There's a lot packed into 4 minutes. I wanted to make it simple but you might want to save this one. Come to my next Shadow Hackers live class for a deeper look... seimeffects.com/shadowhackers/
I appreciate the effort that has clearly been taken here, but I'm not sure I'd class this as 'the best exposure advice you'll ever get'. For me the best advice would be to understand what exposure is, be clear about what you're trying to do and how to manipulate exposure to achieve those goals. I don't think that this video really helps that much in that regard. One of the main problems that photographers have is that they either don't know what exposure is, of have been taught it incorrectly, and end up thinking that exposure means how light or dark the picture is. If that's what you've learned then the whole thing becomes a guessing game, and rules like 'expose for the shadows', don't mean very much. In fact, in most cases you're better off exposing for the highlights and processing for the shadows.
Well. I have an award winning workshop on exposure and 20+ years of trial and error. If anyone applies why I just taught it will change their process. The goal here is that people stop exposing for highlights because it alone a limited method. Exposing for shadows changes everything. In the end use what works for you.
@@Seimstudios I was going solely on what I saw in this video, not having seen your workshop, which might well be excellent (depending, I suppose on who awarded the awards). Exposure management depends on your workflow - that is, it's different depending on whether you're working with a raw file or SOOC. In raw it's all about maximising the information content of the raw file, which means exposing the highlights right to 100% - or in extreme cases (which are rare given the DR or modern cameras) sacrificing some of the highlights to maintain decent SNR in the shadows. If that's what you mean by 'expose for the shadows' then we're in agreement - but I didn't think that your video was clear on what you meant by it, nor what you meant by 'correct exposure, which workflow you're talking about, and indeed what you meant by the word 'exposure' itself (and I'm concerned that you talk about ISO when talking about 'doubles and halves' - suggesting that ISO is a component of exposure, which it is not). I'm not saying that you were wrong about anything, merely that it wasn't clear what you meant.
@Seimstudios your comment comes across as arrogant. IMO experienced photographers focus on capturing the widest lattitude of light that best suits their vision giving them the most to work with in post process. Everyone has a workshop -- even me 20 years ago -- it doesn't make you an authority. The whole point in photography is there are infinite ways to do it, express yourself.
I wholly agree with this statement and one I was about to make but you beat me to it, thank you for doing a much better job than I could. I also had an issue with the "expose for the shadows". I can kind of see where that is coming from but in digital capture that is only going to introduce other exposure issues if you don't understand exposure to begin with. Now that would be somewhat a more correct piece of advice if you were shooting film, but then again, a clear grasp of exposure is key to executing these tips correctly.
@@aarontharris Why is an educated reply is now considered arrogant. @Seimstudios is spot on about the video and commented respectfully with clear knowledge of the topic. The bottom line here is what was explained in the video leaves a lot of holes and mis-understanding on how to achieve good exposures with some terms being convoluted to the trained ear. It is not as black and white as it may seem. The variables in proper exposure is endless and not a one-size-fits-all, it goes hand in hand with ones choice of composition and elements IN that composition that determines how to tackle exposures.
THANK YOU OH MY GOD I'm so tired of seeing people in online (and irl) spaces obsess over technical perfection. Sure you need to know the rules, to some degree, but honestly so much feeling and emotion comes from how you play with the light
No. 3, Expose for Shadow, reminded me of director William Friedkin talking about a Vermeer painting. He pointed out what he called the "grace note," which was a distant bright spot that could easily be missed but gave vital definition to the surrounding shadows and provided character to the entire painting. You've just added to my understanding of what he meant. You just got a new subscriber.
Nice points, it gets easier to comprehend if you shoot film where you are much more restricted settings wise than digital and have to pay more attention to how light falls on the scene and interacts with shadows.
Indeed. People think film is all about being a hipster. But it's actually an ongoing class in technique, artists elements, color theory and shadow all in one
Same here, guilty, I'm a pixel peeper as well, I have to be, interior photography. You know exposing for shadow is important, or should I say being more favourable toward the darker areas when exposing, especially with high iso's which I never really do. This is why a fuji camera is so great for exposing for the darks, because you can pull down your highs and lows much more than in any other camera of the same or slightly more priced. I shoot canon, but fuji is just great to mess around with outside of work. Thanks for the post, awesome!
I use an external spot meter. With film I typically expose 3 stops above the shadows I'm interested in preserving and then develop for the highlights. With digital I typically expose 1 stop below the highlights I want to preserve and adjust sliders reach desired shadows and mids.
@@Seimstudios I assume you're referring to Ansel Adams' zone system. The zone system is a good guideline, however, it was designed when film had less latitude and photography processing was limited to darkroom dodging and burning -- I know, I did it for years. These days you'll get better results metering off the darkest point you want to retain detail and compensating by the amount your particular film can handle. This is because film does not clip highlights like digital does. You can develop the film (chemicals) longer to build the details into the highlights. It compresses the highlights (which is why Ansel Adams did not do it), but with modern tools we now have the ability to decompress the highlights giving a very wide latitude when shots are captured in this way. Some tonality is lost, so this must be taken into consideration when choosing how far to push the shadows.
As a JPEG- photographer, the Electronic Viewfinder makes ‘playing with shadows’ life much more easier to decide then before in DSLR time, not to mention capturing with film. Especially when you did not ‘own’ the process of developping your own (B&W) photo’s. Thats why I preferred slide-film in the days of film.
One of the best things about having learned photography before having a camera with automatic exposure or an internal light meter, was learning how light works in order to learn how to expose film in the way that allowed me to get the photo that I desired. This is a great video for younger photographers to learn how to have control over the art.
Agreed. But despite having started on film and studied with some of the best from that era. Despite the painters using shadow. Even the masters of film never taught shadow hacking and once you approach it from that way everything else forms around that.
also a further point about shadow, if you expose (or meter for) shadows, you in effect do what film shooters always do, as film loves highlights, and NEEDS light to record things, so metering shadows ensures you get the details you need inn the shot. Just remember, if the shadows are right, and the highlights are too bright, you can always add an ND filter to take a stop or two off, making them highlights, not glare.
I agree with you that shadows are at the heart of every great photo. I generally under expose and put my shadows in Zone 2-3. Unfortunately, the Meta and other social media al-gore-rhythm (he invented the internet) disagree and will make your photos look like crap. I’d love to know how to overcome this issue.
I think your video can be simplified to: #1 "Don't trust your in-camera light meter". #2 "It's not about exposure" -- however it is about composition, not shadows. #3 "Don't obsess about sharpness". I agree with these points. Though, I resent your use of the term "photographers are always..." because I think you're really referring to beginners? Most photographers with a little experience have learned #1,2,3.
Well. I have studied with some of the worlds best photographers over the past 20 years. I could count on one hand the ones that really understood what I just covered. I don't think it can be made much more simple. But it the end no need to resent the truth. It is very much about the shadows. Most photographers new or experiences to not understand this.
@@Seimstudios Oh my... I mean no offense, but I don't think you realize how you sound when you say these things. We can't *tell* people how great we are, instead we must do our thing, let them notice on their own and let them decide for themselves. Telling and retelling about how you studied with some great photographers and know better than them does not mean anything (especially if your photos do not support the claim), this attitude just offends people. When you say "most photographers do not understand this" -- I assume you mean photographers attending your workshop? Because your advice is really very photography 101. I mean I literally learned this stuff in my first photography class in college almost 30 years ago. Lets break it down... #1 and #2 are super 1st day photography stuff. It's exposure, well covered everywhere, nothing you say is new. I won't bother commenting further. #3 "It's not about exposure, it's about shadows" -- I would say shadows and highlights are equally important as both work together to render a 3D image onto a 2D plane, they combine to define shape and depth. You cannot have light without dark. We call this contrast. It is contrast that we balance to define our composition. I agree do not just dial your exposure meter to the middle and call it done, but if you are teaching early photographers, then I would say exposure is not the most important thing -- composition is the most important thing. Developing an eye that sees shapes, contrast and balance is far more important than nailing exposure as most cameras give us 3 stops of wiggle room anyway. So if you want a low-key composition, you can slide a slider, but what good is low-key without a good composition that supports it. You cannot slide a composition slider. So yes, best to do everything right -- and relying on a slider is never best -- but if a new photographer is overwhelmed and can't focus on everything just yet, then sliding a slider to find good exposure is much more acceptable than trying to find a good composition after the photo is taken.
@@aarontharris Not telling anyone how great I am. People can judge by my work. I was awarded a Master of Photography from PPA and I do have the experience to confidently teach what I am teaching. I have a master class on composition and line as well as well as one. and have had the honor to study with some of the worlds best in this area. This stuff should be 1st day photography class but it no longer is and most do not know it. Shadow Hacking is an approach that does not fail and took me decades to create. I am simply sharing it and you can use my experience or not. It all good.
@Seimstudios Master of Photography from PPA is just a certificate of merit, I have something similar from NYIP. I'm not trying to argue with you or debate with you. I just suggest you pay attention to how you present yourself. Your tips are good and I'm sure beginners will appreciate it. But please don't say "most photographers" and these topics are not the best advice you'll ever get about exposure. These are not mastery things. Just be humble and share your passion and experience.
@@aarontharris No it's not a certificate of Merit. But it took getting a lot or international level merits to get it. When you you get it you mostly realize that you are just getting started because it's so much work. Most photographers do not understand exposure or shadow and tones. In fact as the late Ken Whitmire said. Tones is the least utilized and least understood factor in Photography. Instead of calling him a show off I listened and spend the past 15 years studying it. You can be offended or do the same. Thanks for your thoughts.
that really resonates with me because ever since i discovered shadows in my photography using the sunny 16 rule it completely revolutionzed how I approach photography and now all I want is to expose for the shadow.
No shadows=flat as a pancake. The camera is a hammer, a blunt tool! I agree with everything else you said. In fact, why not underexpose if you’re shooting RAW? Point the lens at the sun sometimes too and get some flares, it’s not going to melt the sensor.
Cheers so much 😊 You're the first photographer that I've subscribed to without giving it a second thought ❤ I'm actually into filmmaking and coincidentally into light and shadows photography as well 😂
I expose two ways: With my eyes and with my heart, corny as that may sound. If it feels right to me, it is right. It's my art, it's not perfect and that's the way it stays.
Right brain not a bad approach in art. But when you know exposure and shadow hacking you combine that right brain creativity with left brain logic and that's when you can really mast photography.
Pretty much watched every video you have done, by far, my favorite. Preach it brother! (BTW: Pictorialist is freaking awesome for those of us that understand it)
Even though I have analog experience, too long ago, I still make tons of mistakes. At least I could remember that exposure was a topic back in the 80s but it wasn’t as dramatic as off today. At least I do remember that I just decided to over or underexpose from what the correct metering showed me. After a while I had a feeling for it with Ilford 400. The damage with digital is you not only can change the exposure measurement method, you can change ISO and many other stuff. With this it gets impossible to learn the instinct a feeling for the exposure game. Thats why my ISO always is set to 400…like with always the same film stock….
One stop, one zone, doubling the light is always a stop and a stop is always double. Come to my free shadow hackers live class on the site and I explain it more. So 1 stop up from the zero point on a meter is double. A second stop is 4 times the light you started with etc.
I would say I agree, exposure for shadow, BUT if your scene contains highlights that are important in the composition/image, then take those into account as well (ETTR with a live histogram can help) but I think shadows is often overlooked and most people probably expose so they are (mostly) lost at the time of capture.
Indeed. Though I have a video here on the channel explaining why ETTR is not the best method. Once you apply zones in your exposures it's unnecessary and usually results in lower quality exposures.
REALLY loved this. I thought you'd be telling me how bad I was for having my exposure comp around -2 or whatever. Looks like I'm on your point of view. And the shadow hackers? Sounds awesome! I'll be looking out.
Thanks. And yes, running down a couple zones is something I do a lot. It changes the entire game while everyone else is telling to you ETTR ;) Next Shadow hackers is something soon...seimeffects.com/shadowhackers
Great Video, i Always underexpose by at least 0.6 stops because i hate those hdr look, for me ITS allways light and shadows and a flat hdr photo is just so boring in my opinion.
Take it off auto I shoot on 100% manual I can see what I'm getting while I adjust the aperture and shutter I use my digital camera the same as I use my film cameras
Good advice, but where are your photos? Most of your audience doesn't know you. You need to give the people who don't know you a reason to take your advice.
@@Seimstudios You'll have to give a bit more detail about why blown highlights would not be a problem if you 'expose for shadows with zones in mind', and what exactly you have in mind. I would suggest that you're best off trying to get the actual highlights (that is, the brightest part of the scene) at 100%, either by ETTR with the histogram or by spot metering of the highlights with appropriate EC or meter calibration (or highlight mode, if you have it). That means that every part of the scene will have the biggest exposure that it can without blowing the highlights, which automatically means that your shadows are as good as they can be.
This is not great advice. It’s fragmented and you left something important out. You keep referring to the iconic photographers and coffee table books but what you leave out is they shot on film and weren’t obsessing over pixels and sensors. You learn how a camera works when you use an all manual film camera. That’s what the icons did.
I cant cover the entire process in 5 minutes,. That's what I do mi live classes for. I cover that all the time on this channel since I shoot film all the time. I have known some of the best film photographer and while yes as I say often film helps you understand photographer and slow down, very few film photographer understand the shadow and tone elements we teach on this channel. Film shooters pixel peeps with film types and formats just like we do today with sensors. But until you learn shadow you'll be wandering.
There's a lot packed into 4 minutes. I wanted to make it simple but you might want to save this one. Come to my next Shadow Hackers live class for a deeper look... seimeffects.com/shadowhackers/
I appreciate the effort that has clearly been taken here, but I'm not sure I'd class this as 'the best exposure advice you'll ever get'. For me the best advice would be to understand what exposure is, be clear about what you're trying to do and how to manipulate exposure to achieve those goals. I don't think that this video really helps that much in that regard. One of the main problems that photographers have is that they either don't know what exposure is, of have been taught it incorrectly, and end up thinking that exposure means how light or dark the picture is. If that's what you've learned then the whole thing becomes a guessing game, and rules like 'expose for the shadows', don't mean very much. In fact, in most cases you're better off exposing for the highlights and processing for the shadows.
Well. I have an award winning workshop on exposure and 20+ years of trial and error. If anyone applies why I just taught it will change their process. The goal here is that people stop exposing for highlights because it alone a limited method. Exposing for shadows changes everything. In the end use what works for you.
@@Seimstudios I was going solely on what I saw in this video, not having seen your workshop, which might well be excellent (depending, I suppose on who awarded the awards). Exposure management depends on your workflow - that is, it's different depending on whether you're working with a raw file or SOOC. In raw it's all about maximising the information content of the raw file, which means exposing the highlights right to 100% - or in extreme cases (which are rare given the DR or modern cameras) sacrificing some of the highlights to maintain decent SNR in the shadows. If that's what you mean by 'expose for the shadows' then we're in agreement - but I didn't think that your video was clear on what you meant by it, nor what you meant by 'correct exposure, which workflow you're talking about, and indeed what you meant by the word 'exposure' itself (and I'm concerned that you talk about ISO when talking about 'doubles and halves' - suggesting that ISO is a component of exposure, which it is not). I'm not saying that you were wrong about anything, merely that it wasn't clear what you meant.
@Seimstudios your comment comes across as arrogant. IMO experienced photographers focus on capturing the widest lattitude of light that best suits their vision giving them the most to work with in post process. Everyone has a workshop -- even me 20 years ago -- it doesn't make you an authority. The whole point in photography is there are infinite ways to do it, express yourself.
I wholly agree with this statement and one I was about to make but you beat me to it, thank you for doing a much better job than I could.
I also had an issue with the "expose for the shadows". I can kind of see where that is coming from but in digital capture that is only going to introduce other exposure issues if you don't understand exposure to begin with. Now that would be somewhat a more correct piece of advice if you were shooting film, but then again, a clear grasp of exposure is key to executing these tips correctly.
@@aarontharris Why is an educated reply is now considered arrogant. @Seimstudios is spot on about the video and commented respectfully with clear knowledge of the topic. The bottom line here is what was explained in the video leaves a lot of holes and mis-understanding on how to achieve good exposures with some terms being convoluted to the trained ear. It is not as black and white as it may seem. The variables in proper exposure is endless and not a one-size-fits-all, it goes hand in hand with ones choice of composition and elements IN that composition that determines how to tackle exposures.
I agree, my goal is to set the camera to capture the light that i see, not necessarily reach mid grey each time.
Indeed. But once you start seeing shadow instead of light it realky transforms everything to anotjer level.
Hence exp comp dial, I use -1 on night
"Having feeling in our photos" sums it up beautifully. Thank you for a thought-provoking and informative video.
I'm glad it resonated
finally someone speaks about the art of photography not about the gears and how important it is to have sharp perfect lifeless photos. thank you.
THANK YOU OH MY GOD I'm so tired of seeing people in online (and irl) spaces obsess over technical perfection. Sure you need to know the rules, to some degree, but honestly so much feeling and emotion comes from how you play with the light
“Light illuminates, shadows define.” - Rick Sammon
Rick is good. I got to write guests content in his books and have him on the podcast a couple times.
No. 3, Expose for Shadow, reminded me of director William Friedkin talking about a Vermeer painting. He pointed out what he called the "grace note," which was a distant bright spot that could easily be missed but gave vital definition to the surrounding shadows and provided character to the entire painting. You've just added to my understanding of what he meant.
You just got a new subscriber.
Thanks, studying painters really can give us a lot of insight into photography
Nice points, it gets easier to comprehend if you shoot film where you are much more restricted settings wise than digital and have to pay more attention to how light falls on the scene and interacts with shadows.
Indeed. People think film is all about being a hipster. But it's actually an ongoing class in technique, artists elements, color theory and shadow all in one
@@Seimstudios Couldn't put it better in words. It's an education.
Same here, guilty, I'm a pixel peeper as well, I have to be, interior photography. You know exposing for shadow is important, or should I say being more favourable toward the darker areas when exposing, especially with high iso's which I never really do. This is why a fuji camera is so great for exposing for the darks, because you can pull down your highs and lows much more than in any other camera of the same or slightly more priced. I shoot canon, but fuji is just great to mess around with outside of work. Thanks for the post, awesome!
I use an external spot meter. With film I typically expose 3 stops above the shadows I'm interested in preserving and then develop for the highlights. With digital I typically expose 1 stop below the highlights I want to preserve and adjust sliders reach desired shadows and mids.
That works but you'll nail your results better using that spot meter with Zones whether it's film or diagonal.
@@Seimstudios I assume you're referring to Ansel Adams' zone system. The zone system is a good guideline, however, it was designed when film had less latitude and photography processing was limited to darkroom dodging and burning -- I know, I did it for years. These days you'll get better results metering off the darkest point you want to retain detail and compensating by the amount your particular film can handle. This is because film does not clip highlights like digital does. You can develop the film (chemicals) longer to build the details into the highlights. It compresses the highlights (which is why Ansel Adams did not do it), but with modern tools we now have the ability to decompress the highlights giving a very wide latitude when shots are captured in this way. Some tonality is lost, so this must be taken into consideration when choosing how far to push the shadows.
As a JPEG- photographer, the Electronic Viewfinder makes ‘playing with shadows’ life much more easier to decide then before in DSLR time, not to mention capturing with film. Especially when you did not ‘own’ the process of developping your own (B&W) photo’s. Thats why I preferred slide-film in the days of film.
One of the best things about having learned photography before having a camera with automatic exposure or an internal light meter, was learning how light works in order to learn how to expose film in the way that allowed me to get the photo that I desired. This is a great video for younger photographers to learn how to have control over the art.
Agreed. But despite having started on film and studied with some of the best from that era. Despite the painters using shadow. Even the masters of film never taught shadow hacking and once you approach it from that way everything else forms around that.
also a further point about shadow, if you expose (or meter for) shadows, you in effect do what film shooters always do, as film loves highlights, and NEEDS light to record things, so metering shadows ensures you get the details you need inn the shot. Just remember, if the shadows are right, and the highlights are too bright, you can always add an ND filter to take a stop or two off, making them highlights, not glare.
Good points. But if Zones are used they cover pretty much every aspect.
Cool video I would say as a tip try a manual film camera best way to learn.
Excellent advice…
I agree with you that shadows are at the heart of every great photo. I generally under expose and put my shadows in Zone 2-3.
Unfortunately, the Meta and other social media al-gore-rhythm (he invented the internet) disagree and will make your photos look like crap. I’d love to know how to overcome this issue.
I try not to let any app auto ajust. But it's still hard to get attention on social media when we're competing wuth Ai fakery constantly
Yeap. AI will take out a lot of fun from this world. Not only in photography, but in general
I think your video can be simplified to: #1 "Don't trust your in-camera light meter". #2 "It's not about exposure" -- however it is about composition, not shadows. #3 "Don't obsess about sharpness". I agree with these points. Though, I resent your use of the term "photographers are always..." because I think you're really referring to beginners? Most photographers with a little experience have learned #1,2,3.
Well. I have studied with some of the worlds best photographers over the past 20 years. I could count on one hand the ones that really understood what I just covered. I don't think it can be made much more simple. But it the end no need to resent the truth. It is very much about the shadows. Most photographers new or experiences to not understand this.
@@Seimstudios Oh my... I mean no offense, but I don't think you realize how you sound when you say these things. We can't *tell* people how great we are, instead we must do our thing, let them notice on their own and let them decide for themselves. Telling and retelling about how you studied with some great photographers and know better than them does not mean anything (especially if your photos do not support the claim), this attitude just offends people. When you say "most photographers do not understand this" -- I assume you mean photographers attending your workshop? Because your advice is really very photography 101. I mean I literally learned this stuff in my first photography class in college almost 30 years ago.
Lets break it down...
#1 and #2 are super 1st day photography stuff. It's exposure, well covered everywhere, nothing you say is new. I won't bother commenting further.
#3 "It's not about exposure, it's about shadows" -- I would say shadows and highlights are equally important as both work together to render a 3D image onto a 2D plane, they combine to define shape and depth. You cannot have light without dark. We call this contrast. It is contrast that we balance to define our composition.
I agree do not just dial your exposure meter to the middle and call it done, but if you are teaching early photographers, then I would say exposure is not the most important thing -- composition is the most important thing. Developing an eye that sees shapes, contrast and balance is far more important than nailing exposure as most cameras give us 3 stops of wiggle room anyway. So if you want a low-key composition, you can slide a slider, but what good is low-key without a good composition that supports it. You cannot slide a composition slider.
So yes, best to do everything right -- and relying on a slider is never best -- but if a new photographer is overwhelmed and can't focus on everything just yet, then sliding a slider to find good exposure is much more acceptable than trying to find a good composition after the photo is taken.
@@aarontharris Not telling anyone how great I am. People can judge by my work. I was awarded a Master of Photography from PPA and I do have the experience to confidently teach what I am teaching.
I have a master class on composition and line as well as well as one. and have had the honor to study with some of the worlds best in this area.
This stuff should be 1st day photography class but it no longer is and most do not know it. Shadow Hacking is an approach that does not fail and took me decades to create. I am simply sharing it and you can use my experience or not. It all good.
@Seimstudios Master of Photography from PPA is just a certificate of merit, I have something similar from NYIP.
I'm not trying to argue with you or debate with you. I just suggest you pay attention to how you present yourself. Your tips are good and I'm sure beginners will appreciate it. But please don't say "most photographers" and these topics are not the best advice you'll ever get about exposure. These are not mastery things. Just be humble and share your passion and experience.
@@aarontharris No it's not a certificate of Merit. But it took getting a lot or international level merits to get it. When you you get it you mostly realize that you are just getting started because it's so much work.
Most photographers do not understand exposure or shadow and tones. In fact as the late Ken Whitmire said. Tones is the least utilized and least understood factor in Photography.
Instead of calling him a show off I listened and spend the past 15 years studying it. You can be offended or do the same.
Thanks for your thoughts.
that really resonates with me because ever since i discovered shadows in my photography using the sunny 16 rule it completely revolutionzed how I approach photography and now all I want is to expose for the shadow.
Really knowing shadows is a game changer. My live Shadow Hacker class is this Sat on my site. It will bring at all together.
No shadows=flat as a pancake. The camera is a hammer, a blunt tool! I agree with everything else you said. In fact, why not underexpose if you’re shooting RAW? Point the lens at the sun sometimes too and get some flares, it’s not going to melt the sensor.
Yes… totally agree… thank you
Cheers so much 😊
You're the first photographer that I've subscribed to without giving it a second thought ❤
I'm actually into filmmaking and coincidentally into light and shadows photography as well 😂
Thanks. Hope you can make it to a Shadow Hackers live class. I go deeper on this there.
@Seimstudios you're welcome anytime
Thanks for the invite
I'll see how I go for time
I expose two ways: With my eyes and with my heart, corny as that may sound. If it feels right to me, it is right. It's my art, it's not perfect and that's the way it stays.
Right brain not a bad approach in art. But when you know exposure and shadow hacking you combine that right brain creativity with left brain logic and that's when you can really mast photography.
Certainly something to think about.
Digital: meter for highlights
Film: meter for midtones
Always shadows. Meter both correctly and use zones and these things invented in the very early days of digital become obsolete.
Pretty much watched every video you have done, by far, my favorite. Preach it brother! (BTW: Pictorialist is freaking awesome for those of us that understand it)
appreciate it
Even though I have analog experience, too long ago, I still make tons of mistakes. At least I could remember that exposure was a topic back in the 80s but it wasn’t as dramatic as off today. At least I do remember that I just decided to over or underexpose from what the correct metering showed me. After a while I had a feeling for it with Ilford 400. The damage with digital is you not only can change the exposure measurement method, you can change ISO and many other stuff. With this it gets impossible to learn the instinct a feeling for the exposure game. Thats why my ISO always is set to 400…like with always the same film stock….
F/2.8 to f/4 is one stop, but not double. Doubling would be 2.8 to 5.6, which is two stops. Isn’t it?
One stop, one zone, doubling the light is always a stop and a stop is always double. Come to my free shadow hackers live class on the site and I explain it more.
So 1 stop up from the zero point on a meter is double. A second stop is 4 times the light you started with etc.
Hello! Watched a few times, but no idea what you mean by "double and halve".
I tried to explain it quickly but come to one of my Shadow Hackers live classes on my site and I go deeper into this. Link in desc.
I would say I agree, exposure for shadow, BUT if your scene contains highlights that are important in the composition/image, then take those into account as well (ETTR with a live histogram can help) but I think shadows is often overlooked and most people probably expose so they are (mostly) lost at the time of capture.
Indeed. Though I have a video here on the channel explaining why ETTR is not the best method. Once you apply zones in your exposures it's unnecessary and usually results in lower quality exposures.
This is brilliant. Thank you, sir.
Glad you enjoyed it!
REALLY loved this. I thought you'd be telling me how bad I was for having my exposure comp around -2 or whatever. Looks like I'm on your point of view. And the shadow hackers? Sounds awesome! I'll be looking out.
Thanks. And yes, running down a couple zones is something I do a lot. It changes the entire game while everyone else is telling to you ETTR ;)
Next Shadow hackers is something soon...seimeffects.com/shadowhackers
Great Video, i Always underexpose by at least 0.6 stops because i hate those hdr look, for me ITS allways light and shadows and a flat hdr photo is just so boring in my opinion.
HDR can be natural as I talk about in Shadow Hackers but I hear you. And sometimes LoFi is just what an image needs.
You grabbed my attention, nice work.
Hey, thanks!
Id like to work on camera and post so i always expose to the right then bring it down to the level i want
THey always tell us that but it's not the best method. Theres a video on the channel on why we should stop using ETTR.
@Seimstudios thanks i'll check for it maybe it can change my perspective 👍
100/100, but this in not a feature in camera-AI yet...
Amen. Bro.
I expose for composition,
Without that, its a crap photo no matter what
Well yes, space, comp and line. But if you don't have your tone it still will be a lost image. You have to hit them all.
Take it off auto I shoot on 100% manual I can see what I'm getting while I adjust the aperture and shutter
I use my digital camera the same as I use my film cameras
Bracket .
Bracketing is rarely necessary and never an excuse for not understanding exposure.
Good advice, but where are your photos? Most of your audience doesn't know you. You need to give the people who don't know you a reason to take your advice.
I mean the video is full of my photos. But anyone in my audience is welcome to look at my site
Could someone explain why I can’t adjust my exposure on my xe4? I can only adjust it in priority aperture
If you cant change exposure on an XE4 you def have a mode or setting wrong.
You nailed it 👏
Appreciate it
I've been expose for the highlights all my life, because over exposed highlights cant be corrected if needed.
Yes but If you expose for shadows with zones in mind blown highlights are not a problem
@@Seimstudios You'll have to give a bit more detail about why blown highlights would not be a problem if you 'expose for shadows with zones in mind', and what exactly you have in mind. I would suggest that you're best off trying to get the actual highlights (that is, the brightest part of the scene) at 100%, either by ETTR with the histogram or by spot metering of the highlights with appropriate EC or meter calibration (or highlight mode, if you have it). That means that every part of the scene will have the biggest exposure that it can without blowing the highlights, which automatically means that your shadows are as good as they can be.
@@BobN54 These are things to join one of my Shadow Hackers live workshops for as we discuss more nuance.
This is not great advice. It’s fragmented and you left something important out. You keep referring to the iconic photographers and coffee table books but what you leave out is they shot on film and weren’t obsessing over pixels and sensors. You learn how a camera works when you use an all manual film camera. That’s what the icons did.
I cant cover the entire process in 5 minutes,. That's what I do mi live classes for. I cover that all the time on this channel since I shoot film all the time.
I have known some of the best film photographer and while yes as I say often film helps you understand photographer and slow down, very few film photographer understand the shadow and tone elements we teach on this channel.
Film shooters pixel peeps with film types and formats just like we do today with sensors. But until you learn shadow you'll be wandering.
Great advice, Gavin!!
Thanks for sharing your photography knowledge with us!!👍🫶😁💯
Thanks for your time