Looking for some exposure tips to improve photos

13 years 3 months ago #12226 by Conner
I'm what you call a weekend warrior photographer. Certainly no pro, however I have been taking photo's and some times my exposures are way off in left field. When I'm taking the photo, camera is saying exposure is good. When I get to download the photos, I have to play with brightness in Photoshop to turn up or down exposure. I'm not sure if it's something I'm doing wrong or is my Canon 40D's metering system all screwed up. Perhaps I need to change some settings?

Thank you,

Conner


Photo Comments
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13 years 3 months ago #12232 by Rob pix4u2
What white balance setting are you using is the first place to look for a problem , then what mode are you shooting in ? Also what metering mode are you using-spot, center weighted, or full frame/matrix ? Start with these areas to find your exposure issues. Also what kinds of scenes are you having trouble with ? High contrast scenes where there is a great variance between the lightest area and the darkest areas ? Shade vs. Sunlit areas ? Sometimes the Program modes have a hard time with these settings/lighting conditions and tend to average them out to our displeasure. Let us know if these solutions work for you and post up aa couple of pics in the forum so we can see your results.

Remember to engage brain before putting mouth in gear
Rob Huelsman Sr.
My Facebook www.facebook.com/ImaginACTIONPhotography

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13 years 3 months ago #12243 by photobod
Photography aint as simple as expecting your camera to tell you whats right or wrong, best bet get out there take loads of photographs in other words practise practise practise, and keep looking at the screen, see what you have then adjust if needed:cheer:

www.dcimages.org.uk
"A good photograph is one that communicate a fact, touches the heart, leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective." - Irving Penn

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13 years 3 months ago #12273 by Conner

Rob pix4u2 wrote: What white balance setting are you using is the first place to look for a problem , then what mode are you shooting in ? Also what metering mode are you using-spot, center weighted, or full frame/matrix ? Start with these areas to find your exposure issues. Also what kinds of scenes are you having trouble with ? High contrast scenes where there is a great variance between the lightest area and the darkest areas ? Shade vs. Sunlit areas ? Sometimes the Program modes have a hard time with these settings/lighting conditions and tend to average them out to our displeasure. Let us know if these solutions work for you and post up aa couple of pics in the forum so we can see your results.


Thanks for the answer I have white balance in auto mode right now. I was playing around with custom settings but found no change in photo quality. I have the metering mode in full frame/matrix mode. Oddly enough I see this happening only with my 2 Sigma lenses 105mm and 70-200mm. You know what, the scenes are always with these 2 lenses, when I have my 28-135mm or 50mm (both are Canon) on the camera, the exposure seems to be perfect. This must be something with the Sigma lenses. Hmmm ?? Anyone else having issues with Sigma lenses on Canon camera bodies?


Photo Comments
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13 years 3 months ago #12330 by Rob pix4u2
Interesting that you should mention the sigma lens problem-are they older sigma lenses ? maybe there is a problem with the metering, have you tried spot or center weighted with these lenses ?

Remember to engage brain before putting mouth in gear
Rob Huelsman Sr.
My Facebook www.facebook.com/ImaginACTIONPhotography

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13 years 3 months ago #12584 by effron
That is a question with infinite answers. Here is a good starting point....
www.digicamhelp.com/learn/toptips/exposure-tips/

Why so serious?
Photo Comments
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13 years 3 months ago #12585 by photobod
I use sigma lenses and have never had this problem so dont think it can be just that

www.dcimages.org.uk
"A good photograph is one that communicate a fact, touches the heart, leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective." - Irving Penn

,
13 years 3 months ago #13004 by Conner

Rob pix4u2 wrote: Interesting that you should mention the sigma lens problem-are they older sigma lenses ? maybe there is a problem with the metering, have you tried spot or center weighted with these lenses ?


No, they are not that old. I guess I was just looking for a pattern of some sort to the problem. I have not touched my metering settings. I think I will give that a look. Cross fingers!

;) Thank you


Photo Comments
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13 years 3 months ago #13043 by Rob pix4u2

Conner wrote:

Rob pix4u2 wrote: Interesting that you should mention the sigma lens problem-are they older sigma lenses ? maybe there is a problem with the metering, have you tried spot or center weighted with these lenses ?


No, they are not that old. I guess I was just looking for a pattern of some sort to the problem. I have not touched my metering settings. I think I will give that a look. Cross fingers!

;) Thank you

Spot meter an area of the scene you are confident about then center weight the same area and then meter full frame the same scene and see what differences in the final exposures come up.
Also try this with your Canon lens on the same scene and see if it is your metering pattern or the lens, this will give you an idea of where to make adjustments if you need to related to metering.

Remember to engage brain before putting mouth in gear
Rob Huelsman Sr.
My Facebook www.facebook.com/ImaginACTIONPhotography

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