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Learn more than exposure from the histogram

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histogram-titleIn a previous post, I explained how to use the histogram to get a better exposure (and then how to do it better with the RGB version). The histogram is a great tool, and it can even tell you a lot more than just the exposure of your image. It can also help show you properties like contrast.

Brian Auer recently wrote some wonderful articles on his blog that illustrate some of the other things you can learn from the histogram, so I thought I’d share them:

I usually just share these kinds of links on our Twitter or Facebook pages, but I thought these were so good that they deserved a blog post 🙂 [Read more…] about Learn more than exposure from the histogram

How to use the “special” RGB Histogram

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IMG_0506fA few weeks ago, I explained how to use the histogram to get a better exposure. And although the default histogram will give you a general idea of an image’s exposure, there’s actually a special histogram that’ll tell you a lot more: the RGB histogram.

Here’s how it works:

If you understand the regular histogram, then the RGB histogram is simple: it shows you the histogram of each individual color channel (red, green, and blue).

The bad thing about the regular histogram is that it lumps all these color channels together, making it hard for you to see if you’re underexposing or overexposing a specific color channel. And, on some cameras, I’ve heard that the regular histogram only shows you the green channel. [Read more…] about How to use the “special” RGB Histogram

How to check sharpness out on the trail

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IMG_0476bIn last week’s post, I explained how to use the histogram to check if you exposed a photo properly. Another thing you probably want to know after taking a photo is whether or not it’s sharp.

Well, one way to see if a photo came out sharp enough, is to zoom in as much as possible on the LCD preview.

This won’t show you exactly how sharp the photo is, but it’ll give you a much better idea than just looking at the zoomed out preview (which almost always looks sharp). [Read more…] about How to check sharpness out on the trail

How to use the histogram to get a better exposure

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histogram-titleOne of the first things you probably want to know after taking a photo is whether or not you got your intended exposure.

You might be tempted to look at the preview on your LCD screen, but when you’re shooting photos outdoors in the sun, those previews can be very deceiving, making your photos look much brighter than they actually are.

So, how do you know if you got the right exposure? Well, one way is to use the histogram. [Read more…] about How to use the histogram to get a better exposure