Starting point

[justinmcguigan]

looking for input - fire away!

[tegan]

Basic rule for shooting dark skinned people: Their faces need to be bright enough to see detail, particularly around the eyes.

One approach to doing this is to use the spot meter option and take a reading directly from the face.

Tegan

[tirediron]

Given the type of image (documentary vice artistic) there's not a lot to comment on. The only technical area is the exposure of the faces, BUT not because they weren't metered correctly, but rather because you have the sun coming from image right causing dark shadows on the left side of their faces. If you don't have the freedom to pose the subjects, then there's not much you can do about it.

[tegan]

Given the type of image (documentary vice artistic) there's not a lot to comment on. The only technical area is the exposure of the faces, BUT not because they weren't metered correctly, but rather because you have the sun coming from image right causing dark shadows on the left side of their faces. If you don't have the freedom to pose the subjects, then there's not much you can do about it.

Sorry, but they were not metered correctly. Anyone who has even shot people with film regularly uses a spot meter on the face. It is just part of the photography process of shooting people.

As indicated previously, before you go out, TI, you change your digital camera to spot meter and take a reading off any dark face. You can even use a telephoto lens and take the reading from a distance. Then you are prepared for properly exposed faces.

Tegan

[tomorrowstreasures]

looking for input - fire away!

OOOHHHH Justin - run for cover! LOL

[tegan]

OOOHHHH Justin - run for cover! LOL

Yup, different types and levels of experience lead to different levels of agreement or disagreement even among the critiquers.

Tegan

[justinmcguigan]

Yup, different types and levels of experience lead to different levels of agreement or disagreement even among the critiquers.

Tegan

yes, i expected as much as i'm just starting out. i guess maybe i should have posted a different photo. It was just a spur of the moment snapshot, not at all planned. i was just happy that i was able to have a rare opportunity to catch them all together without clowning around.
Thanks for the comments guys. maybe i'll post a couple more and see what else you may have to offer.

[tegan]

yes, i expected as much as i'm just starting out. i guess maybe i should have posted a different photo. It was just a spur of the moment snapshot, not at all planned. i was just happy that i was able to have a rare opportunity to catch them all together without clowning around.
Thanks for the comments guys. maybe i'll post a couple more and see what else you may have to offer.

Hey, if you experiment with the tips given, then you will learn and improve, even if what you posted was a spur of the moment snapshot.

Tegan

[Marko]

Tegan's approach of spotmetering the face is decent but not foolproof, and should not be used in a vacuum without fully understanding exposure.

It's decent because it gets you in the exposure ballpark right away. It's NOT foolproof because it's a reflective measurement off a a dark surface, not an average one. Reflective meters like spotmeters average out tones.

Don't believe me? Take a picture of a pure white towel at the camera's suggested exposure in the sunlight, let it fill the whole frame. Then look at it on your viewfinder. it's grey...because that's what reflective meters including spotmeters do. They average out the scene. If the scene is all white or all black meters average that out to grey.

Sooo... Spotmetering on the face will get you in the ballpark (it shouldn't wildly over expose or under expose) but then it's up to you to look at the result and probably adjust it.

In the old days before digital post processing, if you were meticulous with your exposure and you spotmetered a very dark skinned person, you would likely stop down (cut the exposure) by 1 stop or more, because the face would be 'muddy'. Same is true on the opposite end for very light skinned people.

To me this shot looks only a bit underexposed. I like the expressions on the kids especially. Sometimes you need to just grab the shot and I bet you're glad you grabbed this one.

Just as an FYI - Although I often used a spotmeter when I shot film for personal work, I almost never used it for paid work. Of the pros I worked with (mostly wedding/fashion) none ever used a spotmeter. They all used incident meters. Spotmeters are big in the studio and for landscapes. (more time)

[tirediron]

Tegan, you and I are going to have to get together for a dark-skinned portrait shoot-out one of these days!