I think I am beginning to understand the compromise

[LoafofDread]

I discovered this concept to the extreme today as I was shooting on a balcony that was shaded out towards a sun-lit area. I had to fine tune the settings pretty extensively so as to not underexpose the shaded area but not overexpose the sunny area.

 

[Life]

HOW DID YOU DO IT? Something that's been bothering me tons. I have a book on this section, but the way I see it you need GND filters for it..

 

[minicoop1985]

Having that framework in mind will be a huge help. The next step is to anticipate the final photo and think about how you're going to get there-have a plan for each shot you take. That plan won't work out every time (or even most of the time here... lol), but it's a good thing to have and know what you're looking to do.

 

[sashbar]

You made my day.

Seriously, you need this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-Dummi...id=1403530819&sr=8-1&keywords=60D+for+dummies

I am not joking, it will help you.

 

[dennybeall]

"How did you do it?"
He could of exposed for the bright areas and post processed the darker areas up. He could take two photos, one for bright part and one for the dark part and merge in post - processing. The GND is good IF you've got a nice clean separation line. Last I can think of would be to expose for the middle. Many folks would just come back when the light is better......

 

[DJM]

You may enjoy the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. It pretty much starts out by explaining exactly what you've discovered... but takes it a step further. As Overread explains... as you change the exposure settings to keep the needle centered, the equivalent exposures actually do result in images which look different BECAUSE you are changing things such as the depth of field.

For any given shot you are about to take, there are many many combinations of shutter speed, aperture, and ISO which will achieve the same exposure on the sensor... but ONE of those combinations will look better than the rest.

Now that you understand how you can play the exposure triangle trading game... the next step is to learn WHY you'd want to play the trading game to get a better looking result.

incidentally... there is a 4th factor that never seems to get mentioned. Do not forget that you CAN actually change the amount of light falling on your subject... either by adding your own light via flash or reflectors... or by simply MOVING your subject to a location with better lighting (and better background.)

Dont tell me that, I'm still trying to understand the 3 factors never mind the 4th

 

[Solarflare]

Well - Flash photography is basically an artform all in itself. Opens a whole new dimension, really.

And reflectors etc are only interesting if you have, well (a) the ability to transport them (b) the ability to use them (which often requires assistant help) (c) you have to finance them and (d) you have to choose the product because theres a ton of stuff out there.