Been a while but a few digital previews from a recent wedding...

[Gary A.]

I have no clue as to what is a selectively blown highlight and how it can possibly be good. It is why we have histograms. Blown highlights and clogged blacks are due to a lack of exposure control. I have no idea how much he gets paid for a wedding, but had that been my daughter's, I would have asked for my money back. So, I am a purist. Shoot me.

Histogram ... Shistogram.

A wide drnamic does not make a good photograph. Conversely, blown highlights and detail-less shadows do not make a good photograph. A pro knows when and when not to use or ignore the histogram. A successful photograph is one which moves and touches the viewer. Most viewers are not moved by a histogram. Often blown highlights or black shadows adds significant drama and heighten the impact of the image.

For me, using a histogram to dictate my final image is similar to painting-by-numbers or using pre-sets. Allowing one’s eye and imagination to override sterile technical “rules” is what artistic expression is all about.

 

[Tim Tucker 2]

I have no clue as to what is a selectively blown highlight and how it can possibly be good. It is why we have histograms. Blown highlights and clogged blacks are due to a lack of exposure control. I have no idea how much he gets paid for a wedding, but had that been my daughter's, I would have asked for my money back. So, I am a purist. Shoot me.

Histogram ... Shistogram.

A wide drnamic does not make a good photograph. Conversely, blown highlights and detail-less shadows do not make a good photograph. A pro knows when and when not to use or ignore the histogram. A successful photograph is one which moves and touches the viewer. Most viewers are not moved by a histogram. Often blown highlights or black shadows adds significant drama and heighten the impact of the image.

For me, using a histogram to dictate my final image is similar to painting-by-numbers or using pre-sets. Allowing one’s eye and imagination to override sterile technical “rules” is what artistic expression is all about.

There is also another problem in judging an image by the numbers that represent it rather than actually looking and understanding...

And that is that *blown* channels is flawed logic. There is a whole range of colour where the RGB value for *red* is 255 from saturated bright red through to yellow and all the pastels through to white. And if you want the impression of light in a print you have to think of using them, not cutting them out because the histogram looks wrong.

Here's a histogram:

One may think, by looking at this alone that the *red channel was blown*, and be totally wrong. Any lack of detail in the reds, (it's a sunset picture), was down to the displays inability to represent the subtle differences. The image prints well. In fact there is not a single red near the 255 value, all those 255 values represent the bright pale yellows, not reds in the raw file even though the jpeg histogram looked like the one above. And each neighbouring pixel has a slightly different value. RGB values are just colorspace co-ordinates they DO NOT represent amounts of red, green and blue light coming into the camera because that's simply not how it works. Besides reducing the exposure completely kokked the colours even on the raw file and the sense of light visible in the sunset was not in the photo anymore...

 

[Braineack]

@Vtec44 Can i fly myself out to CA and mentor under you for a wedding shoot?

 

[Vtec44]

@Vtec44 Can i fly myself out to CA and mentor under you for a wedding shoot?

I'm no expert but sure. I can show you how to blow out highlights, expose for the entire scene, use the histogram, and focus on just the B&G since that's what weddings are all about.

 

[Tim Tucker 2]

I'm no expert but sure. I can show you how to blow out highlights, expose for the entire scene, use the histogram, and focus on just the B&G since that's what weddings are all about.

LOL, I have often wondered this myself, why we pick a subject then concentrate on everything that's not the subject...

 

[bulldurham]

All I ever said about a histogram was that it can be used to show a blown highlight...not sure where the rest of your diatribe came from.

 

[Vtec44]

All I ever said about a histogram was that it can be used to show a blown highlight...not sure where the rest of your diatribe came from.

Welcome back!

 

[Destin]

All I ever said about a histogram was that it can be used to show a blown highlight...not sure where the rest of your diatribe came from.

No, you said “We have them for a reason” and proceeded to ramble on about how anyone who would ever blow a highlight intentionally is incompetent.

 

[birdbonkers84]

Why's no one mentioned the numbering of the photos? if it had been a noob posting you'd be all over them in a second ;D

Anyways really love the 2nd and 4th and would be over the moon if they were my wedding photos.

 

[jcdeboever]

@Vtec44 Can i fly myself out to CA and mentor under you for a wedding shoot?

This^^^

 

[DarkShadow]

These are wonderful but have to say # 4 is gorgeous, I love the pose and the rendering of the B&G and foliage looks magical.The in and out of focus of foliage the color tones of light and darker greens and the right amount of contrast make this one cracking good.

 

[bulldurham]

All I ever said about a histogram was that it can be used to show a blown highlight...not sure where the rest of your diatribe came from.

No, you said “We have them for a reason” and proceeded to ramble on about how anyone who would ever blow a highlight intentionally is incompetent.

I never ramble. I am if nothing else, pretty direct. Not necessarily incompetent, but not adhering to good photographic ideals. I've looked through his wedding portfolios and I'll stand by my original assessment of his shooting style: blown highlights and not as Tim Tucker would describe in such a lovely technical way (though I can't find one image of his where he's done this intentionally), but in such a manner as to take away from the stars of the show, the B&G. For me, it is always about the primary subject being in the forefront. Listen, if you guys like this style, hey, more power to you. I'm a purist and I learned the old fashion way and learned from many of its masters and it is not my style, so don't expect I am going to jump in line with the rest of you who want James to mentor you. Happy trails.

 

[Destin]

All I ever said about a histogram was that it can be used to show a blown highlight...not sure where the rest of your diatribe came from.

No, you said “We have them for a reason” and proceeded to ramble on about how anyone who would ever blow a highlight intentionally is incompetent.

I never ramble. I am if nothing else, pretty direct. Not necessarily incompetent, but not adhering to good photographic ideals. I've looked through his wedding portfolios and I'll stand by my original assessment of his shooting style: blown highlights and not as Tim Tucker would describe in such a lovely technical way (though I can't find one image of his where he's done this intentionally), but in such a manner as to take away from the stars of the show, the B&G. For me, it is always about the primary subject being in the forefront. Listen, if you guys like this style, hey, more power to you. I'm a purist and I learned the old fashion way and learned from many of its masters and it is not my style, so don't expect I am going to jump in line with the rest of you who want James to mentor you. Happy trails.

Nobody is asking you to like it. But the fact that it isn’t your style doesn’t make it wrong or bad like you originally implied. There is a way to provide CC without being rude and abrasive, and you might find that you get farther that way.

 

[bulldurham]

I don't need to go any farther or further, I am content where I am. I have stood steadfastly by my words and by those words, it is never good to intentionally blow highlights when it is exposure possible not to, which is what I said from the start. It's his style and I don't like it...c'est la vie. We're stomping a dead horse into the ground.

 

[Braineack]

I don't need to go any farther or further, I am content where I am. I have stood steadfastly by my words and by those words, it is never good to intentionally blow highlights when it is exposure possible not to, which is what I said from the start. It's his style and I don't like it...c'est la vie. We're stomping a dead horse into the ground.

so in a scene with a sun behind the subject, it's always best for everything to be a silhouette so long as the sun is exposed not to clip?