Steve'sDigicams

fresh · Dec 31, 2003, 8:52 AM

when shooting in black and white, I can get the foreground subject nice and focused with good contrast, but it seems that the background is getting totally washed out. anyone have any ideas on how I could correct this?

videobruce · Dec 31, 2003, 10:03 AM

If you take the same shot in color is it ok?
What are the distances between near and far within the frame?
Indoors or outdoors?

fresh · Dec 31, 2003, 3:34 PM

shooting outdoors, subject about 6 feet away. it happened when I was shooting with the sky in the background as well (in color)

elied · Jan 1, 2004, 6:41 AM

Depth of Field (DOF), the area in focus from near to far, is controlled by two factors - focal length of the lens and aperature. At 28mm/f2.8 everything from two meters to infinity is in focus; at 200mm/f9.5 DOF is much less, although still much more than the same settings would produce in a 35mm film camera. Moreover you must remember that digital cameras capture a somewhat limited "dynamic range", the range of tones from black to white in the scene, so if you are photographing a dark or shadowed object against a bright sky it may well be beyond the camera's ability. The rule in digital is to expose for the brightest area (the histogram is near the right side of the scale without hitting it). Often areas that seem too dark can be successfully lightened in a photo-editing program. Even better (sometimes) is to pop up the flash. Advanced techniques involve using RAW format or combining multiple exposures.

So you see, we really need more info about what you wanted to photograph and what camera settings you used.

Dec 31, 2003, 8:52 AM	#1
fresh Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 15	dimage 7hi B&W issue when shooting in black and white, I can get the foreground subject nice and focused with good contrast, but it seems that the background is getting totally washed out. anyone have any ideas on how I could correct this?

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Dec 31, 2003, 10:03 AM	#2
videobruce Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 178	If you take the same shot in color is it ok? What are the distances between near and far within the frame? Indoors or outdoors?

Dec 31, 2003, 3:34 PM	#3
fresh Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 15	shooting outdoors, subject about 6 feet away. it happened when I was shooting with the sky in the background as well (in color)

Jan 1, 2004, 6:41 AM	#4
elied Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 9	Depth of Field (DOF), the area in focus from near to far, is controlled by two factors - focal length of the lens and aperature. At 28mm/f2.8 everything from two meters to infinity is in focus; at 200mm/f9.5 DOF is much less, although still much more than the same settings would produce in a 35mm film camera. Moreover you must remember that digital cameras capture a somewhat limited "dynamic range", the range of tones from black to white in the scene, so if you are photographing a dark or shadowed object against a bright sky it may well be beyond the camera's ability. The rule in digital is to expose for the brightest area (the histogram is near the right side of the scale without hitting it). Often areas that seem too dark can be successfully lightened in a photo-editing program. Even better (sometimes) is to pop up the flash. Advanced techniques involve using RAW format or combining multiple exposures. So you see, we really need more info about what you wanted to photograph and what camera settings you used.