LizzieD60
newbie
Reged: 18/08/2008
Posts: 13
Loc: Bedford
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Hi Everyone,
Having problems with using my grey card and camera. i have a D60 and i am trying to do module two exercise 2. When i took the photographs they all came out the same and bright white. i think the shutter speed was too slow but i am struggling to use grey card. would anyone be able to help.
Thank you
Lizzie 
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Matt_Hunt
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 07/11/2005
Posts: 2277
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Hi
If the pictures are all white, this suggests massive over-exposure.
When you are photographing the card, is it filling the frame and what mode are you in i.e. manual, shutter priority etc?
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/reactivefilm/
My Blog
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LizzieD60
newbie
Reged: 18/08/2008
Posts: 13
Loc: Bedford
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It on Manual but i feel that the shutter mode is too slow but i am worried that it may effect the fianl out come
Lizzie
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Matt_Hunt
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 07/11/2005
Posts: 2277
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OK, what is the excercise here?
Do you have a tripod, you can always use that. Or, put the camera on a flat surface and then prop up the gray card in the vertical.
You should be taking an picture still with refernce to the light meter (if this is the excercise I think it is) so if the shutter speed is long, then use a smaller aperture (bigger number e.g. f22)
If you are worried about camera shake. Change the ISO on the camera to a higher value until you get a shutter speed that you hodl te camera steady at (e.g. 1/125 and the correct aperture for exposure is in the middle of the aperture range e.g. f11.
Matt
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/reactivefilm/
My Blog
Edited by Matt_Hunt (18/08/2008 16:22)
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LesR
journeyman
Reged: 25/10/2006
Posts: 99
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What shutter speed are you using for the first picture when the grey card is filling the frame?
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/les_r/
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Garry McNamara
Snr Tutor/Bongo Banjo
Reged: 16/08/2006
Posts: 2079
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Hi Lizzie, first off sorry if any of this sounds patronising but I'm going to start from the ground up as I've seen all the common mistakes and know how they can occur.
Firstly then, how are you determining whether your exposure is correct or not? I ask as many used to using the camera in various automatic and program modes are not aware of or used to establishing a correct exposure using the little bar graph you see at the bottom of the frame -
Once you've set your aperture you should adjust the shutter speed until only the 'blip' under the '0' in the middle of that graph is shown. If your pictures are coming out very light you will probably see all the blips to the right (+) of the centre mark showing. If you reduce the shutter speed (higher numbers) eventually you will see the bar move over to the centre and when correct only the central one should show.
Exercise two also demands one exposure made with a grey card. For this you need to use either spot metering, to ensure that the camera makes its reading from the card only, or move in close to the grey card to take the reading without other parts of the subject influencing the result while you take your reading.
Make sure your grey card is in the same light as your subject and that you or the camera are not casting a shadow on it.
Then with the grey card as your subject, follow the earlier steps to set a correct exposure using the meter display either in the viewfinder or, with the D60, on the LCD - which also shows that bar graph. Finally reframe to take in the original scene and take your final shot.
If you switch the camera to manual and don't set a correct exposure using the meter display the camera will use the last shutter speed or aperture set - which could also explain the over exposure.
In automatic modes, which you're not using so it won't be the problem, it's quite common to set exposure compensation and the forget it is set which can again result in under or over exposure.
Let us know if any of the solutions work and if not give us a bit more detail and we'll be right back to you,
Garry
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Learning
Ethelred the Ill-Named
Reged: 26/09/2006
Posts: 2334
Loc: Nottingham
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Working with grey cards and even Adams' zone system is absolutely essential for passing exams. However if you only want to take photogrphs then don't worry about them; they are obsolete. For exposure rely on the histogram.
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GDN
old hand
Reged: 05/02/2008
Posts: 831
Loc: Surrey
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Unfortunately one part of a module within the course requires using one Learning... 
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Gary - My Flickr Site
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Garry McNamara
Snr Tutor/Bongo Banjo
Reged: 16/08/2006
Posts: 2079
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Quote:
Working with grey cards and even Adams' zone system is absolutely essential for passing exams. However if you only want to take photogrphs then don't worry about them; they are obsolete. For exposure rely on the histogram.
Ahh yes but the Foundation is for digital and film users.
To be honest I've never known an exam refer to the grey card or the zone system - in fact at gcse, a level and degree level I've never known a photography student have an exam at all (a time constrained project but never any awkward things like questions to answer) and most certainly wouldn't know what the hell a grey card is.
It's useful for finding out that cameras aren't really that clever - which is the point here.
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Learning
Ethelred the Ill-Named
Reged: 26/09/2006
Posts: 2334
Loc: Nottingham
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Quote:
[Ahh yes but the Foundation is for digital and film users.
Couldn't film users just use a digital camera as an exposure meter?
I admit that after buying an 'expodisc' to set custom white balance I also realised that it was good for exposure as well.
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Azzi
member
Reged: 08/05/2006
Posts: 195
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The grey card approach really does work for setting exposure AND white balance - but to be honest I don`t use them in anger. Instead I have got used to using a light meter - essential when I started to use film recently. I also use it for digital as I feel more in control of the exposure when faced with tricky scenes - I reckon I get better results than relying just on the cameras meter. I`m sure others will have their own preferences.
Chris
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisnj2008/
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Garry McNamara
Snr Tutor/Bongo Banjo
Reged: 16/08/2006
Posts: 2079
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Quote:
Couldn't film users just use a digital camera as an exposure meter?
I admit that after buying an 'expodisc' to set custom white balance I also realised that it was good for exposure as well.
Yes indeed, once you had calibrated it for your film - few films are exactly what they say on the box unless they are perhaps pro films where it actually says on the box what the ISO is. You would also then have to know if the characteristic curve of your sensor is fairly close to that on your film. I know of people who use large format and a digital compact for that very reason.
I think the practical use of the grey card is to develop an eye for a neutral mid tone - that can get you out of trouble when you have a tricky scene to meter. Of course you can check the histogram but I have a feeling that the eye for a mid-tone is intuitive and fits into the creative flow, while looking at graphs takes your mind to a less creative wavelength.
On a shoot I normally take one reading at the outset, with an incident meter, and then get on being intuitive and hopefully creative - but I can only do that because I spent a while learning and then forgetting to consciously use all this stuff. I really think you do amazing things in this life when you stop thinking about them.
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Rhys
Sasquatch
Reged: 15/01/2004
Posts: 3199
Loc: York (home of the speedbump)
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Quote:
To be honest I've never known an exam refer to the grey card or the zone system - in fact at gcse, a level and degree level I've never known a photography student have an exam at all (a time constrained project but never any awkward things like questions to answer) and most certainly wouldn't know what the hell a grey card is.
Never took written exams for my photography degree. We all kept a 'Work-book' which is a very useful thing to have and the lecturers often had a look at these to see how we thought and what influences we had at any time. Other than that is was about 75% project work and basically we had to just get on with it from writing own briefs to putting together the final exhibition. The only written work was in the form of a dissertation.
We were taught the zone system in our foundation course and found it useful in printing but never really used it after that.
As an aside, I was taught in the pre-digital era - waiting 5 minutes for a test strip to come out of the dry to dry colour processor made for quite a bit of time watching telly (we had a little room where the machine came out of the darkroom - it contained some comfy chairs and a telly) 
If you don't have access to a grey card, the back of your hand can give an approximate 18% reference for exposure measurements - don't think it would work for colour balance though  .
Sorry for the hi-jack folks, this thread brought back some memories 
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NRIPN (Officially Nuts..)
RGMP.co.uk (My Website.. well early stages anyway)
Benchinistas.org.uk The home of Benchism
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