New to 35MM photography

jho · Jan 25, 2011

Hey all. I'm new not only to 35mm photography, but new to this forum as well. So I look forward to chatting with some of you and reading your threads/posts to learn more about photography.

I'm taking an intro to photography class at my local community college and had a question about our first assignment, hoping some of you could help me with this little issue I'm having. We're supposed to take outdoor landscape shots using B&W film, and our professor tells us to use a gray card before taking any shots to prepare the camera for the correct shutter speed and aperture recommendations, then we're supposed to select a 1/2 step higher in the aperture or shutter speed for our first landscape photo and then a 1/2 step lower than the gray card reading for our second shot of that same landscape. We're going to compare these in class on Thursday so we can see the differences. So, we're supposed to fill up an entire roll of 36 exp. film, 12 landscapes total, and for each of these landscape shots, we have 3 photos total. 1 of the gray card reading, then the two of the 1/2 steps, above and below the gray card reading. Hope I didn't lose any of you, I'm still learning the right terminology, but I also want to make sure I'm doing this assignment correctly.

My camera is the Minolta Maxxus HTsi Plus, if any of you know which one that is and have used that one or one like it and have a ton of experience with them, then you'll probably be able to help me with this. When I tried taking the photo of the gray card, it wouldn't let me, as in when I clicked down on the button, nothing happened. It's when I pulled the card away and clicked it with the landscape in the background that the camera worked fine. Is it because there's nothing on the gray card for the camera to focus in on? Just slightly confused here. I ended up just referencing the recommendations from the gray card readings when choosing which f-stops and shutter speeds to use for each landscape shot without actually snapping a photo of the gray card readings. Any input you have is greatly appreciated. TIA

FransD · Jan 25, 2011

probably your camera is set on auto-focus, you hold the card to close so your camera can't focus, try holding the card at a bigger discance from your lens. or search for the closest focus distance.

jho · Jan 25, 2011

FransD said:
probably your camera is set on auto-focus, you hold the card to close so your camera can't focus, try holding the card at a bigger discance from your lens. or search for the closest focus distance.

It definitely is set on auto-focus, so that must be it. So as long as I'm focusing in on the gray card, it doesn't matter if it's right in front of the camera or if it's like 10 feet away, I'll still get the same recommendations for the f-stop and shutter speed readings? He didn't really explain that to us in the class, the distance of the card from the camera, so I wasn't too sure. And I didn't think to ask because I didn't think I was going to have any issues. Thanks for your response, FransD

Overread · Jan 25, 2011

Most auto focus setups that I'm aware of use contrast detection to get a focus lock on. That requires that when you point the camera at a subject there is a difference in contrast for the camera to detect and then focus in on - with the grey card its all grey so the camera auto focus can't find any contrast differences to lock into.

At the moment that is what I suspect is the problem you are encountering so set the camera to manual focus and then take the shot of the grey card.

misstwinklytoes · Jan 25, 2011

Welcome to the forum!

white · Jan 25, 2011

Your instructor is trying to teach you about camera exposure. +1 or -1 stop shots is known as exposure bracketing.

He's telling you to take a picture (i.e., filling the frame) of a gray card to help you see what middle gray (aka, 18% gray) is.

The center-weighted meter in your camera is designed to produce an average of all the tonal qualities in the scene you see through the viewfinder.

When you adjust settings to get a "proper" exposure, as indicated by what the light meter says, you will have an 18% gray image. Now, it's not all going to be gray, in normal shooting conditions you'll still have highlights and shadows, but the average of these tones and everything in between usually comes out to middle gray.

I am concerned about the 1/2 step increments. That doesn't sound like enough. Usually you want to get a middle gray exposure, then tweak the settings so you get 1 and 2 full stops over and under exposure. Helps you see the difference.

djacobox372 · Jan 25, 2011

You're not supposed to take a photo of the gray card--what's the point in that?

The gray card is just for taking meter-readings; it sounds like you did exactly as you should: meter off the card, and then set your camera to those settings for the final photo.

jho · Jan 25, 2011

white said:
Your instructor is trying to teach you about camera exposure. +1 or -1 stop shots is known as exposure bracketing.

He's telling you to take a picture (i.e., filling the frame) of a gray card to help you see what middle gray (aka, 18% gray) is.

The center-weighted meter in your camera is designed to produce an average of all the tonal qualities in the scene you see through the viewfinder.

When you adjust settings to get a "proper" exposure, as indicated by what the light meter says, you will have an 18% gray image. Now, it's not all going to be gray, in normal shooting conditions you'll still have highlights and shadows, but the average of these tones and everything in between usually comes out to middle gray.

I am concerned about the 1/2 step increments. That doesn't sound like enough. Usually you want to get a middle gray exposure, then tweak the settings so you get 1 and 2 full stops over and under exposure. Helps you see the difference.

Thanks everyone for your responses and for the warm welcomes. White, you nailed it. The professor did discuss about the bracketing. It's just that I didn't pull my notes out when I posted that original post which I should have, so I couldn't think of the right terminology.

Everything you said makes total sense, though. Even though I was unable to take a picture of the gray card, I was still receiving the recommendations I needed for determining the fstops and shutter speeds. I did, however, use 1/2 steps and I believe the assignment called for 1 full step increment +1 and -1 of the gray card readings. I'm sure I'll get marked down for this, but it's all a learning experience. I know now and won't make that mistake again.