Blowing out details with 5D

[Starlight]

Hello All,

I have been photographing all of my formals with film because I am worried about blowing out detail in the Bride's dress.

I have gotten the exposure perfect but lost much detail in the Bride's dress and it is a pain in the butt trying to work with it in photoshop.

Does anyone have any guidance on how to photograph the right exposure and get the detail in the dress --- THE PERFECT PICTURE?

Any guidance would be great. Thank you.

[bpuppy]

With a 5D you should be able to get detail in the dress AND the tux. Just make the exposure as bright as possible, JUST BEFORE clipping the highlights (the flashing bits on the screen). Do this and there should be plenty of data in the highlights ...

[picturecrazy]

If you are super worried about the dress, shoot in raw. I tend to meter for the dress - 2/3 stops if conditions are particularly bad. then I brighten up the rest in post process. I don't do the raw thing. I found most people who grew up using film skip the raw part. It's personal preference. But if something is really really difficult, it would be stupid to not turn RAW on as a safety measure...

[Starlight]

With a 5D you should be able to get detail in the dress AND the tux. Just make the exposure as bright as possible, JUST BEFORE clipping the highlights (the flashing bits on the screen). Do this and there should be plenty of data in the highlights ...

Do you photograph by in-camera metering when working with a bride? I spoke with a Canon rep this morning and he stated to use in-camera metering and make sure that the blinker is in the center and then adjust exposure if I want. I guess what I am asking, what is your process when working with a bride and digital camera?

[tim]

I use manual and a hand held light meter as often as possibe, though when things are changing quickly I change to Av mode. I shoot RAW and very rarely blow out the dress, underexposure is more of an issue if you meter the dress without positive EC/FEC.

[newgenphoto]

I use manual and a hand held light meter as often as possibe, though when things are changing quickly I change to Av mode. I shoot RAW and very rarely blow out the dress, underexposure is more of an issue if you meter the dress without positive EC/FEC.

Tim's right, I also shoot manual and use a handheld meter as much as possible. I don't usually get blownout dresses either and I shoot JPEG. I have shot RAW for those times I had to make sure.

[Starlight]

I use manual and a hand held light meter as often as possibe, though when things are changing quickly I change to Av mode. I shoot RAW and very rarely blow out the dress, underexposure is more of an issue if you meter the dress without positive EC/FEC.

I shoot in manual mode. I am having trouble with calibration of my light meter. I first took a light meter reading at f/11. The best photo came back at f/8 when printed. Wasn't with whites though. How would I calibrate with the 5D because the 5D has f/stops of f/8, f/9, f/10, f/11, etc. Any advice would be huge. thanks

[Wedding Shooter]

I shoot with a 5D and have not really had any problems with the dress being blown. Make sure you are shooting with the neutral setting (not standard as this will blow the whites quite regularly).

The key to exposure with digital is to learn to use the histogram. Get your graph as close to the right as you can without touching the right hand side. On the day have a careful look at your histogram and adjust your exposure based on that - not on what you see on the LCD.

[tim]

I shoot in manual mode. I am having trouble with calibration of my light meter. I first took a light meter reading at f/11. The best photo came back at f/8 when printed. Wasn't with whites though. How would I calibrate with the 5D because the 5D has f/stops of f/8, f/9, f/10, f/11, etc. Any advice would be huge. thanks

No idea. I'd probably look at your metering technique, but I have similar problems on bright days so i'm not the best person to give advice in this area.

[Starlight]

I shoot with a 5D and have not really had any problems with the dress being blown. Make sure you are shooting with the neutral setting (not standard as this will blow the whites quite regularly).

The key to exposure with digital is to learn to use the histogram. Get your graph as close to the right as you can without touching the right hand side. On the day have a careful look at your histogram and adjust your exposure based on that - not on what you see on the LCD.


Where would that Neutral setting be on the camera?

[Az2Africa]

Hit the menu button and go to styles.