is this pic overexposed?

DScience · May 18, 2009

Hello all...I took this over the weekend. I cant decide if the following pic is correctly exposed. Please let me know what you think (C&C welcome obviously).

Overread · May 18, 2009

I see a few hot areas on the shot - but nothing distracting (the most is that little bit of bar that is all white) but its not detracting from the flower image.
I would say though that chair/bench you were sitting on is not giving a good frame and I (personally) would have left it out of the shot and either ignored or made more use of the small railings in the shot.

If you need to check in field on the LCD read up in your manual about the camera histogram - its a fantastic tool when used right!
more info: Histograms - Part I

paigegreen916 · May 18, 2009

whatever anyone else says, it 100% a matter of your own personal style. (personally, I think the the image looks lovely. very vibrant and colorful) if you think its too bright, try a different look next time.

DScience · May 18, 2009

thanks both of you. I know about the histogrAm, and agree about the personal preference...but after reading "understanding exposure", I was under the impression that there is a 'correct exposure' to all pictures.

KmH · May 18, 2009

DScience said:
Hello all...I took this over the weekend. I cant decide if the following pic is correctly exposed. Please let me know what you think (C&C welcome obviously).

I opened the image in ACR (Adobe Camera Raw). Most of the flowers are somewhat overexposed and clipped in the red channel. That's not to surprising considering their color.

With digital images ensuring the highlights are not clipped is the paramount goal because once clipped the detail is not recoverable. Blocked shadows are of far less concern.

What image editing software do you have available that you could use to quanitatively, rather than qualitativly, evaluate the exposure of your images?

As far as C&C, I find the OOF bench in the foreground distracting but the hoops make a nice secondary element that complements the flowers.

Overread · May 18, 2009

after reading that book you should understand that a part of that correct exposure (infact the greatest part) is the image you wanted out of it at the start - taking into account any limitations present on taking the shot in the first place (gear, lighting, setup, angle etc...)

DScience · May 18, 2009

Kmh...thank you. I have cs3, pe 7, lightroom 2, and aperture 2 :0)

Can you explain a lil more what you mean?

DScience · May 18, 2009

Overread said:
after reading that book you should understand that a part of that correct exposure (infact the greatest part) is the image you wanted out of it at the start - taking into account any limitations present on taking the shot in the first place (gear, lighting, setup, angle etc...)

What I got from the book was, there is alwAys a correct exposure. The part I think you're talking about is the fact that most images have multiple wAys to be correctly exposed, it's up to YOU ( the photog ) to make it a 'creative exposure'. (correct me if I am wrong)

Bitter Jeweler · May 18, 2009

How did you meter the shot?

DScience · May 18, 2009

Bitter Jeweler said:
How did you meter the shot?

I metered the bright yellow flower in focus, then stepped back to frame the shot.

GeneralBenson · May 18, 2009

Pearl Street?

DScience · May 18, 2009

GeneralBenson said:
Pearl Street?

Yes sir! I went Saturday afternoon and was shocked at the amazing arrangement of beautiful, unusual flowers. I had to go back, and ended up doing the same thing Sunday; only at 7:30, utilizing the beautiful morning light!

Bitter Jeweler · May 18, 2009

I like the crop KmH did. I did find the bench distracting. To my eye, it looks like a good exposure, just harsh lighting. But it's tough, because I really like the how the tulips glow from within. Will you post a shot from Sunday morning?

ANDS! · May 19, 2009

The luminosity channel is NOT the same as the individual color channels in a histogram. I don't doubt the red channel is clipped to the right, but thats a whole hell of a lot better than your luminosity values being clipped to the right.