Expose to the Right

Hans Peter Schaub has been a photographer for many years, as well as a working editor for Nature Foto Magazin. Today, Schaub is back to share more insider tips and techniques with FotoTV viewers on his favorite subject, nature photography.

One main focal point of today's interview and demonstration is digital photography and how to correctly use the camera’s histogram to decisively control the exposure. This is done by viewing the histogram which represents the tonal value of the photo being taken and it also gives very clear information about the exposure of the image overall.

Schaub details the necessary steps to ensure proper use of the histogram function. Generally, as Schaub points out "One could assume, with enough experience and sensible presumptions, a digital camera is well capable of representing 6 aperture increments between the brightest and the darkest spots on the histogram."

As a rule Schaub keeps the histogram in view so that he may adjust the ridges or mountainous regions of the histogram, therefore ensuring correct exposure, essential when scaling an image either up or down. Most noticeable however, is scaling a smaller image up to result in a larger image. The loss of quality is greatly visible.

Schaub further goes on to demonstrate different situations how to correct or modify the histogram so the results are exactly what were intended. The histogram or the judging of the histogram has achieved special significance in the photography world for what has now been coined, 'Expose to the right.'