BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: New Answers

Photography Question 

Gayle Cavie
 

How To Get Good Pictures of Black Dogs


 
  LISA
LISA
MINIATURE POODLE

Gayle Cavie

 
 
How can I get good pictures of black dogs? Some I have taken turn out a little washed out.


To love this question, log in above
April 29, 2002

 

Carl
  Hi! It's all about metering. When your camera sees an almost-totally-black picture, it thinks you are in a low-lighting situation and overexposes the picture. Same goes for pictures of white dogs in snow, but exact inverse problem.... It thinks you are in really intense light, and reduces exposition too much, making the photos grayish. Look for exposure compensation in your camera's manual. Hope this helps at all.


To love this comment, log in above
May 01, 2002

 

Bob Dumont
  Carl is correct. A typical "averaging" meter automatically overexposes a very dark subject like a black dog (especially in close-up) making animals like Lisa there look "washed out." If your camera permits it you'll need to UNDER-expose by a stop or so (with color negative film) to turn that medium gray fur to the rich black color you're looking for in your prints. Be careful, though, not to underexpose so much that you lose detail in the dog's fur. Experiment until you have it right!


To love this comment, log in above
May 01, 2002

 

Gayle Cavie
  Thank you very much Carl and Bob, I will try out your suggestions.
Gayle


To love this comment, log in above
May 02, 2002

 

Tracy Smith
  Hi. Another thing you can do is get an 18% gray card to use for setting your exposure. If used correctly, it allows you to accurately measure exposure in almost any situation. If you are not familiar with these cards, I'll be glad to comment further.


To love this comment, log in above
May 07, 2002

 
This old forum is now archived. Use improved Forum here

Report this Thread