FORGET metering modes, do this instead for perfect exposure!

Summary

In this video, the host offers a $100 discount on their Photoshop course for landscape photographers during Black Friday. They discuss various camera metering modes, emphasizing that for landscape photography, these modes are less critical as photographers can manually adjust exposure to achieve the right balance. The host demonstrates how to get perfect exposure in aperture priority and manual modes, using exposure compensation and histograms. They also touch on advanced techniques like luminosity masks and the importance of not clipping highlights. The video concludes with a teaser for a tutorial on manual mode exposure and a plug for the host's editing course and eBooks on composition.

Takeaways

• 🎥 The instructor is offering a $100 discount on their Photoshop course for landscape photographers due to Black Friday.
• 📚 The course covers both manual and aperture priority exposure techniques, emphasizing why traditional metering modes are less relevant in landscape photography.
• 📸 The script explains different camera metering modes: Multi, Center, Spot, Entire screen average, and Highlights, and how they affect exposure.
• 🔄 The instructor demonstrates how to adjust exposure compensation in aperture priority mode, affecting shutter speed, and in shutter speed priority, affecting aperture.
• 🚫 The use of 'Separate Stripes' is highlighted as a method to avoid blowing out highlights, with a recommendation to set it to 100 to ensure proper exposure.
• 📊 The importance of the histogram in achieving the right exposure without clipping highlights is discussed.
• 🌄 The concept of 'exposing to the right' in the histogram is introduced as a technique to maximize image quality in landscape photography.
• 📷 For different types of photography like wildlife, metering mode can be significant, but for landscapes, photographers usually have time to set up for correct exposure.
• 🌅 The video includes a practical demonstration of adjusting exposure in different lighting conditions, including a sunny scene and a winter sunrise.
• 🛠️ The instructor mentions using Photoshop for editing, including techniques like luminosity masks and focal stacking, and refers to a course covering these techniques in depth.
• 📚 Two eBooks on composition in landscape photography are mentioned, with a link provided in the video description for interested viewers.
• 📧 A newsletter subscription is offered for updates on new workshops and further information on composition and photo editing techniques.

Q & A

What is the current discount offer mentioned in the video for the Photoshop course?

The video mentions a $100 off discount for the Photoshop course due to the Black Friday season.

What does the instructor plan to teach in the video?

The instructor plans to teach how to achieve a perfect exposure in both manual and aperture priority modes and why traditional metering with a camera is less relevant in landscape photography.

What are the different metering modes discussed in the video?

The video discusses five metering modes: Multi, Center, Spot, Entire screen average, and Highlights.

How does the instructor explain the use of exposure compensation in aperture priority mode?

In aperture priority mode, the instructor explains that you can adjust the exposure compensation wheel to get a brighter or darker exposure, which changes the shutter speed while keeping the ISO and aperture locked.

What is the purpose of using separate stripes in photography as mentioned in the video?

The separate stripes help to ensure that the highlights are not blown out. If the exposure goes beyond the separate stripes, it indicates that the highlights are being clipped or blown.

Why does the instructor recommend exposing to the right in the histogram when shooting landscapes?

Exposing to the right in the histogram helps to avoid underexposing the photo, and it allows for a cleaner image with less noise when adjusted in post-processing software like Photoshop or Lightroom.

What technique does the instructor suggest for combining two exposures in Photoshop to avoid overexposure?

The instructor suggests using Luminosity masks in Photoshop to combine a properly exposed image with one that is slightly overexposed, thus preventing any part of the photo from being overexposed.

What is the instructor's approach to editing photos, as mentioned in the video?

The instructor mentions using a Photoshop course to share various editing techniques, including Luminosity masking, focal stacking, adding glow and atmosphere, and cleaning up photos, which are based on the editing algorithm of Camera Raw, which is also used in Lightroom.

What are the instructor's recommendations for capturing long exposure water streaks in landscape photography?

The instructor recommends using a slow shutter speed to capture the movement of water as waves come crashing in and retreat back into the ocean, creating long exposure streaks.

Why does the instructor prefer manual mode when photographing waves?

The instructor prefers manual mode for photographing waves to maintain a consistent shutter speed, as the camera's light meter in aperture priority mode would adjust the shutter speed due to the changing light conditions caused by the foam on the waves.

What settings does the instructor use for a specific photo of waves in the video?

For the specific photo of waves, the instructor uses ISO 100, an aperture of F14 (previously F13), and a shutter speed of 0.4 seconds in manual mode.