Exercise: Histogram
This post may be edited later on and more information added.
Low contrast images
Low contrast 1
The first image is the ‘correctly exposed’ image. I should explain, this picture was take on an overcast grey day. I choose this particular setting for the low contrast image as there is not a wide variance of colour and I thought it would produce a flat, low contrast image. The values are squeezed together on on side of the histogram. There was no shadow or highlight clipping on this image.
Low Contrast 2
This is the under-exposed image. As you can see it is darker, a classic sign of under-exposure! The values are again squeezed in on the left hand side of the histogram.
Low contrast 3
This is the slightly overexposed image. It is brighter and if I were to choose the best image of the three it would be this one as the tan colour of the bricks stand out better on this image. The values of this image are still largely on the left side but are slightly more to the right when compared to the values of the underexposed image.
Average contrast
Average 1
The values here are spread across the histogram. Most of them are squeezed at one end but they continue down across the graph. There are no bright bits or particularly dark bits of the picture so there were no highlight and shadow warnings.
Average 2
Again the values form a sort of hump starting at one end of the graph and trail off to the other side of the graph. This is the darker, underexposed picture (according to the camera). However out of the three images this is my preferred one as the contrast seems to be better on this one.
Average 3
This is the overexposed image. The ‘hump’ is more to the middle of the histogram. There didn’t seem to be any shadow or highlight warnings.
High contrast
High contrast 1
For this picture I deliberately choose a a scene where the light was behind a building and so the building would form a silhouette against the sky. This would mean that the camera could only expose the building or the sky correctly and there it would a high contrast image. This image is the ‘average’ exposed. As you can see on the histogram there are two spikes, one the the left of the histogram and one in the middle.
High contrast 2
This is the underexposed image. Both spikes are to the left of the position they were in the histogram for ‘high contrast 1′.
High Contrast 3
This is the over exposed image and both the spikes are slightly to the right of the position in the ‘average’ exposed photograph. In this picture the values are spread over a wider area.
My apologies for the quality of the photographs which I am well aware is very low. But the object of the photographs was to answer the exercise requirement first and foremost.
Diary 1
I shall be keeping a diary of sorts saying what else I am doing apart from the required exercises in ‘Digital photographic practice’.
Books:
I am currently reading ‘About Looking’ by John Berger. When I have finished this book I shall be posting a review.
GIMP:
For various reasons I am not using ‘Adobe Photoshop’ photo editor. Among these reasons is the fact that I am using a Linux based operating system and Adobe refuse to make ‘Photoshop’ compatible with Linux. So I am using the ‘free to download’ GIMP instead. The RAW converter software I use is ‘Ufraw’ which is compatible with GIMP (and also free to download). GIMP is fairly easy to use once you have got used to the controls but I have reached a point where I need to use more of the program. During this course I will be doing the online tutorials GIMP provides.
Experiments:
Every now and then I see pictures on Flickr that I want to mimic or learn the technique that is used in the picture. In this instance the technique was ‘light painting’.
Here is a link to my favourite photographs on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/strabec1/favorites/
Last month I decided that I was going to make a card for my husband using ‘Light painting’. I darkened the lights in the room and focused the camera on a blank bit of wall. Then with a torch I started to write. It took a little bit of time to work out how long each exposure should take. Here are the photographs I took:
The last photograph is all the elements assembled together which went on the front of the card I gave to my husband!
Your Own Workflow
The idea for this exercise is to create a workflow that I will use regularly to produce images. When trying to write this I went through what I normally do if I am planning to take photographs for an assignment.
I am not that organised. I have gone out to take photographs in the past, got to the location and discovered that my batteries are not charged! Or that I have images on the memory card and I don’t recall whether I have uploaded them or not. In this respect writing down and actual workflow might solve these problems for the future.
As for the camera settings, I usually check these when I’m at the location. Usually I will have to alter the settings, ISO, White balance, etc to suit the location.
Below is a draft workflow:
- Decide on subject
I have some dying roses in a vase that would make a good ‘still life’ project. Their decaying leaves and petals would come out particularly well in black and white.
2. Decide on lenses and equipment to take
- Checking the equipment.
Make sure the batteries are charged, that I have enough memory cards.
- Shoot
- Upload the images on to the computer
- Rename folder and images
- Go through images and deleted ones I don’t like
- Editing
- Upload to site
The workflow worked well. This time I was more prepared and organised and the pictures turned out quite well. Since this photographic exercise took place at home all the equipment and chargers etc were on hand. Thought because I had written this workflow I did make sure all my batteries were charged and memory cards emptied before I started taking pictures.
These are some of the unedited photos plus the final edited black and white ones:
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These are the ones I liked the best. As I said I took these pictures specifically with black and white in mind. Click on the picture for a larger image.
