Page 74 - (DK) Advanced Photography Guide
P. 74

72         EXPLAINING | CREATIVE EXPOSURE


           CREATIVE EXPOSURE



           To achieve the best results, a photographer      of detail they capture in the shadows and
           needs to be able to visualize what the           highlights. A camera that can retain the
           finished photo will look like. In order to do    maximum detail in both is said to have a
           this, a clear understanding of precisely how     high dynamic range, while a camera with low
           a camera records the tonal range of a scene      dynamic range will struggle to show detail in
           is needed. Cameras differ in the amount          anything but the flattest low-contrast light.



            TONAL RANGE

           A photograph is essentially a patchwork of dots   SHADOWS      MIDTONES              HIGHLIGHTS
           (pixels) of different levels of brightness that, when
           seen from a distance, creates a recognizable image.   0%          18%                     100%
           The darkest and lightest pixels define the start
           and end points of the image’s tonal range. The
           widest possible tonal range would stretch from
           the black of the deepest shadows to the white in
           the brightest highlights, but this is rarely seen in   LOW-KEY EXPOSURE  HIGH-KEY EXPOSURE
           practice. How a photograph is exposed determines
           its tonal range, but you can also influence it with   ▲ Tones range from shadows to midtones and then highlights, all
           careful lighting, as well as by applying in-camera   determined by reflectivity. Black reflects no light at all, midtones
           or post-production techniques.          are about 18% reflective, and pure white is 100% reflective.


                        LOW-KEY EXPOSURE                                HIGH-KEY EXPOSURE
























           ▲ A photo with mainly dark tones is said to be low-key. You    ▲ A high-key photo is dominated by light tones, with very few
           can underexpose an image to make it low-key, but it is better    dark tones, or none at all. Overexposure will create a high-key
           to use just one light source in combination with a snoot or grid   image, but a true high-key exposure is one in which the brightness
           (see p.27) to direct where the light falls.     of the shadows has been increased by using additional lighting.







   US_072-073_Understand_CreativeExposure.indd   72                                                  05/02/2018   14:35
   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79