Table Of Contentpractical artistry
Light & Exposure
for Digital Photographers
Harold Davis
Beijing • Cambridge • Farnham • Köln • Paris • Sebastopol • T aipei • T okyo
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Nancy Bell, Ron Bilodeau, Dan Brodnitz, Mark Brokering, Martin Davis, Steve Fehler, Josh Fisher,
Dennis Fitzgerald, Tim O’Reilly, Mark Paglietti, Derrick Story, Matt Wagner, Steve Weiss, and Colleen Wheeler.
Practical Artistry: Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers
by Harold Davis
Copyright © 2008 Harold Davis. All rights reserved worldwide.
All photographs by Harold Davis.
Published by O’Reilly Media, Inc., 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472
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For Julian, Nicky, and Mathew,
our three wonderful sons
Contents
Introduction 8
1 Understanding Exposure 12
What Is an Exposure? 14
Te Exposure Equation 20
Working with Exposure Modes 30
Measuring Light 38
Intentional Over and Underexposure 44
2 Working with Aperture 50
Aperture and Depth of Field 52
Selective Focus and Bokeh 62
Aperture and Narrative 66
When Aperture Doesn’t Matter 72
Macro Photography and Aperture 76
3 Selecting Shutter Speed 80
It’s All about Time 82
Shutter Speed and Camera Shake 88
Shutter Speed and Subject Motion 92
Creative Use of Motion 100
4 ISO and Noise 104
Understanding Light Sensitivity 106
When to Boost ISO 110
Using Noise Creatively 112
5 Using Light 116
Creative Exposure 118
Finding the Best Light 122
Light and Color Temperature 126
Working with White Balance 128
Front Lighting 132
Side Lighting 134
Back Lighting 136
Overcast Lighting 138
Night Photography 140
Using Flash 144
A Studio of Your Own 146
6 Digital Darkroom 150
RAW Conversion 152
Adjusting Exposure 156
Adjusting White Balance 160
Noise Reduction 162
Multi-RAW Processing 164
Cross Processing 168
Black and White 172
Index 176
Introduction
This book treats the techniques of classical photogra- Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t possibly explain the con-
phy and the tools of the digital artist holistically: they trols on each digital camera model. There are just too
are both integral to the best practices of modern digital many different camera models, and they all implement
photography. their exposure controls in slightly different ways.
In recent years, the art and craft of photography has But I can tell you what makes up an exposure—aper-
changed beyond recognition. Today’s photographer is ture, shutter speed, and sensitivity—and explain when
one part digital artist and one part photographer. to change each of these settings, and the likely impact of
This book aims is to present the best practices of the the change. Your camera manual will tell you the rest.
craft of photography in the context of the digital era. That said, this book is rich in pragmatic details. For
A great photograph starts with the photographer’s un- example, you can find the exact lens and exposure set-
derstanding of light, and proceeds with a good (and tings I used for every photo in this book.
sometimes creative) exposure. Speaking of the photos, I do believe that a picture is
While there are some books that treat light and exposure worth a thousand words. This cliché is certainly true
in the context of analog photography, the subject has yet when it comes to learning photography. It’s very reason-
to be thoroughly explained for the digital photographer. able to start with this book by finding a few photos that
It is fundamentally flawed to assume that incorrect ex- interest you, and discovering how they were made.
posures can be “fixed in Photoshop.” Photoshop, and In fact, I designed this book to work for you on a num-
other digital darkroom programs, can do great things, ber of different levels. If all you want to do is browse my
but are best used as creative tools for further enhanc- photos, read the captions that discuss how each photo
ing photos that are already good. was made, and consider some of the light and exposure
Understanding exactly what can be done in post- issues that went into making them, that’s fine. You can
processing should help to inform your decisions as a use the photos as a springboard, or an idea book, for
digital photographer at the moment of exposure. And taking photos of your own.
a good understanding of the concepts of photography The photos are strategically placed in the text, so you
will help you make better use of digital tools. For ex- can learn a bit more about the techniques I used by
ample, if you want to adjust exposures in the Adobe dipping into the text near each photo. Most of the
Camera RAW plug-in, it is essential to understand topics in the book can be read on their own, if they
how apertures and f-stops work. interest you.
Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers is a prac- In other words, you don’t have to start at the beginning
tical book for digital photographers who want to un- and end at the end. But, of course, I hope that eventu-
derstand light and exposure and to use photography to ally you do so—and that your journey with this book
explore their worlds. It is a substitute for neither your and making photos is as joyous and magical as mine
camera manual nor a good Photoshop book. My phi- has been.
losophy is that if you understand the principles behind
a concept, it’s easy to look up the details.
Berkeley, California
▶ Lobelia
105mm f/2.8 macro lens, extension bellows, 4/5 of a second at f/36 and ISO 100, tripod mounted.
8 Introduction
