Shooting exclusively Jpeg.

[Jonny]

I am hoping some pro's with precious little processing time can answer this question for me.

Over the last few weeks i have been trying to shoot exclusively jpeg to try and cut back on processing time. Why? Well over the last few months i have been assisting a pro wedding photographer to gain some knowledge in this field as i am sure this is a field i will venture into sooner or later.
When i asked him why he doesn't shoot RAW his answer was basically time. 1500 images per wedding and 20-30 weddings a year would take up vast amounts on processing time which he doesn't have. So he always shoots large jpegs. This is perfectly fine if you are going to 'get it right first time' but doing this is a real test of your skill.

Now heres my question:

When i shoot jpeg i always get dark images that need brightening up. I always keep an eye on my histogram and it is alaways well balanced but the pics are still dark.
Photoshop will sort these out but as we want to save time how do i get it right first time?
In the camera settings you have adjustments for sat,con,sharp etc..... but no brightness...why is that?

This may be a lame question but even after 3 years with a DSLR and plenty of time served clicking away i am still troubled by it.

Can you help?

[HectorsGTI]

Maybe because there is no "brightness" setting in photography? There is exposure. Which has it's very own adjustment knob on the top of the camera.

[primoz]

I don't have exact answer to this. I guess it's experience. I very rarely even bother with histogram. Nowadays just a quick look at display gives me idea if it's right or wrong, but I'm getting quite accurate settings with first shoot already. I guess it's experience to know in which situation you need to over/under expose and in which situation you can trust your camera meter. And I guess it helps working for years on film, where there was no preview and no chance for "corrections" later on. ;)

[ssim]

Maybe because there is no "brightness" setting in photography? There is exposure. Which has it's very own adjustment knob on the top of the camera.

That helped alot.

I always try to check the histogram and make sure that is as far to the right as possible without blowing the highlights. I'm not quite as courageous as Primoz to go by the display itself, wished I was, but I'm not. The historgrams that I like have an image on the lcd that looks overexposed but yet when I get them home they are pretty much bang on and that is why I rely on the histogram.

I understand what you mean when you say brightness. I generally overexpose by one to two thrids of a stop. In some rare cases, slightly more. I work in AV most of the time so I can control this with the back wheel on my camera.

[Jonny]

Thanks guys.

SSIM, i will give this a go.

[PhotosGuy]

When i shoot jpeg i always get dark images that need brightening up. I always keep an eye on my histogram and it is alaways well balanced but the pics are still dark. As you've seen, "well balanced" doesn't mean "well exposed"?

I started out to check one thing & learned about another.
Gray card: Why your meter may be lying to you! (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=54281)

Gray Card…White Paper. What’s best? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=58677)

Need an exposure crutch? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=89123)

While these threads won't solve all your exposure problems, they will give you a good start on shooting & having fun as you learn your way. And that's what it's all about, no? ;)

[Bu Yao]

Maybe you need more experince seeing and looking and know what work and does not. It seem if you photo wedding indoor, you could maybe learn when you need exposure compsate. I very little even think histogram.

I think other problem may be too many exposure at wedding. 1500 pictures of what for? If wedding last five hours that mean expose 300 picture every hour. That is a picture every few second.

[IndyJeff]

This is a prime example of how digital has lessened the general knowledge of photography among the masses today. As Primoz stated, back in the film days you didn't have the luxury of checking a histogram. You got it right or you didn't get anything you could use so, you better know what you are doing.

On several occasions I have had students from opposing schools come up on the sidelines of a football game and start asking me about settings. I generally asked to see the last shot they took. Usually I could take a quick glance and the advice was almost always the same, "Up your ISO, decrease your apt. and increase your shutter speed."
I can't tell you how many times I have seen these kids trying to shoot a night game at 400 4.0 1/125 and the result is dark, blurred with motion and not acceptable.

I generally shoot 1-3 frames to dial it in. I do check the histogram and the display. Once I have my "test" done I know just about where my limits are if I change anything. Now if you have no clue as to where to begin, there is a little secret I will share with you. On top of your camera is a dial which can give you everything you need to know. Set your camera to Program. It will give you the optimum exposure. If it is still not right, to slow a shutter or under exposed, adjust your ISO to a higher setting. If it is blown out adjust to a lower ISO. Once you know what your "onboard computer" suggests as optimum settings, then you can change to any other option on the magic dial you wish. You will have your parameters which you need to be close to in order to get it right.

[Ed Kanney]

Before you make any radical changes in your shooting style, have you tried 'just' going into the menu and 'decreasing the brightness' of your LCD - my 1D bodies are all set ''next" to the darkest selection (2nd. from bottom). By looking at a 'darker' image you will train yourself to 'lighten up'. Works for me... perhaps a little OT here... but many pros (myself included) find that a raw workflow adds only an extra hour or so to the job, and can save a lot more time on the back end. keep in focus. Ed K.

[Jonny]

Many thanks guys for all the comments i feel thoroughly chastised and belittled! LOL just kidding.
I think my major problem is trying not blow out highlights such as skies when in reality there is nothing i can do about it. I guess that living here in the UK i will just have to get used to white skies.

Thanks again. I will take all tips onboard and experiment further.

[Bu Yao]

IndyJeff,

Good sense advice.

[tim]

I don't see the big problem with RAW. If you shoot all your photos perfectly you run a batch job that takes perhaps an hour to create all your JPGs, which isn't a huge investment in time. If you don't get the exposure right then you have the luxury of fixing the image far more easily than with JPG. That said, if you're confident you can get everything right in the camera then go for it, JPG will make your workflow easier.

[lakiluno]

If I was being payed for it, I would shoot raw 100%. The only reason I don't always shoot raw now is because I only have 3/4GB of memory, and I don't have the hard disk space :O

[primoz]

If I was being payed for it, I would shoot raw 100%. In my case I would do this once and never got job again ;) And yes I am paid to deliver photos as fast as possible, which means shooting raw is not really best option ;) And once again... every format has its purpose and if you are good enough, you know which one to choose for particular job.