The following is a direct copy and has been Pasted in for future reference from the Art of Photography coursework PDF Doc. (pasted in Maroon)
4 – 6 photographs for part 1.
5 – 6 photographs for part 2 – multi exposed.
For part one of this exercise produce between four and six photographs which are deliberately lighter or darker than average, and say why in your written notes.
For part two take five or six different photographs, of any subject, but for each one make five exposures, arranged around what you have measured as the best exposure. The first should be one stop darker, the second half a stop, the third average, the fourth half a stop lighter and the fifth one stop lighter.
When the photographs are ready to view, look first to see whether or not the central exposure is, as you would expect it, what you wanted. Next, which, if any, of the other exposures are also acceptable? Depending on the subject and the kind of lighting, you may find some differences. With some pictures, the darker and lighter versions are not right; with others, all five exposures are, in their own right, perfectly acceptable. Silhouettes often work at a number of different exposures. You might be surprised to find that you prefer a slightly lighter or darker result than you had planned.
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Equipment
Nikon D800E
24/70 f2.8 lens
80/400 f4.0 lens
Tripod Lightmeter
Method & Approach
With the weather looking like it should hold out and my kit bag at the ready I set out for a walk around Minster Ruins, Oxfordshire. In part one of this exercise each picture below was taken three times utilising the lightmeter and tripod, in part two the only difference was that I increased this number to five pictures. The weather conditions outside on this day were mild and overcast. Please see pictures and captions below. Note – all pictures have been compressed hence there might be a quality reduction when enlarging.
Part One – Four photographs which are deliberately lighter or darker
Picture 1 (my preferred exposure)
Picture 1 – Under exposed by half a stop
Picture details – Speed 180th sec, f6.7, ISO 400 – 24/70mm lens, focal length 45mm
Lightmeter reading (correct exposure) – Speed 125th sec, f6.7, ISO 400. Whilst setting up this shot I used incident metering.
Comments – I took three variations of this picture, this particular shot was the most under exposed of them all (half a stop) and in reality this picture resembles the most visually accurate. Although the other images had nothing wrong, the flower colours were not as rich and detailed using the correct or even overexposing the image. All pictures were exposed in accordance with the lightmeter to –
- Half a stop underexposed.
- Correct exposure.
- Half a stop overexposed.
Picture 2 (my preferred exposure)
Picture 2 – Under exposed by half a stop
Picture details (shown) – Speed 90th sec, f5.6, ISO 200 – 24/70mm lens, focal length 70mm
Lightmeter reading (correct exposure) – Speed 60th sec, f5.6, ISO 200. Whilst setting up this shot I used incident metering.
Comments – I took three variations of this pine needled tree branch, this shot was the most under exposed and this picture resembles the most realistic in colour. The other two pictures were taken with the ‘correct exposure’ and half a stop ‘overexposed’ (from the lightmeter reading) both came out looking faded and slightly washed out. All pictures were exposed in accordance with the lightmeter to –
- Half a stop underexposed.
- Correct exposure.
- Half a stop overexposed.
Picture 3 (my preferred exposure)
Picture 3 – Under exposed by one full stop
Picture details (shown) – Speed 90th sec, f2.8, ISO 200 – 24/70mm lens, focal length 42mm
Lightmeter reading (correct exposure) – Speed 45th sec, f2.8, ISO 200. Whilst setting up this shot I used incident metering.
Comments – I took three variations of this fallen tree and its roots, this shot was the most under exposed at 1 full stop and resembles the most visually true to the moment of capture. The other two pictures were passable but the green foliage seen on the ground was too lighter colour and the damp earth colours around the roots were not dark enough. All pictures were exposed in accordance with the lightmeter to –
- One full stop underexposed.
- Correct exposure.
- One full stop overexposed.
Picture 4 (my preferred exposure)
Picture 4 – Over exposed by half a stop
Picture details (shown) – Speed 350th sec, f5.6, ISO 200 – 24/70mm lens, focal length 70mm.
Lightmeter reading (correct exposure) – Speed 500th sec, f5.6, ISO 200. Whilst setting up this shot I used spot metering, I didn’t have my ‘wellies’ with me to wade in for incident metering.
Comments – I took three variations of this picture and here we can see that it is very slightly overexposed (half a stop). This version clearly gives more detail to the drift wood colour and textures, it also resembles the most visually life like especially that of the water. The other two images were too dark and did not have the same amount of clarity and detail. All pictures were exposed in accordance with the lightmeter to –
- Half a stop underexposed.
- Correct exposure.
- Half a stop overexposed.
Part Two – Take five or six different photographs of any subject but for each one make five exposures
Picture 5 (five different exposures)
Picture 5a – Under exposed by one full stop – Speed 1/45th second.
Picture 5b – Under exposed by half a stop – Speed 1/30th second.
Picture 5c – Correct Exposure Speed 1/20th second.
Picture 5d – Over exposed by half a stop – Speed 1/15th second.
Picture 5e – Over exposed by one full stop – Speed 1/10th second.
Camera details – 24/70mm lens, focal length 32mm.
Lightmeter reading (correct exposure) – Speed 20th sec, f16, ISO 400. Whilst setting up this shot I used incident metering.
Comments – In this series of exposures I prefer the detail of the daffodil petals in the underexposed shots but when looking at the wall and church I prefer the overexposed pictures. Without editing any of these exposures my preferred choice would be that of the correct exposure as a happy medium. If I were to edit an image, it would be that of the underexposed shot 5a. The slightly overexposed image of 5d is the most accurate colour resembling picture of the bunch.
All pictures were exposed in accordance with the lightmeter to –
- One full stop underexposed.
- Half a stop underexposed.
- Correct exposure.
- Half a stop overexposed.
- One full stop overexposed.
Picture 6 (five different exposures)
Picture 6a – Under exposed by one full stop – Speed 1/90th second.
Picture 6b – Under exposed by half a stop – Speed 1/60th second.
Picture 6c – Correct Exposure – Speed 1/45th second.
Picture 6d – Over exposed by half a stop – Speed 1/30th second.
Picture 6e – Over exposed by one full stop – Speed 1/20th second.
Camera details – 24/70mm lens, focal length 58mm.
Lightmeter reading (correct exposure) – Speed 45th sec, f11, ISO 200. Whilst setting up this shot I used incident metering.
Comments – In this series of exposures I prefer the colour and fresh vibrant spring look of the overexposed shots. The picture 6d (half a stop overexposed) is just about right and resembles that of the true colour at the time of taking the picture.
All pictures were exposed in accordance with the lightmeter to –
- One full stop underexposed.
- Half a stop underexposed.
- Correct exposure.
- Half a stop overexposed.
- One full stop overexposed.
Picture 7 (five different exposures)
Picture 7a – Under exposed by one full stop – Speed 1/250th second.
Picture 7b – Under exposed by half a stop – Speed 1/180th second.
Picture 7c – Correct Exposure – Speed 1/125th second.
Picture 7d – Over exposed by half a stop – Speed 1/90th second.
Picture 7e – Over exposed by one full stop – Speed 1/60th second.
Camera details – 24/70mm lens, focal length 70mm.
Lightmeter reading (correct exposure) – Speed 125th sec, f11, ISO 200. Whilst setting up this shot I used incident metering.
Comments – In this series of images the most appealing to me is that of 7c the correctly exposed shot, the others are either dull and too dark or too hard and beginning to look a little washed out.
All pictures were exposed in accordance with the lightmeter to –
- One full stop underexposed.
- Half a stop underexposed.
- Correct exposure.
- Half a stop overexposed.
- One full stop overexposed.
Picture 8 (five different exposures)
Picture 8a – Under exposed by one full stop – Speed 1/15th second.
Picture 8b – Under exposed by half a stop – Speed 1/10th second.
Picture 8c – Correct Exposure – Speed 1/8th second.
Picture 8d – Over exposed by half a stop – Speed 1/6th second.
Picture 8e – Over exposed by one full stop – Speed 1/4th second.
Camera details – 24/70mm lens, focal length 60mm.
Lightmeter reading (correct exposure) – Speed 1/8th sec, f6.7, ISO 200. Whilst setting up this shot I used spot metering (on the tree roots).
Comments – Of the five exposures in this series I prefer picture 8a (one stop underexposed). It is without doubt the most accurate of the wooded area with regards to colour and tone. As each exposures time value becomes increasingly longer the colours and vibrancy suffer to the point of becoming unacceptable (my opinion).
All pictures were exposed in accordance with the lightmeter to –
- One full stop underexposed.
- Half a stop underexposed.
- Correct exposure.
- Half a stop overexposed.
- One full stop overexposed.
Picture 9 (five different exposures)
Picture 9a – Under exposed by one full stop – Speed 1/90th second.
Picture 9b – Under exposed by half a stop – Speed 1/60th second.
Picture 9c – Correct Exposure – Speed 1/45th second.
Picture 9d – Overexposed by half a stop – Speed 1/30th second.
Picture 9e – Overexposed by one full stop – Speed 1/20th second.
Camera details – 80/400mm lens, focal length 220mm.
Lightmeter reading (correct exposure) – Speed 45th sec, f11, ISO 200. Whilst setting up this shot I used incident metering.
Comments – This picture was taken in my garden and with relevance of personal choice I prefer the underexposed picture 9a (one stop underexposed). In fairness all the pictures are reasonably acceptable, although the last image is really starting to blow out on the lighter coloured petals. The most accurate exposure is the correctly exposed picture of 9c when taking the fence colour in to account.
All pictures were exposed in accordance with the lightmeter to –
- One full stop underexposed.
- Half a stop underexposed.
- Correct exposure.
- Half a stop overexposed.
- One full stop overexposed.
What have I learnt from this exercise
First I set the camera up to bracket the exposures and on reviewing each image the difference of 0.5 Ev is not the same as half a stop utilising speed or aperture. Sure it makes a difference but sticking my neck out, I would guesstimate that 1Ev is roughly about the same as half a conventional stop. Having said that and in comparison to shooting each picture independently after adjusting the speed or aperture each time, the camera in Bracket mode can rattle off 5 or more pictures in about 2 seconds!
This comment has been repeated but it is true and as I said in exercise twenty three, metered exposures are not always the most pleasing as they can often appear overexposed with the colours looking slightly washed out compared to pictures that are slightly underexposed, again this might be down to individual taste or camera characteristics.
Thoughts and Reflection
When I am out and about taking pictures I always take and fully utilise my exposure meter, even though the metering systems on-board both my regular cameras are very good I have developed a habit of relying more so on this piece of equipment than that of any cameras system. There are other times of course were if the picture is a quick snap of my children or wife then I surpass and use the on-board system.
Like above this comment is a repeat from exercise twenty three but it is valid here too with relevance of white balance it plays a huge part in this matter, it can make some colours appear hard whilst others soft or even blue. I also know that some digital camera brands have a tendency to deliver some colours better than others. As for the pictures above most of them were very passable but my own opinion favours the slightly under exposed rather than that of overexposure.
Another issue to remember is that camera only measure reflected light where as individual lightmeters measure light falling onto the subject.
stingray493 