Dealing with sunlight etc..

[Gamb]

Man.. I've been reading and trying but I still can't seem to get decent looking photos. I've read Understanding Exposure also and I'll read it again :D but I still seem to get pictures that are "blown out" with sunlight

For example.. This was taken at the top of a mtn in N.GA. Around 11am. Semi bright day, not too bad. I used aperture priority and set it to 10. get more stuff in focus was my thinking. Camera chose 1/32 shutter speed. I had the white balance set for sunlight and iso 100

http://bourbonscoundrel.com/gallery/d/11253-2/IMG_2148.JPG

Should I have metered differently? This is VERY bright.. :mad:

[LarryD]

If you have a predominance of bright backgrounds, such as the one you have here, you need to either use spot metereing, so your subject is properly metered, or recognise it yourself and manually compensate for it..

because your ground and background is so bright, you really need to get in closer to the motorcycle if that is the subject of your shot..

[Gamb]

Thanks for the advice. In this case spot metering would be the best choice correct?

[bjannsen]

Controlling dynamic range is always an issue for outdoor potogs - this is a prime example. The background and foreground are just too bright to properly expose and still make your subject look right.

If you spot metered the bike, it would probably make the situation worse. It also looks like you may be having some issues with flare from the sun - did you use a lens hood?? I always use a hood outdoors - it will help keep you from that washed out look (give you more contrast), and will help limit stray light coming into the sides of your lens.

I'd suggest avoiding the middle part of the day - shoot near sunup and sundown (at least within an hour or two of each). From the look of the shadow here, the sun is pretty much overhead - the worst time of day for most outdoor photos.

Larry's thought is a good one; if you have to take this shot at this point in the day, getting much closer to your subject and limiting the amount of the really bright areas would help with this shot also.

Good luck with your shooting - it will all come together for you.

[Gamb]

bjannsen

thanks for the tips. I did use the hood but obviously it didn't help much :D

I was using my new 70-200L which probably wasn't the best tool for the job either since I couldn't get too close and get the whole bike in the frame

[bjannsen]

I think your 70-200 is a perfect tool for this job. All 4 versions are great lenses. They also focus a lot closer than what you have here. According to Canon's website, the minimum focus is around 1.2-1.3 meters. I'm sure you could fill the frame with the bike if you'd moved in - or zoomed.

Hoods can help but obviously they don't solve all the problems... I still say looking for a better time of day would have been your best move on this shot.

Brian

[jcothron]

Just out of curiosity, which mountain where you playing on? I'm up there quite a bit myself.

Agree with the others.. just too much range in this scene to get everything showing detail without being blown out.

[jacuff]

Outside... bright sunny day... why not try Sunny 16?
Exposure should have been something like:
ISO 100, f/10, 1/250