Why do some pictures look better on your camera screen?

[microman23]

Have you ever noticed that some pictures look much better on your camera screen than on your TV or computer screen? Why is this?

[eddarr]

Two things come to mind. The lack of detail on a 2.5" or 3" screen may help a picture.

Second is in the post processing. If you are shooting in RAW or JPEG the image on the camera's screen is displayed using the camera's jpeg processor.

If you are shooting in RAW then you may be processing the picture on your computer differently than the camera did on it's screen. One may look better than the other. Usually they are just different.

[rammy]

LCD screen is much brighter too so you can't tell how good the exposure really is, so use the histogram.

[chauncey]

What format are you shooting in, jpeg or RAW

Your camera does an internal adjustment on the images displayed on the LCD screen.

Aah..Always a day late and a dollar short.

[djeuch]

Pictures resized to a lower resolution will almost always look better. The LCD screens are ridiculously low resolution compared to your camera, it's really only giving you an idea on composition. About the only thing I use the LCD for is to review shot composition and histogram....

[blackcap]

LCD screen is much brighter too so you can't tell how good the exposure really is, so use the histogram.

I've often wondered about the histogram. I have no idea how to use it at this stage, but from the little reading I did do, the general feeling I got was that there is no 'right' histogram - every picture is different. Given that, how hard is it to determine whether a histogram is right for any given photo? Is it something that takes LOTs of practise?

[djeuch]

The most basic use of the histogram is to make sure your exposure isn't too dark (high values against the left side) or too bright (high values against the right side). If you're between those areas, almost everything is correctable with post-processing, as you've not lost information in the exposure.

Beyond that, I tend to shoot a little darker... others will tell you to shoot as far right without blowing out. But best is just not be against one of the walls, and you've got a decent exposure.

[rammy]

I've often wondered about the histogram. I have no idea how to use it at this stage, but from the little reading I did do, the general feeling I got was that there is no 'right' histogram - every picture is different. Given that, how hard is it to determine whether a histogram is right for any given photo? Is it something that takes LOTs of practise?

It does take practise. I think you need to know about the scene that you are shooting and what it should look like on the histogram to make the best of it.

If there is a lot of black/dark areas in the shot then the histogram will be favoured to the left, but you don't want it to be clipped to the left. This is unavoidable in most night shots.

If there is a lot of white/light areas in the shot then the histogram will be favoured to the right, but you don't want it to be clipped to the right.

If there is a lot of gray, average or neutral looking colours then the histogram will look like a bell curve with a peak around the middle.

You may get a histogram that has peeks on the left and right side but not much in the middle, this is a high contrasted type of shot and you want to balance it so none of the peeks fall off the left or right side.

[Go4EVA!]

If I may submit a follow-up question regarding histograms:

"Which one" do you find most useful -- the brightness or the color histogram? If the answer is "both," then how does one decide "when" to use each one?

Thanks!

[eddarr]

If I may submit a follow-up question regarding histograms:

"Which one" do you find most useful -- the brightness or the color histogram? If the answer is "both," then how does one decide "when" to use each one?

Thanks!

In-camera I use luminosity to check for blown highlights and detail in the shadows (although shadow detail is hard to see in the histogram). Basically this is for exposure only. In PS I don't really pay much attention to it except when using a levels adjustment layer.