My best shot yet but ...

Extremely nervous as this is my first posting on showing photos.

The first is the best I have achieved to date with my 7D, no doubt it can be improved on but it is for me a major leap forward.

The second is the one I would like to know where it went wrong please. There is no detail in the dogs, bordering on silhouette.

Many thanks

Simon.

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Well done, you!!!

It takes a brave "newbie" to post a photo and add that it's your best to date.

So, first off, you're not really pushing your 7D yet which means you've got a lot more fun coming your way as you learn more about it.

Second, the lens you have is not going to produce stunning shots due to its characteristics. But don't upgrade yet, as you need to learn more about the 7D first, IMHO.

Third, the "why are the dogs almost silhouettes?" question is basically to do with how cameras judge the light, and adjust to get the "right" exposure.
Your eyes do this automatically, but cameras can get it wrong quite often.

Doing test shots, then setting the aperture and shutter speed in the "M" (manual) mode will get better results. But with such a bright, back-lit scene, you'd have issues with any camera.

Cheers for now, and keep shooting!

Simon

Getting the right exposure for a black object on a bright background is a difficult job, even more so when you have active subjects like this, so this is pretty good work especially the first one!

What I would suggest:
- Set the camera to full manual
- Set the shutter speed to what you have on the first photo above so that the dogs are 'frozen' while running
- Set the ISO to the highest that you find acceptable, 400 or even 800 should be fine
- Angle your palm so that it is directly in the sunlight, point your camera at it and adjust the aperture till the needle at the bottom of the frame sits at 0, or maybe one notch to the right if your palm is 'bright'

Now frame the shot, pray, focus and shoot On your camera you can also use the AF Servo so that the subject is held in focus by half pressing the shutter even if it is moving.

Oh yes, adjusting the focal length may change your set aperture as the lens has a variable max aperture front one end to the other. If that happens you will need to look at your palm again!

good thing you posted on this other sites would have eaten you up and spit you out.... a good site for education is
http://www.adorama.com​/alc/category/AdoramaT​V

lots of video geared towards new photographers.... and your first 10,000 shots are the hardest....keep shooting....and posting it gets easier.....

Another setup that might give you acceptable results (probably not outstanding quality), is to change the metering mode to "SPOT" mode. Then, meter and shoot off the black dog to see if this gives you the results you're looking for. [This mode will calculate exposure for a smaller area...such as your subject...and cause background overexposure in this case.]

Even if it doesn't give you the results you want, you'll have experienced another one of the modes in your camera that may help you capture the desired results another time.

Thanks for sharing your work! We're waiting for more.

My friend...I disagree with that statement. They are the easiest...because you don't know how stupid you are, then...it gets harder because you do know how stupid you are. Your link is a good one and I would add > http://www.cambridgein​colour.com/

First, you should always try to have the EXIF info included in your images to give us a clue to where the problem originated. Using PS, "Save As" will include the exif & give a slightly larger file size. "Save For Web" strips the exif out.
EXIF info is in post #3: Using a Watermark / Copyright

Second, did you shoot in RAW? This is just another situation where it would have helped you out. The Power of RAW in The Hands of The Unskilled

Third, the bright highlights are throwing off metering because the camera doesn't know that you're shooting a black Lab. This is what happens when you use any "Auto" settings, including Tv & Av without compensating for their lack of a brain:
Post #47

So what you need to do is to figure out just what part of the subject you're working with is the most important. Generally, for most situations, this is what I use: Need an exposure crutch?
See if it makes sense to you.

Fantastic many thanks, just what I was looking for.

It looks like it's going to be a long old journey to try to master this, no doubt a fun but exasperating one!

Again many thanks for the pointers, best get shooting.

I'll post again soon with my next effort.

Cheers

Simon.

[QUOTE=PhotosGuy;13935​276]First, you should always try to have the EXIF info included in your images to give us a clue to where the problem originated. Using PS, "Save As" will include the exif & give a slightly larger file size. "Save For Web" strips the exif out.
EXIF info is in post #3: Using a Watermark / Copyright

Do they show up now, first time of trying.

I'm not getting it.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #13939835
I'm not getting it.

Aaah! Just realised what you mean by PS ...... Photoshop!

I do have that so I'll do that. I've not 'doctored' the shots as I wanted to show them as I took them.

Cheers.
S.

cpam.pix wrote in post #13928347
Another setup that might give you acceptable results (probably not outstanding quality), is to change the metering mode to "SPOT" mode. Then, meter and shoot off the black dog to see if this gives you the results you're looking for. [This mode will calculate exposure for a smaller area...such as your subject...and cause background overexposure in this case.]

+1

It will be difficult to expose to get detail on the dog when they are backlit and as cpam.pix said the background will be overexposed. The easiest fix is to use a different composition, with you on the other side of the dog, with the sun lighting the background and dog more evenly.

NumLock wrote in post #13941779
+1

It will be difficult to expose to get detail on the dog when they are backlit and as cpam.pix said the background will be overexposed. The easiest fix is to use a different composition, with you on the other side of the dog, with the sun lighting the background and dog more evenly.

But I would have got my feet wet, the water at this time of the year in England is pretty cold, not like yours!

Seriously though, yeah thanks fully understand. It's all about experimenting at the moment and coming up with shots like the above. I'm walking along see them running and they "Hey that looks like a good shot" I'm not yet thinking as a photographer, just somebody with a camera.

Again, thanks, really appreciate you all helping out.

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pretty cold!? its below freezing!!

i used to surf in newquay around this time of year as the surf was fantastic but now im a little older i cant even bare the thought of getting in with a wetsuit...argh uncomfortable freezing (but fun) times :P