Question about sunny 16 rule

[vienhuynh]

I read about sunny 16 rule, and I understood how it is done. But when it comes to try out, somehow the entire image is a bit dark (I doing portrait here). Did I do anything wrong. The time was at noon by the way.

[mike_d]

Noon where? Any clouds at all? Its just a guideline. Feel free to "overexpose" a bit if needed. Was the subject's face in DIRECT sunlight?

[sapearl]

Are you saying the entire exposure overall was a bit dark? In general, it should work. What exactly were your exposure settings?

For example, at noon in bright sun, at an ISO of 500 your MANUAL camera setting would be 1/500 sec at f/16. At ISO 200 you would be at 1/200 sec @ f/16. I believe you understand the relationship here. Again, you have to use your camera in Manual mode to insure that these settings are locked in. By any chance are you using a ND filter or CPL? If you are, those can decrease your exposure 1-2 stops and you have to compensate accordingly.

[tgamron]

What did you do? It's 1/ISO at f-16. Then you modify for your needs. I would rather use f11 or f8, so you could adjust the shutter speed up as you change the f-stop. 1/200 at f-11, or 1/400 at f-8.

[vienhuynh]

@mike_d: No cloud at all. Uhm, I would try to experience with it a bit more. The sun was on top of the head, not directly shin to subject's face.

@sapearl: Yes, entirely overall, but may be I did something wrong, I would try it all over again to make sure.
You guys are of great help to me, thank you.

[sapearl]

Originally Posted by vienhuynh

@mike_d: No cloud at all. Uhm, I would try to experience with it a bit more. The sun was on top of the head, not directly shin to subject's face.

@sapearl: Yes, entirely overall, but may be I did something wrong, I would try it all over again to make sure.
You guys are of great help to me, thank you.

Sometimes it's easy to overlook something the first time you're experimenting . What was your camera setting for the image that was underexposed? And did you have your camera in MANUAL?

[vienhuynh]

Originally Posted by sapearl

Sometimes it's easy to overlook something the first time you're experimenting . What was your camera setting for the image that was underexposed? And did you have your camera in MANUAL?

Yes, I set it as manual, oh wait, I think I set f16, ISO 100, and I was using 1/25 or something... it was bright enough at 1/25 above that, which is 1/60 or so appear a bit dark. I would try again to make sure

[sapearl]

Originally Posted by vienhuynh

Yes, I set it as manual, oh wait, I think I set f16, ISO 100, and I was using 1/25 or something... it was bright enough at 1/25 above that, which is 1/60 or so appear a bit dark. I would try again to make sure

OK...... actually if you used a shutter speed of 1/25 @ f/16 with ISO 100 then it should have been the equivalent of 2-stops overexposed. I'm guessing the face was in shadow or something. Did you use any sort of filtration at this point? If so, you would need to figure that into your calculation.

[vienhuynh]

No filter at all. And is there any guide for calculation fstop, iso, and shutter speed?

[AvailableLight]

Can you upload a sample so we can see what you are referring to?

[Ltdave]

You DID pick a specific ISO and not set it to auto correct?

Set your ISO to 200, your aperture to f16 and your shutter speed to 1/200. Then go from there ASSUMING you are truly sunny and cloud free...

If the histogram shoes under, open your lens a stop or two as needed. Conversely increase your shutter speed if you are overexposing the shot...

[vienhuynh]

Right now it is not sunny, I will try to take shots the next few days to test out the suggestions, would ask questions again Love this forum

[sapearl]

Originally Posted by vienhuynh

Right now it is not sunny, I will try to take shots the next few days to test out the suggestions, would ask questions again Love this forum

Shady is actually ok too, and it will give you a nice soft even light in a lot of cases. Many prefer that.

And you can still use the Sunny16 rule. Just open things up approx 2 f- stops and that should put you in the ballpark. Chimp, and adjust accordingly.

[Dustin Mustangs]

IMO this rule should just be a starting point, certainly not an end all solution to shooting in the sun. And IMO pt 2, it's pretty pointless given all modern cameras have damn good light meters built in given you use them right. Set the mode to spot, put the center af point on the most important part of your subjects face, and adjust exposure settings until it shows +2/3. Most importantly, chimp your lcd and fine tune from there as desired.

[sapearl]

Originally Posted by Dustin Mustangs

IMO this rule should just be a starting point, certainly not an end all solution to shooting in the sun. And IMO pt 2, it's pretty pointless given all modern cameras have damn good light meters built in given you use them right. Set the mode to spot, put the center af point on the most important part of your subjects face, and adjust exposure settings until it shows +2/3. Most importantly, chimp your lcd and fine tune from there as desired.

It is true that meters have gotten quite good - but they can always be easily "fooled" and have been for decades, depending upon what portion of a scene is actually being metered.

I am not an advocate for not using them. But understanding what goes into Sunny16, especially for somebody wanting to learn more, will go a long way to teaching you the nuances of exposure. I do a fair amount of wedding and event work and many times I'll just set my camera in MANUAL mode to get the most consistent and useful images. Meters have their place - I use both in camera and hand held - but understanding the basics will always make one a better photographer.