Great video!
Enjoy your work and tutorials. On your exposing to the right point in this particular instance. In describing shifting dark tones to the right to capture 'more detail' -- technically correct for sure had content extended full left and beyond. With so much exposure latitude still available to the left, isn't this really improving the overall noise profile of the image versus adding low light detail as the low light details were already fully and well within exposure latitude? Buying less noise in this instance versus actually adding low light detail?
Thanks Kevin. They accomplish the exact same thing. The goal is to maximize the signal to noise ratio without losing highlight detail. Saying that in the video wouldn't convey to the point to beginners so I packaged it as retaining the most dark detail possible. They are both correct / the same.
The right-hand half of the histogram contains a lot more "signal" / data than the lefthand half.
Here is the exact part of the article if you want to read about the science.
www.davemorrowphotography.com/camera-sensor-size-guide#Picture_Noise_Sensor_Size
Nice compendium of pertinent data on your link given. However, respectfully, they are exactly NOT the same thing which was the point of my first question. They CAN both however be accomplished through the same shift to the right process which you obviously employ to great affect. But only when image data is clipped at one or possibly (given overall sensor latitude) both ends of the histogram. I wrote my original note having watched your first image example in the video. That image having low contrast with great headroom at both the low light and highlight ends of the histogram. In such a case, all detail has already been captured by the sensor and no matter how much you shift it to the right and no additional detail will be revealed. In fact, the only thing that does happen in this instance is signal to noise improves. As to the poetic license of the words, detail is not noise and noise is not detail. They are completely different things.
I guess one might argue I could have gotten myself onto a slightly slippery slope if one wanted to pursue the nuances of how noise might mask detail. Which it can. On that count I guess I too could be asked to qualify my statement. So with all these slippery slopes around why am I nitpicking the point? Because I think its important to not assume information needs to be simplified to a point of obfuscation through generalization. If you tell your audience in the low contrast image instance that shifting to the right will improve signal to noise (versus reveal detail) and in your image instances of higher contrast extending beyond the left limits of the histogram, shifting to the right will reveal shadow detail AND improve signal to noise -- which are actually two distinctly different processes -- I think they will understand.
Love your images and envy the way you get around to all those great locations. 'Victory belongs to the man who is actually in the arena'!
Kevin, I don't agree with, "In such a case, all detail has already been captured by the sensor and no matter how much you shift it to the right and no additional detail will be revealed."
The science works like this...
Every pixel is a well for collecting "photon energy", in the form of free electrons, which is rated in units of charge. You can just think of this as energy, in general.
You can always collect more energy within each pixel well, until it's fully saturated. The top of this article explains more: www.davemorrowphotography.com/color-theory-photography
If you think of the 8-bit, HSL, 3D color cube, to simplify things, for every step you increase the exposure, you unlock new potential colors / tonal values, due to higher levels of energy contained with the pixel well. You can always darken these pixels back down, but you can't produce energy that was never collected in the first place.
If you never reach those values of color or light, with exposure, then you have to increase the image brightness in post to access them. This produces more noise / worse color in the image.
If you do reach them, you can darken back down to any color / tonal value you like, with no loss in image quality. Noise aside, the only goal is to maximize the amount of energy that each pixel collects, without "fully saturating" the pixel well, throwing away data.
Seeing noise is just a by-product of the pixel well not containing enough energy in the overall ratio of signal / noise. High ISO pixels contain very little energy, and large amounts of noise.
I'm don't really think it's that helpful of a conversation, no matter. So long as you understand the concept in your head... all good.
In regards to simplifying information, it all depends on who you're having the conversation with. If someone never get's interested in a topic, because they don't understand the technical aspects at first, then you lost a "student" that might have been potentially interested.
Prior to doing photos full time, I was an aerospace engineer building jets. When I talked to a customer I'd have to use non-engineering speak, or they are lost on the convo. If you talk to them with technical science, nothing ever gets done. The goal is the final destination, with both parties, eventually having the same understanding of the information involved.
Glad you like the photos & I appreciate your feedback. I just think we could go on forever about this, via typing, and it would waste alot of our limited time on earth, with not much of an upside;)
Cheers!
Dave
Hey Dave.
In the scene we've described as low contrast, the signal is already in the well. By adding more light and charge, what you are doing instead of adding more new scene detail is improving the the signal to noise of the detail that is already there. Say if you shoot a resolution chart and vary the exposure. Once you are even slightly out of clip and the noise floor, as you continue to open the aperture, you won't see any new and additional lines of detail. Granted one might see that level of detail there more easily, but it is already there.
Ok, that's resolution detail but what about tonal detail. Shoot a tonal chip chart. Same thing here. Once you get above black clip and a minimum noise floor, as you continue to open the aperture you won't discern any additional tonality. You only improve the amount of noise in the tones you are already seeing. However pushing to the right can actually mess up the tonal scale that was already there. Not all things are amplified linearly.
As for shooting something like a Mcbeth color chip chart, yes as you continue to open aperture and push things to the right you will encounter changes in saturation and even some perceptual hue changes. However pushing them to the right doesn't make them more correct color necessarily. So pushing to the right can actually alter color accuracy away from normal. And color accuracy won't be returned by post processing by darkening back down. Phase changes are nasty to correct back to normal once altered.
Electronic circuits are not completely linear. As voltage increases -- everything doesn't just stay linear! And also not all sensors are the same and perform the same. The BSI sensor in my Sony A7RII has non linear headroom. Things actually get worse when you shift to the right as this particular sensor has several stops more latitude on the lowlight side as compared to the highlight side. Yes, even with this sensor you can improve signal to noise by shifting to the right but you have to be very careful of scene content and how much. When I push this sensor even one stop to the right I start seeing non linearity in the tonal scale and get a less preferred overall image. Of course this Sony sensor is closely akin to the Nikon sensor since Nikon sources their sensors from Sony. The difference is the BSI part and Sony's back-lighting of their sensor. This works much like the old technique of flashing film. It doesn't give you any more latitude, but it reduces the noise by shifting the signal upward. Here, Sony has actually already pre-shifted their sensor to the right! Essentially it biases the voltage up on all of the wells. But the well total latitude is still the same. The result is you get improved signal to noise and more latitude on the low end by about two stops -- and run out of headroom about two stops earlier (maybe only a stop and a half). This just to point out that all sensors don't fit the shift to the right rule in the same way.
In the end, I'm just trying to point out that there are so many more nuances to what makes up an image and just saying bigger is better i.e. more voltage is better is a big one size fits all statement. The one thing shifting to the right within the right limits will give you is better signal to noise. Better signal to noise can mean detail and tonality may be more distinct, however its not new detail or tones. They were already captured, just with less signal to noise. And for color, shifting to the right can actually make wrong color instead or more or better color. As voltage changes there can be phase and saturation issues as pertaining to color. There is only one truly correct luminance, phase and saturation for any color in a scene. What point that is is different for every sensor ever made but it's certainly not more correct by pushing it to the right.
You really do make wonderful images. However I think they are made up to a great minority owing to the technicalities we've discussed here. The vast majority of what does make your images wonderful are YOU. The settings you go to. Where you put your camera. Your visual impression and recognition of scene. Good gear. And yes also good technique that fits your equipment. But I think well over 90% of it is the former before the technique.
I think I make very good technical images as well. However I'll probably never make images that rival yours. But that will be because of that 'man actually in the arena' thing I alluded to previously. Most likely, I'll never be in the settings you are in. I might have in younger days but that was then and this is now. I truly do commend you for following your dream and launching yourself out of the Aerospace engineering job for something you love. Heck, I envy you.I too was an engineer. I put photography to the side for over forty years. Now retired, I'm heavily back into it but now not able to get to the beautiful settings as you. However my work fortunately not only filled a good part of my photography void but also afforded me with a broad knowledge base on image making. I ran an engineering department for one of the major television networks for many years. Within the industry I have been considered somewhat of an authority on television cameras and image crafting. Before running the engineering department I also ran video for years on major network shows. In England it sounds so much more romantic .. they call it vision mixing. I always liked that! Keep shooting beautiful images! kbs
Really enjoy your vids bud.
Thanks Ronnie.
I noticed you do center weighted , and K WB why? and what is the K you choose, even if you shoot raw why not Auto WB?
Hi Dave, cool video. Nice to see you going on trips.
You asked us in your mail to describe where we are struggling with.
I'm mostly struggling with blowing the milkyway out of my pictures in postprocessing..
Would be great if you have tips for this, to get a nice colorbalanced milkyway, instead of in my case, a usually fully blue one.. ;)
Keep up the good stuff. I really like it!
Cool. Thanks for the input. I'll add it to my list of video topics. Much appreciated
Are you using matrix metering on these shots
Thanks again, you always have a few gems that I haven’t thought about. I also like your technical approach to your explanations. This video has helped me connect the scene with the histogram or at least remind to spend equal time looking a the scene as well as the historgram.
Two questions:
1. If you shoot with the histogram to the right and you have no blownout areas are you generally able to pull out all the colors, lights, and shadows from the raw file in post processing?
2. I have been using 3 shot exposure compensations at 1 f/stop apart and pushing the middle one to the right of the histogram then HDR’ing the images in Lightroom or Photoshop; am I wasting my time in doing this?
You're welcome.
1. Sometimes. Do some test shots with your camera & see what works.
2. yes. Shoot for the tonal values you need in the final image, no more. You're just overlapping data. Not wrong, just way too much work.
Thanks, I'll reform my ways and see what happens.
is that center weighted metering...
Dave not sure how to get the histogram on live view.
Great Video as always!
What do you have on your LCD screen on the top? Is it a screen protector or just the recording?
just the recording I guess. ON the top of my camera I have epoxy on the screen where I smashed it:)
Dave, Thanks for taking digital photography to the next level for us amateurs that have been around the digital block or two, but still need some help! I have a super technical question and one that has me totally twisted -up when shooting RAW. I like to reference the histogram and expose to the right, but I am not sure the histogram is giving me a true representation. When using the histogram on the back of the camera am I correct in saying that it is a representation of the cameras jpeg and not a RAW file? If I select custom JPEG features in the camera that seems to change the histogram for the exact same exposure? If these last two statements are true, how do I get the most performance out of the camera when referencing the histogram and making exposure adjustments. I like to shoot RAW plus JPEG, but if the custom JPEG settings I am using changes the histogram then I am not sure what I should be doing as I want the best RAW exposure I can get. Told you I was all twisted-up!
You don't talk about filters in the half dozen landscape/histogram videos. Do you use filters when shooting landscape???
Side note: learned tons from your videos. Thanks
Hi Brian, I don't use them. Added weight to carry. That's great. Thank you!
Dave, question on taking the image at around the 14:15 part of this video...would 'bracketing 3 shots, bring in as much or more detail than the single shot with the histogram to the right? I tend to bracket a fair bit, but thought I would ask...there again, I love HDR more than many, but I thought the 3 images via bracketing might be a worthy choice as well?
It's overlapping data, not necessary for 95% of shots. Here are some articles which discuss, www.davemorrowphotography.com/camera-sensor-size-guide & www.davemorrowphotography.com/exposure-triangle The science will set you free:)
Where in California was this shoot done? Another great Video brother..
East of the Sierra Nevada range. Thanks buddy
Dave this is the 3rd or 4th video of yours I have watched in the last 24 hours and getting ready to watch another. Dude I am learning a lot and you have converted me over to the Live View for sure. Getting ready to watch your video on Histograms. On a recent trip to Estes Park Colorado, I took a lot of landscape pictures and all though I was able to save a lot of them I was frustrated with what came out of the camera. I shoot RAW and Manual Mode, using the D810. The images during playback looked perfect and bright. NO I did not shot Live or use the Histograms. When I downloaded the images they were very under-exposed. Like I said after watching your video's I have seen the light. My question: Do you adjust the brightness of the LCD screen or just leave it at its factory default? Planning a trip back to Colorado's Sand Dunes and this video is killer.
Thanks John, I love to hear that! Good question. I leave the live view / screen brightness on -2 so it doesn't drain as much battery. The histogram makes sure the image is spot on no matter the lighting on your screen. You can probably salvage most of those images, D810 can pull out a lot of dark details. Have fun in the Sand Dunes. It was -40 when I was there last Jan. Batteries lasted 10 images before dying haha.
A good explanation ! One question: why use exposure compensation instead aperture to put histogram on right place ? Thks
Check my complete camera technique video. Posted it two weeks ago.
Hey Dave, great video and tutorial! One question- How are summoning the Histogram in Live View? The manual isn't very helpful with this. I've been trying to summon it since watching your My Live View Shooting Technique & White Balance video two days ago. I thought I knew my camera. Apparently not. :) Thanks!
I had a similar issue - and the manual isn't clear because they refer to the histogram when reviewing an image, and give the live view hist. a different name. There are videos on youtube that explain how to pull it up if you go looking.
I continued to play with it and figured it out. What a run around, but I'm loving it now when doing landscape photography! It worked a treat last week whilst shooting a sunset at the beach.
Thanks so much @honeysucklecat!
Excellent vid as always. Thanks man. One question came to mind watching this. Does exposing to the right work when using ND grad filters?
Thanks. Yes. It works with all filters.
Really informative video series Dave, thank you! I noticed you have been shooting landscape images with a Nikon D810 at ISO 100. The D810's native ISO is 64 which is usually considered the highest quality setting (low noise). I also shoot with a D810 and usually at ISO 64 when tripod mounted. Can you shed a little light on ISO 64 vs 100?
Good question. Take some shots into direct sunlight in the forest ( Huge dynamic range ) using ISO64 and ISO100, next compare them on comp. You'll notice that ISO100 has a much better response in controlling the highlights and the overall dynamic range. Also, it's 2/3 stop faster in shutter, with no noticeable degradation in image quality.
Спасибо за Труд,Dave.Полезно! Хоть и языковой барьер присутствует :)
Good Stuff Dave ! But Damn bud buy some better Rye, I'm Canadian and I've never heard of the that brand. :) lol
Just out of curiosity where in California are these dunes?