How to avoid blowing whites..

TamiAz

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I'm going to be taking some pictures of my friend's daughter in her first communion dress today. Of course, she will be wearing all white. What do I need to watch to avoid blowing out the whites? I'm going to be taking my new umbrella stand, wireless remote and flash and experiment with that. I'll probably be taking most of the pictures without the flash since I'm still a little nervous about using it.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!
 
Learn to read histograms.

If your camera is capable of displaying blown-out highlights on the monitor, engage that function.
 
HISTOGRAM
Back of the camera LCD - set it to show your histogram when reviewing the shots, normally when this mode is enabled you'll get teh blinkies as well, which is any overexposed section of the photo will blink to show where it is. That will let you know if you're blowing the whites or not - provided the light remains the same you can then dial in a little underexposure and shoot again.

There are other methods, but that above would be a good, simple starting point to begin with.
 
In a nutshell...if you are blowing your whites, then reduce your exposure. :er:

As mentioned, the best way to ascertain if you're blowing your highlights, is to examine the histogram while shooting.
 
Use center-weighted metering and meter on the brightest part of the white dress. Spot metering would probably be too sensitive but you can try it as well. Read the meter values, set them up in manual mode, and shoot.
 
Thanks..I do use the histogram. All I need to do is make sure I'm not clipping any highlights?? I was thinking there was more to it. I'll just adjust my exposure if I'm too far to the right. Thank you!!

Yes, I can set my preview to show highlights, so I'll be using that.
 
There is more to it, but a lot depends on how complex the lighting is and how much control you can impose upon it. The use of flashes, diffusers, excluders, reflectors, flash meters, stands, booms, assistants - this can all add complexity to the shot, but at the same time mean that you can vary your lighting to suit the shot.
 
Use center-weighted metering and meter on the brightest part of the white dress. Spot metering would probably be too sensitive but you can try it as well. Read the meter values, set them up in manual mode, and shoot.

Well, I am not sure if I agree with you there. Doing what you are doing will underexpose your image. What you want is to meter the bright part of the dress and put your meter to around + 1 2/3. But then again she is adding flash into the equation so your method is ok i guess.
 
Well, I am not sure if I agree with you there. Doing what you are doing will underexpose your image. What you want is to meter the bright part of the dress and put your meter to around + 1 2/3. But then again she is adding flash into the equation so your method is ok i guess.
I'm not sure I agree with myself either, but I am pretty sure that if anything else is used to meter on that the whites are going to blow out. Since the dress is already white it can't stand any overexposure at all, especially if there are any hot spots on it. That's how I'd start anyway, and if it didn't work adjust from there.
 
ugg, I hate taking photos of my kids wearing white. It is so easy to blow which usually results in underexposed face. I'll be watching here for tips
 
I just took photos of my three kids in their white baptism outfits. I'll try to post some examples this weekend, if I can find the time.
 
I have a dirty mind and that topic sounded kinda rude.
 
Use center-weighted metering and meter on the brightest part of the white dress. Spot metering would probably be too sensitive but you can try it as well. Read the meter values, set them up in manual mode, and shoot.

This is exactly correct. Meter for the brightest part of the dress in the light you will be using. Set the camera up for manual exposure and make sure that the brightest part of the dress is not blown by referring to the histogram. Then shoot the whole image in manual mode at that exposure reading or faster.
 
:er: No...
What if the person is wearing black? Red?
Telling you... if you spot meter someones white shirt, you will underexpose. Hell.. you need to spot meter people differently if they have bright skin, olive, dark skin, super dark skin etc.

Use center-weighted metering and meter on the brightest part of the white dress. Spot metering would probably be too sensitive but you can try it as well. Read the meter values, set them up in manual mode, and shoot.

This is exactly correct. Meter for the brightest part of the dress in the light you will be using. Set the camera up for manual exposure and make sure that the brightest part of the dress is not blown by referring to the histogram. Then shoot the whole image in manual mode at that exposure reading or faster.
 

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