Underexpose ,

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lesley

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Hi Steve , most birds have light spots and white feathers ,some very few , I read that some photographers deliberately under expose all the time by a third or half a stop to counter overexposing in those situations . What is your take on this.
 
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It really depends on the circumstances. It's not uncommon to keep a little on the underexposed side with white birds when they are against middle tone or darker backgrounds. However, a white bird on sand or against snow will underexpose for sure. A white bird that's filling most of the frame is also prone to underexposure, so you have to be careful.

Still, with most modern Nikons (i.e. not the D5/6), there is no real penalty for underexposing a little. It'll add a little noise in post, but nothing more than had you shot at an equivalent ISO in the field. (i.e. if you used ISO 400 in the field but really needed ISO 800, when you brighten the exposure in post by a stop, it will look like it was shot at ISO 800).

Of course, this assumes you're shooting RAW.

By the way, there are times I REALLY underexpose my subject if I'm trying to protect highlights. The trick is to keep the ISO as low as possible so when you pull the exposure back up, things don't get too noisy.
 
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Steve said:
It really depends on the circumstances. It's not uncommon to keep a little on the underexposed side with white birds when they are against middle tone or darker backgrounds. However, a white bird on sand or against snow will underexpose for sure. A white bird that's filling most of the frame is also prone to underexposure, so you have to be careful.

Still, with most modern Nikons (i.e. not the D5/6), there is no real penalty for underexposing a little. It'll add a little noise in post, but nothing more than had you shot at an equivalent ISO in the field. (i.e. if you used ISO 400 in the field but really needed ISO 800, when you brighten the exposure in post by a stop, it will look like it was shot at ISO 800).

Of course, this assumes you're shooting RAW.

By the way, there are times I REALLY underexpose my subject if I'm trying to protect highlights. The trick is to keep the ISO as low as possible so when you pull the exposure back up, things don't get too noisy.
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If you are shooting in manual mode with a relatively ISO-invariant camera such as the D850, you can protect the highlights by keeping the exposure (shutter speed, f/stop) the same and cranking down the ISO as explained by Jim Kasson for the D850.

With autoexposure in aperture priority you can use negative exposure compensation while keeping the ISO as low as possible as Steve indicates. Kasson's advice here may be helpful but the procedure is a bit involved.

Bill
 
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bjanes said:
If you are shooting in manual mode with a relatively ISO-invariant camera such as the D850, you can protect the highlights by keeping the exposure (shutter speed, f/stop) the same and cranking down the ISO as explained by Jim Kasson for the D850.
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Good points.

I'd also add that if you shoot in Manual Exposure/Auto ISO mode then dialing in exposure comp gives you the same result as the first option that Jim Kasson recommends. IOW, the exposure comp in that mode only drives the ISO up or down by the amount of compensation and in a relatively ISO invariant camera you can restore that in post with no change in image quality assuming highlights weren't completely blown out at time of exposure. That's one of the main reasons Manual Mode/Auto ISO has become my favorite auto exposure mode, I get to choose both aperture and shutter speed and the floating variable is ISO which across a fairly wide range in most modern DSLRs is invariant and setting in the field or in post doesn't really matter assuming you don't hard clip highlights or shadows.
 
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DRwyoming said:
Good points.

I'd also add that if you shoot in Manual Exposure/Auto ISO mode then dialing in exposure comp gives you the same result as the first option that Jim Kasson recommends. IOW, the exposure comp in that mode only drives the ISO down by the amount of compensation and in a relatively ISO invariant camera you can restore that in post with no change in image quality assuming highlights weren't completely blown out at time of exposure. That's one of the main reasons Manual Mode/Auto ISO has become my favorite auto exposure mode, I get to choose both aperture and shutter speed and the floating variable is ISO which across a fairly wide range in modern DSLRs is invariant and setting in the field or in post doesn't really matter until you hard clip highlights or shadows.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much. Yours is a very valuable reply that told me something I did not know.

Bill
 
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Hi Steve .thankyou for the advice and to others who have offered advice as well . I like your advice in your E book on Nature Photography , from one of the last pages , and that is , Above all you just have get out there and shoot .
 
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