Dark conditions like this scene from Seward earlier this winter is one time I can be "fooled" by the back of the camera preview.
Samantha Orchard provided me this Ask Ron question:
Do you check the in-camera histogram and/or the overexposure warning
option (blinking pixels) after you take a photograph? Or do you just look
at the image on the screen to determine if you need to use exposure
compensation, take exposure-bracketed shots, or otherwise re-adjust your
camera settings when you try the shot again?
Great question. I set my camera to blink when there are flashing highlights – a camera setting available on many cameras. Looking for “blinkies” is one of the first things I will do when evaluating an exposure as this represents lost data. If I need to, I can usually recover detail in an underexposed area, but never in an overexposed “blinker”.
But, I try to always look at the histogram making sure the “mountain” of data isn’t getting cut off by being too far to the right (overexposed), or too far to the left (underexposed).
If I don’t look at the historgram and just judge exposure by how the image on the LCD looks, I find that I will often underexpose the photo when I’m working in dark conditions, presumably because the screen appears so bright compared to my dark surroundings. Likewise, if it is really bright out I have trouble seeing the image on the back of the camera unless it is overexposed – so I find I tend to overexpose. With the histogram I get a more objective measure of exposure – one that isn’t influenced by the viewing conditions.
If you have any questions about photography / locations etc., then you might want to check out Ask Ron.
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