Histogram Help!

[22littlereasons]

I have been working in video production over 25 years, making the transition from tube to CCD cameras, manual to automatic controls. I know how to read scopes, do an electronic white balance and pedestal set-up (black balance) and a whole bunch of other quasi-techno things. So, why am I histogram challenged? Does anybody have a link to a website that explains how to read histograms for an old fart like me? *s*

[Ogrt48]

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/understanding-histograms.shtml have funnn

[jimsolt]

I have been working in video production over 25 years, making the transition from tube to CCD cameras, manual to automatic controls. I know how to read scopes, do an electronic white balance and pedestal set-up (black balance) and a whole bunch of other quasi-techno things. So, why am I histogram challenged? Does anybody have a link to a website that explains how to read histograms for an old fart like me? *s*
The website already suggested is a good one. I also come from video including a smattering of digital toward the end. While certainly not an expert, I have the most difficulty getting used to making adjustments to light and dark IMAGES rather than seeing the electrical representation on an oscilloscope that shows variation in voltages and current. I suppose in the end it's the same, but the thought process is different for me.
Jim

[22littlereasons]

Thanks for the link. I had to read it 3 times for it to sink in. Really, the histogram sort of reminds me an EQ graph used in audio that measures your low end to your top end. This is very different than what I am accustomed to regarding electronic luminence measurements used in video.

Anyway, thanks for the help all.

[jimsolt]

There's another website Earthbound Light that has a very good tutorial for Photoshop that includes one lesson called "your Friend the Histogram." An easy read that your might find helpful.
Jim

[mjordan]

Here is a pretty good tutorial on histograms as well:

http://www.sphoto.com/techinfo/histograms/histograms.htm


Mike

[Hellashot]

Basically you don't want any height of the histogram to be right up to and cut off by either end of the chart and no part of the chart to go higher than the top of the scale.

[mjordan]

While you don't want to have your shadow area or your highlight area to be smashedup against their respective sides, it isn't true that you don't want the data hump to go above the top. All this tells is how much of that tone you have. If you are shooting low key, dark cloths, dark background, low lighting, you are going to have a lot of tonal data on the shadow side and the spike is going to be pretty high and above the ceiling. The same goes for high key, white background, fair skined, light colored cloths, lots of light, etc., all of the data is going to be on the right side of middle with very high spikes of data and cut off at the ceiling. You can control exposure so as to keep the data between the left side and right side, but it's going to be a lot harder to control how much tonal data there is for a given color area.

Mike

[22littlereasons]

Hey, thanks for the second link.. even more helpful. I was out on a shoot last night and began to look at the histogram after every shot. I found it improved the exposure levels when I cam back to work with the files on the computer.

[ron chappel]

I'm not surprised you had trouble working with histograms after oscilloscopes and suchlike.The histogram is a very simple graph compared to them.
A couple of times i found myself thinking 'why have i got so much shaddow area over on the right of the image?' or some such confused nonsense :rolleyes: :oops: