Linked Questions

36 votes
4 answers
3k views

How can I take advantage of fog in my photographs?

Ir's been quite foggy here for the last few days. The quality of light is different. Colour saturation is fairly low. Near the edge of the fog bank the sun looks great, as if there is a huge ND filter ...
Ken's user avatar
  • 5,078
34 votes
6 answers
48k views

What is one "stop"?

I always hear this term, e.g., I had to go down one stop Increasing X by Y raises Z by one stop I turned down the flash/the light two stops This lens/sensor/strobe/Photoshop tweak raises X by around ...
William C's user avatar
  • 1,524
24 votes
8 answers
3k views

How can I reduce the noise present when taking pictures without lowering my ISO?

I know that high ISOs tend to produce more noise, and some cameras' software can handle that noise better than others, but are there any other settings or conditions tha affect visible noise? I'm ...
Jaydles's user avatar
  • 2,052
19 votes
8 answers
7k views

Why are blown highlights particularly bad in digital photography?

I've heard that digital sensors are less "forgiving" of blown highlights than film. Why is this? There's something called "characteristic curves". How does this relate, in film and in digital? Can ...
mattdm's user avatar
  • 143k
11 votes
4 answers
3k views

Are there written guides or rules of thumb for setting color saturation, clarity, vibrance, etc. in post-processing (or in general)?

This isn't another "how do I get a picture to look like such-and-such-link-inserted-here in LR" question. There's a saturation (no pun intended) of these questions here. Interesting, but not general ...
Emmel's user avatar
  • 634
9 votes
4 answers
13k views

Why do my photos show blocky gradients, even in RAW?

I am learning to use my new DSLR, a Sony a57 with 18-55mm kit lens. I was shooting last night at sundown, and after exporting the RAW images to Lightroom, was surprised to see the gradient as showing ...
pharma_joe's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
311 views

Why don't cameras have metering modes that expose RAW files to the right?

Cameras could do ETTR quicker and more accurately than humans, and without the risk of actually clipping any pixels. The camera could then write a field to the RAW metadata telling the viewer home ...
Kartick Vaddadi's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
12k views

Is over-exposure preferable than under-exposure?

I am learning the world of Photography and always attempt to get the best possible shot but there are times when getting the exposure just right can be tricky depending on the situation. (I can tell ...
L84's user avatar
  • 3,568
8 votes
3 answers
2k views

Qualitywise, is there any downside to overexposing an image (within the dynamic range of the camera)?

If i underexpose an image and have to crank up the exposure in post, this will also amplify the noise, resulting in a lower quality image. In this case, it would've been better to expose correctly ...
MoritzLost's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
13k views

When to expose for the shadows vs expose for the highlights?

I'm a beginner photographer and I have read articles that advocate exposing to the right (ETTR) and articles that advocate exposure to the left (ETTL), and this has left me quite confused. I assume ...
dev_nut's user avatar
  • 249
6 votes
4 answers
2k views

Working on improving my photography of blue water in the Caribbean

My family takes regular trips to the Caribbean, and I always bring along my DSLR. I have never been able to accurately capture the blue of the water. Equipment: Canon Rebel XS (2008) Lens: EF-S 18-...
Linuxx's user avatar
  • 163
6 votes
4 answers
2k views

How do I get a meter reading for a DSLR without a gray card?

I read an article called Expose (to the) Right, which explained why you should try to get the graph of the histogram as much to the right of the scale as possible. The reasoning is that DSLRs record ...
Gregor Müllegger's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
3k views

Are burned out highlights bad?

I have read many answers and articles saying that I should avoid blown out highlights, but is it really a bad thing? Why should I avoid it?
Orbit's user avatar
  • 1,530
4 votes
6 answers
2k views

How can I blow out the background when shooting down for clothing on the ground?

I'm looking for suggestions to blow out the background when shooting down for clothing on the ground. I've tried putting the clothing on a plain white background that I typically use when shooting ...
Jeff's user avatar
  • 323
4 votes
1 answer
228 views

Are modern digital cameras better at dealing with blown highlights than they used to be?

Several years ago, I asked Why are blown highlights particularly bad in digital photography?, and if you look there, you can see some fairly convincing answers as to why this is. In an answer to a ...
mattdm's user avatar
  • 143k

15 30 50 per page