I dream of places far away..........

Pinkishy · 26th April 2004

A little experiment with outdoor pet photography .. man... i won't be doing it for awhile.. the sun's too hot.. too bright...

Had to leave after awhile as my bunny was dehydrating

Any tips on adjusting colour while outdoors? I find that the pictures are always overexposed, or if under shadows, underexposed. sigh..

And .. definitely need two people to photograph the pet subject... kept running here & there.. as for my case, because he wouldn't move... and when he moved i wasn't ready

It's extremely difficult too cause you gotta lay down and snap, as the top view isnt nice.. and then the camera's too big to go any lower.... bah!!! *give up*

The overexposure and sharp contrast behind is intentional .. and the biggest flaw here i guess is the slanting .. we were on a slope and i was bending down

However, i just like the mood of this picture... makes me wonder what he's thinking or feeling ..

In this picture he's just basking in the sun and a little pissed as i took so long to adjust the settings & snapping at him while the heat made him sleepy

Anyway, i love the colourtone of this picture. .(yellowish glow) .. but the whites are blownout.. any advise?

clive · 26th April 2004

got any pic show him running about?

maybe that will makt the rabbit seem 2b in even more dreamy mood =)

RemAcuTetigisti · 26th April 2004

Your exposure problem is age old. You are experiencing over / under exposure due to the average metering done by your camera system (Matrix / whatever technology).

The best way to fix this problem is to use your camera in manual mode (the metering I mean). A gray card will come in handy but you can easily get around by bracketing your shots. Follow simple rules to fix metering problems:
1. Ensure that your picture does not have extreme bright / dark areas. Understand the dynamic range of your system and make sure that the difference between the brightest and darkest areas is smaller than a few stops. (you have pretty extreme bright and dark areas in both images. #1: sky vs Bunny's nose. #2: Bunny's back vs foreground shadow.)
2. If you intend such variations in the image, use camera's inbuilt metering and bracket like crazy. Say, -2 to +2 stops. You can afford this if you are using a digital camera.
3. Evaluate the light and preset the meter for proper exposure. Use either a gray card or equivalent foliage around to set this. Then use this metering for the entire shoot. If you understand light, you can under / over expose a wee bit (from the preset value) when moving into sun or shade.

First, read books about exposure / light. Kodak published reasonable guides for this and the classic Ansel Adam's book 'Negative' is a great introduction to understand light. There are tons of web-articles. Check "luminous landscapes" site and "norman koren's" for a good set of articles.

Pinkishy · 26th April 2004

Originally Posted by RemAcuTetigisti

Your exposure problem is age old. You are experiencing over / under exposure due to the average metering done by your camera system (Matrix / whatever technology).

The best way to fix this problem is to use your camera in manual mode (the metering I mean). A gray card will come in handy but you can easily get around by bracketing your shots. Follow simple rules to fix metering problems:
1. Ensure that your picture does not have extreme bright / dark areas. Understand the dynamic range of your system and make sure that the difference between the brightest and darkest areas is smaller than a few stops. (you have pretty extreme bright and dark areas in both images. #1: sky vs Bunny's nose. #2: Bunny's back vs foreground shadow.)
2. If you intend such variations in the image, use camera's inbuilt metering and bracket like crazy. Say, -2 to +2 stops. You can afford this if you are using a digital camera.
3. Evaluate the light and preset the meter for proper exposure. Use either a gray card or equivalent foliage around to set this. Then use this metering for the entire shoot. If you understand light, you can under / over expose a wee bit (from the preset value) when moving into sun or shade.

First, read books about exposure / light. Kodak published reasonable guides for this and the classic Ansel Adam's book 'Negative' is a great introduction to understand light. There are tons of web-articles. Check "luminous landscapes" site and "norman koren's" for a good set of articles.

woah..

okay this is a little too advanced for me right now.. but i'll keep your advise and try them out when i manage to figure out a little more!

Pinkishy · 26th April 2004

Originally Posted by clive

got any pic show him running about? maybe that will makt the rabbit seem 2b in even more dreamy mood =)

have!!! But very difficult to take and most of the time he just want to lie in the grass...

Pinkishy · 1st May 2004

anyone?

Any advise/ comments?

lavenderlilz · 1st May 2004

Is that your rabbit? He's sooooooooooooooo cute

Zerstorer · 1st May 2004

A more simple answer is to avoid scenes with extreme contrast levels. For the both scenes, perhaps a reflector or fill flash would have helped to reduce the overall lighting contrast in the scene such that it will fall within the limited dynamic range of your digital camera.

Your digicam can only capture a certain range of brightness values in any scene, something has to go no matter what and how you meter if you don't do anything to reduce the contrast.

justarius · 1st May 2004

I like your first picture... makes me feel as if I'm a rabbit too!

Anyway, think you've got the right idea in getting right down to the rabbit's level. I would prefer to see the eye in the second one.... think getting the eye sharp is very important in portraits and even animal photography....

ps your rabbit is soooo cute!

Pinkishy · 10th May 2004

Originally Posted by lavenderlilz

Is that your rabbit? He's sooooooooooooooo cute

hi lavender .. yep it's my baby

he's cute but he can be quite a handful sometimes ..

Pinkishy · 10th May 2004

Originally Posted by Zerstorer

A more simple answer is to avoid scenes with extreme contrast levels. For the both scenes, perhaps a reflector or fill flash would have helped to reduce the overall lighting contrast in the scene such that it will fall within the limited dynamic range of your digital camera.

Your digicam can only capture a certain range of brightness values in any scene, something has to go no matter what and how you meter if you don't do anything to reduce the contrast.

Hi zerstorer,

thanks for your comment & advise! I considered the fill flash but i try not to use flash on animals cause it scares them or i'm afraid it blinds them

The reflector..ahh.. how to set up & carry.. havent experimented on reflectors or bouncy things yet

26th April 2004	#1
Pinkishy Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In a Purple World Posts: 234	I dream of places far away.......... A little experiment with outdoor pet photography .. man... i won't be doing it for awhile.. the sun's too hot.. too bright... Had to leave after awhile as my bunny was dehydrating Any tips on adjusting colour while outdoors? I find that the pictures are always overexposed, or if under shadows, underexposed. sigh.. And .. definitely need two people to photograph the pet subject... kept running here & there.. as for my case, because he wouldn't move... and when he moved i wasn't ready It's extremely difficult too cause you gotta lay down and snap, as the top view isnt nice.. and then the camera's too big to go any lower.... bah!!! give up The overexposure and sharp contrast behind is intentional .. and the biggest flaw here i guess is the slanting .. we were on a slope and i was bending down However, i just like the mood of this picture... makes me wonder what he's thinking or feeling .. In this picture he's just basking in the sun and a little pissed as i took so long to adjust the settings & snapping at him while the heat made him sleepy Anyway, i love the colourtone of this picture. .(yellowish glow) .. but the whites are blownout.. any advise? Last edited by Pinkishy; 26th April 2004 at 10:52 AM.

26th April 2004	#2
clive Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 2,573	got any pic show him running about? maybe that will makt the rabbit seem 2b in even more dreamy mood =)

26th April 2004	#3
RemAcuTetigisti Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 189	Your exposure problem is age old. You are experiencing over / under exposure due to the average metering done by your camera system (Matrix / whatever technology). The best way to fix this problem is to use your camera in manual mode (the metering I mean). A gray card will come in handy but you can easily get around by bracketing your shots. Follow simple rules to fix metering problems: 1. Ensure that your picture does not have extreme bright / dark areas. Understand the dynamic range of your system and make sure that the difference between the brightest and darkest areas is smaller than a few stops. (you have pretty extreme bright and dark areas in both images. #1: sky vs Bunny's nose. #2: Bunny's back vs foreground shadow.) 2. If you intend such variations in the image, use camera's inbuilt metering and bracket like crazy. Say, -2 to +2 stops. You can afford this if you are using a digital camera. 3. Evaluate the light and preset the meter for proper exposure. Use either a gray card or equivalent foliage around to set this. Then use this metering for the entire shoot. If you understand light, you can under / over expose a wee bit (from the preset value) when moving into sun or shade. First, read books about exposure / light. Kodak published reasonable guides for this and the classic Ansel Adam's book 'Negative' is a great introduction to understand light. There are tons of web-articles. Check "luminous landscapes" site and "norman koren's" for a good set of articles.

1st May 2004	#6
Pinkishy Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In a Purple World Posts: 234	anyone? Any advise/ comments?

1st May 2004	#7
lavenderlilz Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: hErE lAh Posts: 1,058	Is that your rabbit? He's sooooooooooooooo cute

1st May 2004	#8
Zerstorer Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 3,610	A more simple answer is to avoid scenes with extreme contrast levels. For the both scenes, perhaps a reflector or fill flash would have helped to reduce the overall lighting contrast in the scene such that it will fall within the limited dynamic range of your digital camera. Your digicam can only capture a certain range of brightness values in any scene, something has to go no matter what and how you meter if you don't do anything to reduce the contrast.

1st May 2004	#9
justarius Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Western side of Singapore Posts: 1,163	I like your first picture... makes me feel as if I'm a rabbit too! Anyway, think you've got the right idea in getting right down to the rabbit's level. I would prefer to see the eye in the second one.... think getting the eye sharp is very important in portraits and even animal photography.... ps your rabbit is soooo cute!