Silhouette and Aperature

[AggieHunter]

I'm starting to realize that photography can be a very humbling thing. The more you learn, the more your realize how little you actually know

The new contest topic got me thinking about this picture even more today (sorry I know I've already started a thread about it)....
1/250
ISO 250
f/5.6


If my goal is to get the dark black silhouette like the post editing picture below, what should I have done different in the camera settings. My thoughts were (assuming I was steady or had a tripod): Leaving the ISO the same (or increasing it); Decrease aperature size; Decrease shutter speed. My thoughts on this are that w/ a smaller aperature, only the brightest portions of the picture would be properly exposed leaving the tree darker.


I was thinking this would fall under the same concept as this picture. Taken w/ a ring flash, 1/250, ISO 1000, f/45 in which only the ball was exposed and nothing in the background. Am I thinking about this correctly?

[Bill M]

In order to silhouette the palm trees I would have lowered the ISO and/or depending on the DOF you were shooting for raise to f8. If going to f8 leave the ISO around 200 (play with this one.)

[Shane]

To get the trees black (underexposed), you need to reduce the amount of light in the exposure. You can do that by reducing the aperture size (higher f/stop number), a faster shutter speed, or a little of both. You can also go to a lower ISO. You could combine any two or all three of those adjustments. It just depends on what you are looking for.

Keep in mind though that if you reduce the exposure of the trees, you also reduce the exposure for everything else in the frame. That may not hurt you with the sunset sky, as long as you don't reduce exposure too much.

Personally, I try to always shoot at ISO 100 unless I just have to raise the ISO to get more light for the aperture and/or shutter speed that I am shooting. If I can stay at ISO 100 or close to it, then I know I won't have a noise problem in the image.

If I want to control depth of field (either deep or shallow), then I'll set the f/stop that I need and then meter for the shutter speed that will work with that. If I am getting a reading for a shutter that's just too slow (if I don't have my tripod or I don't want motion blur), then I'll bump the ISO.

If I want to control the shutter speed to either freeze action or get a slow shot for motion blur, I'll set the shutter speed and then meter for the f/stop that will work. If my largest aperture still doesn't let in enough light, then I'll bump the ISO.

Like Bill said, for this shot, you could set ISO 100, f/8 and meter on the sky in the brighter area (but not right on the sun). That would tell you what shutter you need to get a good sky exposure, and more than likely it would leave the trees underexposed. I'd guess that it would be around 1/30th - 1/60th second, based on the numbers of the shot above. If that didn't get the trees blacked out, you could set a faster shutter and try again. Depending on focal length and whether or not you have image stabilization on the camera or lens, you might need a tripod for the shot, or you could set your camera down on a rock or a bench or something, if there was something like that handy that would work.

If there is some light reflecting on the shady side of the trees facing you, then you might not be able to get them fully black without underexposing the sky too much. If that's the case, then dodging the trees in post processing is the only option I guess.

[texag93]

Camera stupid here, but wouldn't you also want to make sure your metering point was reading the sunset and not the trees? Kinda like a person standing in a window.

[Bill M]

Camera stupid here, but wouldn't you also want to make sure your metering point was reading the sunset and not the trees? Kinda like a person standing in a window.

What's metering?

[Shane]

Camera stupid here, but wouldn't you also want to make sure your metering point was reading the sunset and not the trees? Kinda like a person standing in a window.

Like Bill said, for this shot, you could set ISO 100, f/8 and meter on the sky in the brighter area (but not right on the sun). That would tell you what shutter you need to get a good sky exposure, and more than likely it would leave the trees underexposed.

That's how I'd try to do it. I usually have mine set on spot metering so I can meter on the spot I want. I use the center dot most of the time. Meter, set camera, shoot.

[AggieHunter]

If there is some light reflecting on the shady side of the trees facing you, then you might not be able to get them fully black without underexposing the sky too much.

This may have been the case w/ my truck reflecting the sunrise back to the trees.

Camera stupid here, but wouldn't you also want to make sure your metering point was reading the sunset and not the trees?

Going back and looking at EXIF data, I didn't have it on spot or center weighted average metering so it gave me a reading that included the trees.... Rookie mistake

[texag93]

I am learning to use that metering point for better pics. It helps tremedously in certain situations.

[AggieHunter]

I use the center dot most of the time.

Is there a way to meter on dots other than the center?

[Shane]

Is there a way to meter on dots other than the center?

I don't think so. I use spot metering, which works off the center. I use the center dot for focus most of the time, and that's what I had in my head when I typed that about metering on the center dot. I can select any of the other dots for focus, but I don't think it changes the spot meter. I need to read my manual on that.

[Shane]

I can't find anything that says that the metering happens anywhere but in the center in partial metering mode (what I was calling spot metering). It meters in the center dot area only.

[texag93]

my D90 will only meter in center point as far as I can tell. If it will do different off center spots, I'm not smart enough to figure it out.

[AggieHunter]

Thats what I was thinking from what I read, but I didn't know if I was missing something.

Thanks for the help so far!

[Shane]

If you shoot in manual mode, it's not a problem. Just meter on whatever you want to meter on to figure out your settings. Then you can frame the pic and go without having to worry about the camera changing the exposure on you.

[AggieHunter]

I've been shooting almost exclusively on manual since I got the camera. The way I figured, it would force me to learn what all the setting are and how to use them! My big problem so far has been not checking all the settings before shooting (I usually miss at least one), or not going back to a common setting after I'm done shooting so I always know what its on. I usually have it set on spot metering and in this instance I'm not exactly sure why I changed it.