Photo 'problem'

[dazbaz_99]

Hi guys/girls. I have been taking photos for a while now and have a quick question that I am hoping someone has the answer to. Often (especially at Brands) I find that my photos are coming out with a very dark background yet the subject in the photo is at the correct brightness. I noticed it alot in my photos from Brands today, out on the GP loop my background (trees) were coming out very dark. What can I tweak camera settings wise to ensure that both my backgrounds and subject are coming out at the correct levels?

Anyone able to help!?

[Tim Falce]

If you are using an SLR it will almost certainly be the weighting of your on board light meter, it sounds like you have it set to spot or centre weighted, try full matrix or whatever your manufacturers equivalent is.

[dazbaz_99]

Originally Posted by falcemob

If you are using an SLR it will almost certainly be the weighting of your on board light meter, it sounds like you have it set to spot or centre weighted, try full matrix or whatever your manufacturers equivalent is.

Thanks. I knew it was going to be a really obvious thing that would make me look stupid! I have spot, center weighted and multi segment. I will give multi segment a try i think, it was set to Spot mode.

Thanks again for your help.

[Tim Falce]

I normally find it's worse with light coloured cars, even with centre weighted I have problems.
Depending on the conditions, for instance if it's very dull, I sometimes go for manual exposures relying on my old Weston Meter.

[Az]

Shoot fully manual and you can expose the shot how you want it.

[gungadan]

Originally Posted by dazbaz_99

Hi guys/girls. I have been taking photos for a while now and have a quick question that I am hoping someone has the answer to. Often (especially at Brands) I find that my photos are coming out with a very dark background yet the subject in the photo is at the correct brightness. I noticed it alot in my photos from Brands today, out on the GP loop my background (trees) were coming out very dark. What can I tweak camera settings wise to ensure that both my backgrounds and subject are coming out at the correct levels?

Anyone able to help!?

Do you have examples an example you can point to?

If it were me and the subject is correctly exposed, I wouldn't worry too much about the background - you've got the important bit as right as it's going to be. If you try to expose for the background, won't the car end up being over exposed? I don't see how changing the on-camera exposure algorithm will help overall. The alternative is to use PS to selectively fiddle with levels on different areas of the pic.

[badgerbaiter]

do the cars have their headlights on by any chance? or is the sun reflecting off the car and into your lens?

can you post an example?

what camera are you using?

[kdr]

i'm pondering why you want to see the trees...?

[kdr]

i'm coming back to this thread as the original post intrigues me. i'm guessing the trees in the background are in shade due to perhaps the position of the sun or those green leave shaped objects at the top of the trees blocking aforementioned sun out.

so either you or your camera have correctly exposed for what you want to be correctly exposed - the car, and the background has been thrown into shadow...voila, the sports photographers holy grail, a clean dark background.

now admittedly in the days of digital we're all used to the sensors finding detail when we wish it wouldn't, but always remember the mantra from the halcyon days of velvia...

"expose for the highlights and let the shadows take care of themselves.."

[dazbaz_99]

Yes I have examples. Take a look at my photos from the HSCC summer festival at Brands. They are in my gallery at www.dcb-images.co.uk. Perhaps im just being fussy with what im expecting my camera to produce. I own a Konica Minolta 5D and use a Sigma lense.

[Tim Falce]

They all seem very well exposed, what's the problem? The dark trees make the cars stand out better IMHO.
Excellent pics.

[dazbaz_99]

Originally Posted by falcemob

They all seem very well exposed, what's the problem? The dark trees make the cars stand out better IMHO.
Excellent pics.

My brain must be the problem! Im trying to hard to make the image look like what i see with the eye i guess.

[Tim Falce]

I lent my camera to someone at Combe on Monday to photograph my race, I had the camera set to full matrix metering but he took the photos directly into the sun. The trees and crowds behind are almost perfectly exposed but the track and cars are bleached out.

[Alan Raine]

Looks like the track is wet which will reflect the sun even more.

[Tim Falce]

Alan, it was dry, but there was an early evening sun towards the west. On one or two shots there is a distinct heat haze in the background.

[kdr]

i'm guessing you realise falcemob that the camera has tried to correctly expose the entire picture to the best of its ability, unfortunately that meant trying too hard to get those spectators standing in what looks like shade, thus over exposing the track and cars in sunlight.

[Tim Falce]

kdr, I know the problem, I was trying to make the point to dazbaz that my camera produced the opposite affect.

[kdr]

Originally Posted by falcemob

kdr, I know the problem, I was trying to make the point to dazbaz that my camera produced the opposite affect.

sorry, i guessed you did by the way you said it. i still shoot 99% of the time with the camera resolutely on M...i like the control(or to make the mistakes myself!) i sometimes think that although TV, A and P are great for ease of use, they can sometimes just make things complicated...certainly when you're just beginning to shoot pictures i'd recommend M so you get a grasp of what exactly you should be doing. imho of course!

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by kdr

i still shoot 99% of the time with the camera resolutely on M...i like the control(or to make the mistakes myself!)

I'm the same, but I gave the camera to a novice so set it to a fairly high shutter speed on a hi-ish ISO to avoid camera shake but didn't take into account the direction he would be shooting from or to.