getting the exposure right? or is it something else...

[HopefulM]

I wondered if anyone could make some suggestions how I can overcome a recurring problem I seem to get when taking pics of this subject....

I am using a nikon p5100 which is a p&s - probably not the best camera for this subject, but I don't want to get a DSLR until I've mastered composition.

problem is, brown dog normally comes out well - cream dog is always burnt out, and black dog usually is just a black blob.

Is there any way I can do anything to improve this type of shot?

thanks

typical example :

 

[jerry12953]

The brown dog is nearest to the grey tone that the meter in the camera will expose correctly for. The white dog is too white to be exposed correctly, and will be blown out. The black dog will be too dark (although in this pic it looks OK, to be honest).

When you get some decent software, you be able to remedy this to some extent - open up the shadow areas (black dog), close down the highlights (white dog), although the latter (especially) will always tend to be a problem unless you underexpose the whole image.

 

[HopefulM]

thanks I should be getting some in the not too distant future and will certainly play around with these shots

 

[buckas]

as above - tip : meter off the grass (or your palm - tdodd ) to get correct exposure

 

[matthew_rk]

I don't really know enough to help with the camera settings, but some purple dye will fix your problem.

 

[mrtoad]

in any shot one needs to prioritise on subject
taking spot readings can give you some idea where you should be aiming the exposure settings to be
i would spot the white dog and add 1/2 stop...click

highlights are harder to 'gamma' than shadows

the advice normally given is to expose for highlights...within reason and leave the shadows to take care of themselves

snow is quite different as it reflects a lot...and a negro's skin absorbs a lot

its really a question of experience and judgement...the grey card idea is good and the white caucasian palm will give an approximation of the grey
even so one needs to be wary of not showing whiteness too grey

 

[HoppyUK]

Getting both white and black subjects correctly exposed is always difficult - the dynamic range (range of tones from bright to dark) is more than the sensor can handle. It is worse with compacts, and worse at high ISO. It looks like you have used both here

 

[HopefulM]

Getting both white and black subjects correctly exposed is always difficult - the dynamic range (range of tones from bright to dark) is more than the sensor can handle. It is worse with compacts, and worse at high ISO. It looks like you have used both here

yes, have used a compact. the settings were iso -165, f-3.9, exposure -1/283 sec.

 

[mrtoad]

also if you can get the technique in shooting these conditions
you wont need to rely on a DSLR
the problem is there for all cameras

 

[swanseamale47]

The whole pic looks a little light to me, if your camera has any exposure compensation, try giving it -1/3 or even -2/3 of a stop under exposure, it'll make it darker but it'll help bring back the highlights on the white dog, you can easily lighten the rest a bit if needed in your imaging software (if you have any)
I had a quick play in photoshop but the white dog's too blown out to recover much detail.

 

[mrtoad]

i cheated a bit with cloning

 

[HopefulM]

thanks