Yes that is what I was trying to convey in the message I just posted. The best way is to practice until you just automatically know how much to add by assessing the brightness of the sky and the bird to some extent, and how much sky is visible vs foliage, water, etc. Judy Howle Southern Exposures http://southernexposure.zenfolio.com Digital Photography Class; Resources for Photographers http://digitalphotographyclass.net From: missbirdphotos-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:missbirdphotos-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Robert Smith Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 2:35 PM To: Mississippi Bird Photos Freelists Subject: [missbirdphotos] Re: histogram Yep, good links. Arite Morris' section on exposure compensation in his digital book is pretty good. My photographic efforts made a BIG jump forward once I learned to look at a scene and "see" stops of light (or close to it) while knowing that my camera wants to make the average scene gray... Good luck with your quest! Once you master it, photography either becomes much easier or much more complicated (one or the other... and they sometimes switch places - what should be easy becomes complicated & that which was complicated becomes easy...). Robert Smith 336-339-3497 rsmithent@xxxxxxx www.photobiologist.com _____ Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2012 08:09:52 -0700 From: dr_frank_hensley@xxxxxxxxx Subject: [missbirdphotos] Re: histogram To: missbirdphotos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Thanks, Dana and Judy for the links to histogram tutorials. One thing I specifically want to learn is how to estimate exposure compensation. When I'm shooting a bird against a bright sky, I know I'll need to dial in some + compensation to over expose so I get details of the bird, but I don't know how many stops of compensation I'll need. I'd like to look at the histogram of an uncompensation shot and say to myself, that looks like I need +.6, then dial an shoot before the bird flies away. Instead, I end up guessing, shooting, and guessing again in hopes that I get lucky before the bird leaves. School is out in 3 weeks... then I'll have more time to practice. _____ From: Judy Howle <howle@xxxxxxxxxxxx> To: missbirdphotos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 9:01 AM Subject: [missbirdphotos] Re: histogram I like the pose and colors in your image, very cute! Here's a great article on histograms <http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/histograms1.htm> http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/histograms1.htm and there is a part 2. All of their articles are highly recommended by lots of photographers so check them out. Also here is a great resource for free articles and a few book chapters from Peachpit Press: Includes Lightroom 4, Photoshop and Elements 10 and 9 and I haven't looked past page 2 yet ;-) <http://tinyurl.com/7ltt4ww> http://tinyurl.com/7ltt4ww you can click on subjects on the left side so this brought up just the ones for Elements: <http://www.peachpit.com/articles/index.aspx?st=60534> http://www.peachpit.com/articles/index.aspx?st=60534 And articles on digital photography: <http://www.peachpit.com/articles/index.aspx?st=60557> http://www.peachpit.com/articles/index.aspx?st=60557 Judy Howle Southern Exposures http://southernexposure.zenfolio.com Digital Photography Class; Resources for Photographers http://digitalphotographyclass.net From: missbirdphotos-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:missbirdphotos-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Frank Hensley Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 8:21 PM To: missbirdphotos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [missbirdphotos] histogram I think I have a lot left to learn about exposure, both in the field and in post-processing. Anyone have a good tutorial on how to work with my camera's histograms, either in the field or on the computer? -Frank P.S. Attached is a shot of the male EABL of the pair raising chicks on my front porch. Love having them right outside my window!