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Histogramology Dick Van DYKE
Teach me all you know about using a histogram effectively and the internets is yours...
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Camera-Specific Properties:Equipment MakeSONYCamera ModelDSC-W7Camera SoftwarePicasa 3.0Maximum Lens Aperturef/2.8Image-Specific Properties:Horizontal Resolution72 dpiVertical Resolution72 dpiImage Created2008:03:18 13:54:03RenderingNormalExposure ModeAutoWhite BalanceAutoScene Capture TypeStandardContrastNormalSaturationNormalSharpnessNormalUnique Image ID0e684249a13fb4b7560ea9616dee6d4cExposure Time1/640 secF-Numberf/6.3Exposure ProgramNormal ProgramISO Speed Rating100Exposure Bias0 EVMetering ModePatternLight SourceUnknownFlashNo Flash, CompulsoryFocal Length10.70 mmColor Space InformationUncalibratedImage Width450Image Height600
>> Anonymous
You want it to be close to level, like a flatline when someone dies. That's it.
>> Dick Van DYKE
No camel HUMPS?
>> Anonymous
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oh hay look what google found
>> fence !!POey2hdozCZ
it's easy. the histogram is just a graph of the amount of pixels that are at a certain brightness. a big spike means you have a lot of pixels at that value. flatline means there's no pixels at that value. you have three sliders. the middle slider effectively controls brightness. the outer two sliders control contrast, by setting what value you want to be 0 0 0 (black) and what value you want to be 255 255 255 (white). move the right slider to the point right where the histogram goes flat. do the same for the left. you now have good contrast. move them too far towards the center and you start clipping values.

if you adjust for all channels at once, you get overall contrast adjustment. if you adjust one channel by itself, you get fine tuned color balance. you can also tune color balance by using the black, grey and white eyedroppers to set what shades you want to be black, grey and white respectively.

once you try it, it's very simple.
>> Anonymous
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>>161992
In photoshop that is.

<-- This is the histogram for the OP picture. This means that the picture would technically benefit from more dark areas and more light areas.
>> Anonymous
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>>162016
This means that the picture is dull. In photoshop and other programs, you can fix this to an extent by changing the curves or levels. I've increased the dark and light areas- ie increased the contrast.
>> Anonymous
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>>162022
This is the result. A small improvement.
>> Anonymous
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>>162023
The new picture.

Camera-Specific Properties:Equipment MakeSONYCamera ModelDSC-W7Camera SoftwarePicasa 3.0Maximum Lens Aperturef/2.8Image-Specific Properties:Image Created2008:03:18 13:54:03RenderingNormalExposure ModeAutoWhite BalanceAutoScene Capture TypeStandardContrastNormalSaturationNormalSharpnessNormalUnique Image ID0e684249a13fb4b7560ea9616dee6d4cExposure Time1/640 secF-Numberf/6.3Exposure ProgramNormal ProgramISO Speed Rating100Exposure Bias0 EVMetering ModePatternLight SourceUnknownFlashNo FlashFocal Length10.70 mmColor Space InformationUncalibratedImage Width450Image Height600
>> Anonymous
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>>162024
Of course, this is just a general guideline. Good pictures may or may not have a perfect histogram.
>> Anonymous
>>162024
The new picture hurts my eyes but thanks for the demo, real interesting.
>> Anonymous
>>162028
Yep, I realize that it's a little too contrasty.
>> Anonymous
I would acctually suggest reading Ken Rockwells explanation of Histograms, for all his faults, he does a great job of explaining them in simple terms.
>> Anonymous
There's no 'what should a histogram look like' guideline, but only a 'what it shouldn't look like' - and that is data points hitting either the left or right hand edges (which means lost info).

If you're shooting raw, aim to have the entire histogram fit within its bounds - and play around with contrast and levels in PP. If you're shooting jpg, optimally you'd want the histogram to stretch as far as possible to the left and right and edges.

People's faces most be exposed close to neutral luminosity - ideally a camel's hump smack dab in the middle of the histogram. If you adjust exposure more than a stop on faces/skins, skintones generally lose their colour gradations and end up looking shit. Especially true of amateurs that insist on shooting raw and make a habit of adjusting exposure in PP.


I recommend Ron Reznick's ebook - Digital Acquisition and Post Processing Techniques. Long title, but that just means your torrent searches are more accurate (hint hint).
>> Anonymous
>There's no 'what should a histogram look like guideline

>If you're shooting raw, aim to have the entire histogram fit within its bounds

>If you're shooting jpg, optimally you'd want the histogram to stretch as far as possible to the left and right and edges.

>ideally a camel's hump smack dab in the middle of the histogram.


lol