Help! Pics ok in LCD, way dark on PC

[Anselina]

Hi, I've been reading and reading in this forum, learning so much, thank you all! And here's my next dumb newbie question, please bear with me LOL...:oops: On my photo outing yesterday, I would check each pic in my LCD (on a 30D)... I immediately trashed all the ones that didn't look right and kept what I thought were the "good" ones... but then when I saw them on my PC, they were mostly horribly dark! There were a couple that seem to have turned out fine, but I was so happy until I got home and saw the day's take! LOL I'm just learning to use Shutter Priority mode and how that works with ISO etc, so it would be helpful if I could see on the nice large LCD if a pic I just took is too dark or if I got it right. Did you all change your LCD brightness settings? How would that help if my pics really are too dark? Its not my PC monitor because when I use my Sony (don't hit..! lol) FD97 and H5), on Auto, this doesn't happen. Thanks for any advice.

[jevidon]

First of all, unless you are running out of space while out shooting, try not to delete photos unless they are blatantly blurred or exposed wrong. LCD brightness shouldn't make that big of a difference as long as you are at or above half-way on the brightness setting. My recommendation is to use AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing) which can be set in the Menu on the 30D. In using this tool, you will have multiple exposure and then you can determine which one works best for you.

[EOS mE]

good point there justin. another suggestion would be to learn how to view the histogram. i find that to be more helpful. i try not to look at the LCD for the photos.. unless if my wife wants to see them and delete them on the spot or something because she didn't smile right or something.

[Mark_Cohran]

The histogram is a far better indication of the correct exposure than the photo in the LCD. You really should learn how to read the histogram and adjust exposure based on what you see there.

Additionally, if you're using your camera in one of the Creative or Auto modes (except manual), your exposure shouldn't have been so far off that you were getting horribly dark (underexposed) photos. Which makes me wonder if you have quite yet grasped the basics of exposure? If so, I apologize, but if not, I do suggest you spend some time with your camera manual and learn all about the various exposure modes of your camera and how they work, as well as how the camera meters the light. Also, make sure that your camera's exposure compensation hasn't been inadvertantently set to underexpose your images.

Good luck!

Mark

[jevidon]

good point there justin. another suggestion would be to learn how to view the histogram. i find that to be more helpful. i try not to look at the LCD for the photos.. unless if my wife wants to see them and delete them on the spot or something because she didn't smile right or something.Yeah I forgot to mention that. The histogram is a great way of determining the exposure. Read this article at Luminous Landscapes (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/expose-right.shtml), should help.

[lostdoggy]

Mark has a point, Another is CALIBRATED Monitor.

[cdifoto]

The histogram and a calibrated monitor go a long way.

[EOS mE]

Yeah I forgot to mention that. The histogram is a great way of determining the exposure. Read this article at Luminous Landscapes (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/expose-right.shtml), should help.

good link justin.. i just couldn't find where i bookmarked it.. :lol:

on a side note... i find that when i'm shooting in P mode.. the histogram is very centered and evenly distributed, where as if i were shooting in Av mode.. then my histogram wouldn't be off by too much.. and sometimes i just get a BIG U in the center and the graph is on both left and right only. I guess i'm doing something wrong...

[Tee Why]

First of all, do not rely on the LCD image to guage your exposure. The brightness level on the LCD and the ambient light will affect how bright the shot looks. For example viewing a dim LCD in a bright setting will make your shots look under exposed. Conversely, viewing a bright LCD in a dark place will make your shot seem overexposed.

Histogram will give you a much much more accurate graphic representation of your exposure.

Now, make your that your monitor is also calibrated as well. If your shots look well exposed on the camera's histogram and the histogram looks ok on the computer's program, then the monitor is off. Get a simple calibrator like Pantone's Huey and go from there.

Good luck.

[Kennymc]

Shoot in RAW... When you get used to it all your problems regarding seemingly dark/light picyures will be solved...

[pknight]

Calibrating the monitor is a great suggestion. So is looking at the histogram. Less great, but perhaps helpful if you want to use the image in your LCD to make judgments, is to adjust the brightness of the LCD so that images look roughly as bright as they do on your calibrated monitor. This may (or may not) make it more difficult to see the LCD in bright light, but you will have a better idea of how the image will turn out on the monitor before post processing.

[bauerman]

Use the LCD and the magnification function to check for proper focus - use the histogram only to check for proper exposure.

There is no real way around this. The LCD is a terrible tool for judging proper exposure on a shot from my experience with Canon DSLR's.

[lefturn99]

Kennymc is right to a point. RAW is percieved as a pro's tool when in fact, it can sometimes be more useful to save a beginner's poorly exposed or white balanced shot. On the other hand, it is better to shoot it right the first time.

This will be a little controversial, but I would recommend Av mode over Tv for everyday shooting.

Think about it this way. In Tv, the shutter speed is locked and the exposure pivots around the aperture setting. In Av, the aperture is locked and the exposure pivots on the shutter speed. So? There are many more shutter speeds than aperture settings, so the odds that the camera can find a setting that will give the proper exposure is much better. If you use aperture priority, half press, and get a shutter speed lower than necessary, just change the ISO.

In fact, if you look at the EXIF of your dark pictures, you may find the reason is that the exposure compensation is way off. That could be 3 things I can think of.
1. You accidentaly moved the exposure compensation.
2. You set too fast a shutter speed and there wasn't an aperture setting wide enough to give the correct exposure.
3. You used the wrong exposure metering mode. I've been guilty of that. For a beginner, the Evaluative will most likely give an overall proper exposure. The other modes are for when you care more about a certain part of the image being exposed properly and you are willing to risk the rest of the picture exposed wrong.

[jevidon]

This will be a little controversial, but I would recommend Av mode over Tv for everyday shooting. Not controversial for me...When I started with my D-SLR, having no prior experience with an SLR, Av allowed me to begin learning proper exposure while still taking quality photos. Now I've been moving more towards M and P, but I don't think I would have as good of a grasp on my camera if I hadn't started with Av.

[superdiver]

I shoot almost exclusively in Av...

As far as the Dark pictures go, were you shooting in RAW? I was reading a thread about certain RAW software not reading RAW correctly and it looked very dark...

[lostdoggy]

Av= for times when the subject is relatively still.
Tv= for times when the subject is moving relatively.

Relative= in relationship to the shutter speed set and in some part the FL of the lens.

[Anselina]

Thanks so much everyone for your helpful thoughts. New to DSLR, have been afraid to shoot RAW yet, lol, but will. Made myself finally get out of Auto Mode. Have gotten some nice, not great shots, not all horrible :) No I don't have a complete grasp at all yet about all the settings, that is why I make myself just shoot shoot shoot... everything and anything, at different settings to see what they do. Been staying mostly in Shutter Priority mode though, to see what that does, and it will take a while to remember what is the best shutter setting for each type of situation etc. Slowly sinking in. Should I stay mostly in Aperature Priority mode instead? But if the subject was moving, wouldn't I need to be in Shutter mode? Isn't Av just for setting depth of field? Anyway I thought it would be best to get familiar with one mode and then another instead of skipping around constanty confusing myself? And yes I spend as much time as I can with my Manual. Never go on a photo outing without it, either. I read in it in the evenings before going to sleep, but of course I can make more sense of it when I have the camera out and using it also. I shoot at every opportunity when I have at least an hour to just focus on without distraction. DARN I was hoping I could use the LCD to check exposure etc.. I've been AFRAID of the HISTOGRAM because I have an illogical, embarrassing fear of GRAPHS and CHARTS! LOL its true though. Guess I'll have to get over that and make myself learn to use it. For the photo dilemna I described, the conditions were in dusky forest, I had the camera on Tv and tried to use that together with ISO to get the shots. I thought most looked ok in the LCD but on the PC they were just way dark. As day evolved into dusk, I forgot to get out of Spot Meter mode and should have maybe used Evaluative? My PC monitor works great with my other cameras, and seems to be "true" to my 30D pics (the photos print out exactly the way the monitor shows them), so I don't think that's it. I agree... I need to learn to use Histogram (ick Mommy!) to make sure my setting choices are the right ones. Thanks again everyone for your guidance! Might be able to join a local camera club that meets once a month, so I can annoy the "elders" in person, too :)

[StewartR]

Hey Anselina, it sounds like you're doing the right things. You might be surprised how many people there are here who seem to think that they ought to be able to just pick up a DSLR and make it work. They don't appreciate that it's an incredibly complex gadget; they can't be bothered to try to learn how to use it; and they don't try to learn from their experience.

But as I said you're doing the right things. Take it patiently, learn one mode at a time if you prefer - but I'd suggest that it's also useful to learn when that mode isn't appropriate. lefturn99 hit the nail on the head as far as Tv mode is concerned. It's possible to dial in a shutter speed which requires an aperture that's wider than your lens will go. That's especially likely if the light is poor - in a dusky forest, for example. If that happens, the camera will still take a picture, but it will be underexposed because the aperture is wrong. You can actually tell before you take the photo, because the aperture number in the viewfinder will be flashing.

The histogram really is much, much simpler than it looks. There's no reason to be scared of it. Read this short article:
Learn How to Use Your Camera's Histogram (http://www.basic-digital-photography.com/how-to-use-the-camera-histogram.html) and you'll see how straightforward it is.

Good luck!

[S. William Davis]

Mark has a point, Another is CALIBRATED Monitor.

Calibrating the Monitor seems to me to be the best way to know what you really have. Did you try printing a shoot to see how it really came out?
Sam

[Anselina]

Hey Anselina, it sounds like you're doing the right things. You might be surprised how many people there are here who seem to think that they ought to be able to just pick up a DSLR and make it work. They don't appreciate that it's an incredibly complex gadget; they can't be bothered to try to learn how to use it; and they don't try to learn from their experience.

But as I said you're doing the right things. Take it patiently, learn one mode at a time if you prefer - but I'd suggest that it's also useful to learn when that mode isn't appropriate. lefturn99 hit the nail on the head as far as Tv mode is concerned. It's possible to dial in a shutter speed which requires an aperture that's wider than your lens will go. That's especially likely if the light is poor - in a dusky forest, for example. If that happens, the camera will still take a picture, but it will be underexposed because the aperture is wrong. You can actually tell before you take the photo, because the aperture number in the viewfinder will be flashing.

The histogram really is much, much simpler than it looks. There's no reason to be scared of it. Read this short article:
Learn How to Use Your Camera's Histogram (http://www.basic-digital-photography.com/how-to-use-the-camera-histogram.html) and you'll see how straightforward it is.

Good luck!

Another extremely helpful reply, thanks so much! Ya know... I had never thought of that... about the shutter speed being set where a larger aperture is needed than the lens can go. Some of those shutter speeds were very low, like on 10 and even 5 a few times. I was using my 24-105mm f4 L IS. And there were some pretty dark areas in the woods! Maybe the 2.8 lens would have worked better, wow. Now I am so excited to go try that! Deep within my overwhelmed, tiny brain, I already *knew* that faster lenses do better in lower light situations... That's why I got that 2.8 one... but ya know how when you are a newbie and you are out there shooting and you *think* you are getting the shots anyway (because of not looking at the _gulp_ *histogram*!... and you only brought that one lens and didn't consider that you would need the faster one when it got darker... LOL LOL Even more embarrasing is I do remember a flashing number at times, but I didn't know what it was or what it meant and didn't look it up... LOL OH geez... LOL :o Am still absorbing everything, and I think it will really *stick* now about using the right speed lens for certain situations, and about the _shudder_ *histogram*, and all the other suggestions from everyone... thanks SO MUCH!!! :D

[superdiver]

I just got the thing to calibrte my monitor in the mail today...will try and figure it out over the weekend...

[incendy]

I also shoot in av mode or M. The only time I use TV is if I am shooting a panning shot with dynamic lighting. I also agree that RAW is a life saver. It is impossible to get a perfect reading in most cases because you just don't have the time. For landscapes I definately recomend multiple exposures as well. Not only does this give your perfect exposure, but also let's you use the HDR feature of Photoshop to get even more dynamic range than a single exposure is capable of

[SkipD]

Anselina, you seem to be ignoring all the really good tips to CALIBRATE YOUR MONITOR. This is a very important thing to do, and it cannot be done properly with just software. You need to be sure that what you are seeing on your monitor is what anybody else with a properly calibrated monitor (actually the whole video system) would see. A calibrated monitor also shows you what would be printed by a printing system that is calibrated to standard brightness levels and standard colors.

If you cannot afford a monitor calibration system (software and a piece of hardware known generically as a colorimeter) now, I would suggest that you see if you can find someone who owns such a system who would be willing to calibrate your monitor the first time.

[tdaugharty]

The histogram is a far better indication of the correct exposure than the photo in the LCD.

Amen! That's all I look at now days. No high peaks on the far left (Dark) or far right (Washed out) ... Good center with appropriate contrast of midtones/shadows and highlights

Reading a Histogram @ http://www.shortcourses.com/how/histograms/histograms.htm

http://www.daugharty.com/histogram.gif

[Mathiau]

good info here.

[Anselina]

You are totally right, I should definitely do the calibrate thing. That will be my very next priority... after getting over my fear of the dreaded *histogram* !!! LOL I will look into the cost and all the how-to's etc and try not to bug everyone in here about how to do it until I am sure I can't use the otherwise available info... lol... But calibrate I will. And yes yes yes... priceless wealth of good info here... I am grateful for all who take their time to help out eager and inexperienced noobs like myself. :) Hope to get some camera time tomorrow to get more familiar with *you-know-what*...!

[Hermeto]

Don’t get too excited, next thing to learn is to read MFT charts.. :D

[Anselina]

:confused: < slaps hermeto /> :lol:

[Hermeto]

:D
Photography is lifelong learning process – and that’s exactly what I like about it!