Learn to Read Your Camera's Histogram
That is true to a certain extent, in that you can generally tell if your image is good or not and then decide if you need to retake the photo or move on to the next shot. Unfortunately, looking at an image on that small LCD will not really tell you if you have under or over exposed the shot. It will not tell you if you have enough detail in your shadows or highlights etc., and you will have to wait until the image is downloaded into your computer & view it on a larger monitor. The best way to really tell if you have beautiful nature images is to look at the camera's histogram. What is a Histogram?Start by looking at the index within your camera’s manual for this term. Learn where it is within your camera settings & activate the function so you can view it quickly & easily for each image you shoot. This is graphical view of the complete range of tones for your image, right from the darkest of its shadows to the brightest of your highlights. It takes the shape of a silhouette of a range of mountains. The key is learning what this graph is trying to tell you. It is really not important how high the peak is on the graph. It is more important how far the graph extends from edge to edge across the whole width of the graph. When attempting to take beautiful nature images, there is no such thing as a “perfect" graph, because it varies on:
What is a “Good Histogram”?This is one where the silhouette stretches from edge to edge of the graph & may have multiple peaks. This will show to you that your image is well exposed, with good detail in the shadows (ie not underexposed) & the highlights are not washed out (ie not overexposed).
What is an “Underexposed Histogram”? This is one that will be heavily weighted with a large peak next to the left edge and the silhouette will end somewhere between the middle and 3/4ths the way across the graph. This generally means your image is way too dark and you have no highlights or detail in the light areas of the photo.It is telling you, that you need to take the photo again & this time let in more light either by opening the lens and/or increasing the length of time of the exposure (by reducing the shutter speed) or a combination of the two. What is an “Overexposed Histogram”? This will be the opposite to the underexposed image in that the silhouette will be heavily weighted to the right side of the graph with a large peak next to the right edge and the silhouette will end somewhere towards the left side of the graph.This means you need to take the photo again only this time close down the lens opening to let in less light and/or reduce the length of time to take the exposure by increasing the shutter speed. What is a “Problem Histogram”? This graph appears to look good because the silhouette is well centered but the problem is the silhouette stops short of both the left & right edges of the graph.This is telling you there will be good detail in general but you will not have any strong blacks nor any highlights or whites. The image will appear “flat”. It means you need to take the photo again, this time allowing in more light to brighten up the image. If you have any other suggested tips that would help amateur photographers take beautiful nature images, please do not hesitate to Contact Us. Need More Help?If you have any questions regarding this technique please do not hesitate to Contact Us.If you have additional information on how to read a histogram, or if you have any comments related to these graphs and your specific camera model tips that you would like to share with us, Become a Contributor. Are you looking for more information on how to process histogram information, or examples of "how to", then you can use this Google search facility...  Custom Search
Return to Photography Techniques
|
||||||||||||||
