A reflected light reading will never be as accurate as an incident light reading. There are more than likely quite a few people that will immediately question the accuracy of the camera used for this article, or if a consumer level camera was used. The sample photos were taken with a Canon 1Ds Mark III that has been calibrated by Canon Professional Services and the images were only altered for white balance. I created this exercise exactly as the procedure should be done. This is the reality of in camera meters, and this is the cheapest, and easiest way to overcome exposure variances (when your intention is proper exposure).

There are many gray cards available on the market today ranging from only a few dollars to prices in the hundreds. The gray card used for this article is made of cardboard, manufactured by Delta and usually costs between two and ten dollars depending on where you buy it.

Note: The viewfinder image used is not the viewfinder of the Canon 1Ds Mark III , but is a digitally modified generic image for the sake of simplicity.

With the camera in manual mode, and the meter set for proper exposure the image is clearly underexposed. There are times when this will work to your advantage for mood and ambiance but there are also times when poor exposure will ruin an otherwise incredible image. (For the record, I do not claim this is an incredible image.)

In the case of this image there are two factors playing against you as a photographer. First off, color will always reflect different amounts of light as color changes. Color is after all, the result of light that was not absorbed by an object being reflected from that object. Secondly, the light reflecting in the glass has a very dramatic effect on the cameras exposure reading. (This is why automotive images will be underexposed very often.)

There is a right and wrong way to do this, in the photo above we are clearly illustrating the wrong way. The idea is to have nothing but gray card in the frame while you are metering, as previously stated, any extra color will reflect light other than the 18% gray. (This includes fingers.) As advanced as today’s cameras are, the metering systems are still referring to the traditional 18% gray. Gray cards are based on 18% gray, that’s why they work.

When properly placed, the gray card should fill the entire frame. In our example you see the meter is now measuring underexposed. (Don’t forget, this only works in manual mode.) While the gray card is filling the viewfinder correct your exposure settings to properly expose the gray card according to the cameras light meter. This will change again when you remove the gray card, but make sure you leave the settings as they are or the process will have to be started all over again.

Take note that the image is properly exposed but the meter is reading overexposure. By using the gray card, you are now taking an incident light reading (the light falling on your subject) as opposed to a reflected light reading (the light coming off of your subject). Keep in mind, proper exposure will change slightly as you move around your subject and it would be wise to meter again if you wander far from your original angle.

One last important factor to remember, as the sun moves throughout the day your exposure will also change, remember to meter every half hour or so if you are shooting for long periods of time.

Have you ever used a gray card? What were your experiences? Please share with us in the comments, and Happy Shooting!

If you are an adventurous shooter, like myself, you may want to push the envelope a little. Just as the sun goes below the horizon (and just before it comes up) there is a supreme 15–30 minutes of light that is extremely soft, yet surprisingly vivid. If you are someone who has an affinity for shooting automobiles this is an especially important time of day for you. When white balanced properly, you can make a great after sunset shot look like it was produced in the studio. Even though this light is amazing, there generally isn’t a lot of it so make sure you practice a little self discipline and bring your tripod.

The following image was produced by George Menge. Capture was as the sun was going below the horizon on a slightly overcast day. ƒ8, 1 second, ISO 100, Nikon D80, Erie Canal Guard Gate 2, Waterford NY.

Our specific example is on a slightly overcast day resulting in extremely soft shadows. On a sunny day the light will be golden yellow with very long shadows. The light at this time of day is always more diffuse. Highlights on automobiles are always much more pleasing during these hours.

Special note: It has come to my attention that the tugboat pictured here, Frances Turecamo, as well as the barge it tows are both in severe jeopardy. The tug and its barge are nothing short of historical landmarks and need help to be protected. The article was brought to my attention by Fred of Tug 44, an independent niche documentary photographer and tugboat enthusiast.

Happy Shooting!

Image © George Menge

Let us first take a look at some of the factors that make this so difficult.

1. At this time, no venue that I have been to, allows you to use a flash.
2. The light is constantly changing.
3. Most venues only allow you to shoot for the first three songs.
4. Musicians move fast, and you have no light for high shutter speeds.
5. Usually you are stuck in the pit, dealing with screaming, flailing crowds.
6. There is no time to think about your shot.
7. Timing is key, you have to be on the trigger as the musicians pause their motion.

No flash means a high ISO speed and low shutter speed to compensate, usually 800 or 1600 (CCD sensor cameras don’t do well with high ISO speeds) and a grainy final product. The odds are, with the current technology, you wont be making posters or double page spreads out of concert images.

If you use an automatic mode you will severely decrease you chances of getting the shot you want, so I highly suggest working in manual. The automatic modes adjust their settings for every shot you take and with the light changing (sometimes every second) your exposure settings will change as well. For example, if the singer has a tungsten spotlight on him that suddenly switches to a color, and the lights behind him come on, your camera will instantly try to correct the exposure of the subject by adjusting to a longer shutter speed. This will highly over expose the background lighting and create motion blur of the subject… and you just lost your shot.

When a photographer has just three songs to complete the assignment, he or she has to determine the exposure as fast as possible. In order to freeze the motion of the show, I will usually start with a base of ISO 800, ƒ3.5, and 1/200th of a second. At The House Of Blues in Las Vegas for The Great Pit Ball benefit concert, the camera was struggling. One would think a venue like The House Of Blues would have better lighting, but it just doesn’t. (which doesn’t matter if your just there to see the show). During the show my settings were ISO 1600, ƒ2.8, and 1/60th of a second (with image stabilization on).

White balance, the other concert nightmare. Behind all of those fancy colored filters is either white or tungsten light. In my experience some cool results have come from shooting in daylight mode under these tungsten lamps, however most stage lamps are of tungsten balance. Always use either the tungsten or daylight setting for consistency, you can always tweak the RAW file later and synchronize the rest.

Once you have an acceptable shutter speed and white balance, bring your discipline to the table and get ready to rock. The hardest part is capturing the moment where the musicians aren’t moving, this moment lasts only fractions of a second, and you have to predict it. (Hint: Some of the best shots come from high points in the song where the singer is carrying a long note.)

This is the only situation where I will work my fingers to death changing which focus point I use. Since my subjects are in constant motion, the focus mode of the 1Ds Mark III is set to AI Servo. Your drive mode should be set to the fastest frame rate possible (5 fps in my case), if you have a gentle enough touch, you can take one shot at a time in this mode anyway. Compose, wait for the moment, depress the shutter and hold until you think you have the shot. Do not look at your LCD after you have a good exposure number, you don’t have time for that, recompose and go for the next moment. By the time you are here… the first song is over, two songs left to get the shot you want.

There is no using a tripod or monopod in larger venues, time to turn yourself into a monument of steadiness. Chances are, if your like me, you are breaking the hell out of the “shutter speed rule of thumb” at this point. Steady yourself, put your dominant foot forward, lean against something, lock one of your elbows, ANYTHING to make your body more steady. If you are close enough to the stage, rest your camera or lens on something and fire like crazy.

In some smaller venues, you may be allowed to use a tripod or a monopod but considering the motion of your subjects you will still have to be conscious of your timing. For film, experiment with high ISO films to see what you like, Ilford Delta 3200 for example. Shoot sharp and have fun.

Happy shooting!

Your telephoto lens isn’t defective, there is just a rule that is rarely taught anymore in the age of digital, and most people simply say, “Just use your tripod.” and it will be better. In most cases it will be better, but it isn’t always necessary.  The inverse shutter speed rule for handheld photography is designed around traditional film SLRs which have no crop factor like many of todays D-SLRs, in other words; unless you are using a full frame D-SLR, you will have to do some math.

The rule states: When shooting handheld in natural light, one should never shoot at a shutter speed slower than the inverse of the desired focal length.

At times the person I am explaining this to is an engineer and they simply reply, “OK” and walk away. For those of us that don’t design jet engines, there is explanation required.  So, what it means is simply this: if you are outdoors and shooting a focal length of 100 mm (D-SLR users must do the math for their crop factor; e.g. A 1.6x crop factor camera will show 62.5 mm and be at a real focal length of 100 mm), you should never shoot a shutter speed slower than 1/100th of a second.

Sometimes you will be in a situation where there is not the luxury of directly matching numbers, for example if you have a 17-40 mm wide angle lens set at 17 mm, there is no 1/17th of a second shutter speed. In these situations it is always best to round up (sorry, more math) to the next fastest shutter speed. In the case of our 17 mm scenario, your lowest handheld shutter speed should be 1/20th of a second. (17 mm on a 1.6x crop factor body is actually 27.2 mm, and should therefor be shot at 1/30th of a second or faster.)

This is very basic high school physics in action, if you remember the principles of levers and fulcrums. When a lever is placed on a fulcrum at the center, the two end points of the lever will move the same distance when force is applied. When you slide the lever to one side and apply force to the short end, the long end moves a much greater distance. When you twitch and your camera is set to 17 mm, the lens element farthest from the film plane moves much less than when the same twitch is applied at 300 mm. (when at 300 mm, never shoot slower than 1/300th of a second and do the math if you are using a D-SLR with a crop factor.)

The only time when this rule can be mildly bent, is when using Image Stabilized lenses. In the case of image stabilized lenses, I will never suggest pushing it to the limit of the IS, instead try breaking the rule by 1 ƒ-stop instead of 3 ƒ-stops.

Happy Shooting!