BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: Traditional Film Photography

Integrated-reading

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June 24, 2007

No one has taken the time to answere so I will try maybe I can help.

Keep in mind that in portraiture we generally want to expose to record detail in both highlight and shadow. Sometimes we can’t because the lighting range is excessive. When the range is extreme, our images will be rendered with some loss of detail. Gone will be features like skin texture, freckles, furrows, dimples and the like. Sometimes we can’t tolerate this so we must consider moving away from direct sunlight or using fill flash or reflectors. The idea of the flash and/or reflectors is to brighten the shadows; we want them set to a lighting level that is only one or two (maybe three) stops weaker than sunlit forehead.

Now let’s look at your reading: The f/2 reading is likely taken from the deepest facial shadow. The f/16 reading was likely taken from the forehead i.e. direct sunlit face (highlight). Thus you measured a 6/f stop range, it spans f/16 – f/11 – f/8 – f/5.6 - f/4 – f/2.8 – f/2. This is a constrasy scene, typical of direct sun. The middle point is f/5.6.

So to which value do we set our aperture? Consider that the meter knows nothing about skin tone. Its chip logic requires it to render a middle gray tone “battleship gray”. This tone is known in some circles as zone 5. Most agree, fair skin is best if rendered at zone 6, one shade (stop) lighter. The reading taken from the sunlit skin is f/16. Setting our camera here renders this skin at zone 5, too dark. We open up one f/stop to f/11 and expose. This places the skin at zone 6. Some people with darker textures are best rendered at zone 5, for these subjects we exposure at f/16 or comprise ½ stop and expose halfway between f/16 and f/11. Now the shadows will go dark. They will be devoid of detail. Better this than have the highlights go mundane. Setting the aperture in the middle of the range at f/5.6 will likely cause a drop out of detail in both the highlights and shadows.

All the about is based on my guess regarding your metering method. Thus you must consider all this as marginal technical advice.

Best of luck,
Alan Marcus
ammarcus@earthlink.net

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June 27, 2007