Weekly Assignment: Using the Histogram to Expose

[PWS-Staff]

In order to learn how to manage exposure, take the time to find a scene that is predominantly dark or light and use the meter and the histogram to determine the correct exposure. Take a number of photos and then evaluate the images. Think about how the exposure matches the scene and how the meter registered the amount of dark and light tones in the scene.

This white chair in front of a pale wall is a bright subject in rather low lighting. Even though the chair is old and a bit dingy, it is white, and I wanted it rendered as white in the end.

Because the room was dark, I had to overexpose the scene +2/3 f-stop to get the tones I desired, which came to an exposure of ISO 100, f/2.2, and 1/40 second. Although the chair is bright, there is still detail and texture in its back.

From "Black and White Digital Photography"