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PGY 2401C PHOTOGRAPHY I
EXPOSURES FOR IMAGES WITH HIGH TONAL RANGE
This text is chiefly concerned with helping you make better exposures. In a high tonal range image, such as white subject and white background and both showing some differences in texture or surface quality, the tonal range is often so extreme that no film can completely record it. With a manually adjustable camera and a through-the-lens meter, select a film with a slow speed such as: Kodak Panatomic-X (ISO 32), Kodak Plus-X (ISO 125), Ilford Pan F (ISO 32), or Ilford FP4 (ISO 100). A film with a speed in the range of ISO 200 would work fine as well. A handheld exposure meter is better in that it allows for readings of individual parts of your subject.
To record detail in the image, take an overall meter reading and then give one or two f/stops more exposure than the meter indicates. For example, if your meter indicates an exposure of 1/500 sec. at f/11, use 1/500 sec. at f/8 or 1/250 sec. at f/11.
Remember, an exposure meter wants to make everything in the image a nice, dull medium grey – a disastrous prospect when you want to capture the bright white of this subject and background. One way to avoid the “grey blues” is to take your meter readings from a Kodak 18% Grey Card. This card provides a surface of average reflectance for your meter to read. An alternative is to take a reading from the palm of your hand and then open up one stop from this reading.
One other way to shoot your images is to try setting the film-speed dial at half the actual film speed. This will compensate for the deceptive brightness of the subject. For a film-speed of ISO 200, for example, set the dial at ISO 100 – effectively overexposing the film by one stop. Remember that any time you halve the film speed, it is that same as adding an extra stop of exposure.
One way to conquer exposure difficulties is to use fill-in lighting. By exposing for the background (provided it is more textured then a foreground object) and using flash to illuminate other foreground subjects, you can create a more pleasing balance between the two. Fill-in lighting looks most natural when the filled area is one or two stops darker than the background. If you use built-in flash fill-in, it may provide the right balance of flash-to-sunlight –natural light automatically.
You can also exploit lighting direction for dramatic impact. A subject that is backlighted, or sidelighted has a more three-dimensional appearance. Use a long lens hood or cup your hand over the top of the lens to prevent lens flare and false meter readings.
Search for compositions and designs emphasized by elements of simplicity, and move in close to your subject to fill the viewfinder. Try to arrange your compositions with strong leading lines that lure the viewer’s eye to a sudden visual surprise – an unexpected interesting shape.
Black-and-white photography sometimes requires the use of filters. With a light yellow (no.8) or deep yellow (no.15) filter, you can pick up more contrast, bring out some detail, and darken shadows. This effect will increase when you replace the yellow filter with an orange (no.21) filter. If you go all the way to a red filter (no.25), you will end up with contrasty images.
Try these techniques for taking pictures of high tonal range subjects.
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