Photo How To

The first step for capturing breathtaking images in the field is analyzing light intensity and direction to determine the necessary settings for achieving a balanced exposure. One foolproof method for accomplishing this task involves using your camera's histogram to get the light right every time without time-wasting experimentation.

Today's tutorial with instructor Alex White covers all the basics by explaining what the histogram is, how it works, and simple methods for taking advantage of this straightforward tool to eliminate unnecessary guesswork. It all happens in the next 12 minutes, and then you'll want to add this technique to your everyday workflow.

You won't be left out in the cold if the camera you use doesn't feature a live-view histogram because White walks you through the simple steps for a quick workaround. He also demonstrates how to make an exposure bracket of multiple images, each at a slightly different exposure, in situations where you can't capture all a scene's dynamic range in a single shot. Then simply follow his straightforward instructions for merging these photos in Lightroom.

White explains the game-changing concept like this: "The histogram is basically a representation of every pixel in your scene and the light level of those pixels." Everything on the far left of the graphic is pure black with no detail at all; conversely, what you see on the far right represents pure white where there's also no detail to recover.

The lesson includes real-world examples of what White considers photos with good and bad exposures so you'll understand the process that he recommends. In short, you'll learn why the histogram should be one of your best friends if your goal is to avoid blown-out highlights, crushed shadows, and improperly exposed midtones.

There's also an important discussion of how the meter in your camera works to determine an accurate exposure of "average" subjects; namely, those with an overall value of 18% gray. Unfortunately, many complex landscape scenes have a wide-range of tones that simply don't represent a mix that could be deemed as average. And this is where the easy-to-interpret histogram comes into play. Then White explains how to move forward when working without a live-view histogram.

So what do you do in "impossible" situations where the histogram doesn’t get you where you need to be for capturing a balanced image in a single shot? This ia when the aforementioned exposure-bracketing technique is required, and White demonstrates how to capture the necessary images and stitch them together to create a perfect result.

There are many more behind-the-scenes shooting and post-processing videos like this one on White's instructional YouTube channel.

And don't miss the eye-opening tutorial we featured recently with another Adobe expert who demonstrates several "must know" image-editing tricks that will streamline your Lightroom workflow while delivering very impressive photographs.