AboutDavid Silver Expertise I'm an expert on all types of antique, classic, and contemporary cameras, as well as the general history of photography. Everything from ancient box cameras to modern single-lens-reflex; from simple Kodaks to sophisticated Leica and Nikon; from glass plates and roll film to movie and 35mm. I can identify and appraise them, explain how they work, and offer insights on their restoration and care. I can also provide historical background on vintage cameras and equipment, and guidelines on their purchase and sale.
Experience I've been a professional photographer and a student of the history of photography for nearly 30 years. During that time my collection of vintage cameras and photographic paraphernalia has grown beyond 2000 significant pieces. I've published nearly 70 articles in the field, including 16 in the popular "Buying Classic Cameras" series for PHOTO SHOPPER MAGAZINE from 1995 to 1997, I'm currently a contributing editor for CAMERA SHOPPER MAGAZINE and McKEOWN'S PRICE GUIDE TO ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC CAMERAS, and I've written numerous entries for WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA. Portions of my collection have been displayed in museums and special exhibits in the past two decades, and many of the items were photographed as illustrations for books. In 1985 I founded the International Photographic Historical Organization (InPHO), which eventually evolved into its intended purpose as the best first resource for information on the history of photography. I'm also a founding member of several e-mail forums dedicated to specialized areas of photography, and I'm the moderator of the Internet Directory of Camera Collectors (IDCC), which remains the largest and most successful such group in the world. For more information about the International Photographic Historical Organization and its many services, please visit its web pages at:
Expert: David Silver Date: 7/7/2006 Subject: underexposure?
Question Hi David, I have rediscovered photography after keeping my Nikon FE in the closet for many years... I had it cleaned etc.. so I can assume that it is functioning well. I am really into street photography in black and white, and currently using 400asa. For now I have decided to only adjust the aperture and keep the shutter speed in automatic, as to keep the variables as less as possible until I get better... the main problem that I seem to have is that 60% of my pics dont have much saturation and contrast... (I use an orange filter by the way, hoping to get better contrast. I think the are what you call underexposed? So I would assume that I should increase my F/stops right? but if I am in Auto mode for the shutter speed won't the camera just balance it out anyway? I have other pics that are a really amazing contrast... what am I doing wrong and what should I look out for?
thanks!
Answer
Hello,
First of all, if you are mostly shooting street scenes, shutter speed is actually more important than aperture. I think a better strategy, if you can set one of your cameras this way, is to choose a good speed for stopping most action (I think 1/125 is about right), and let the camera choose the aperture automatically.
Second, the orange filter is excellent for improving contrast in most ideal situations, such as landscape work, but is inconsistent in a moving environment like your street scenes. This is especially true in darker scenes, where the orange filter just robs some of your valuable illumination without adding any benefit! I feel a polarizing filter is much better in these situations because you can use it to specifically eliminate only the "bad" light that hazes the exposure.
Third, in ideal lighting a "saturated" photograph is actually slighty under-exposed, not over-exposed, and then the enlarged print is over-exposed to compensate. This creates richer dark portions in the picture with highlights that jump out, true saturation, but sometimes with a loss of contrast. For improved contrast we slightly over-expose the picture, then the enlarged print is slightly under-exposed to compensate. This creates very bright light portions of the image with well defined contrast against the darks, but sometimes with a loss of saturation. Contrast and saturation are not the same! A perfect exposure under perfect lighting conditions and then printed perfectly will always provide the BEST contrast AND saturation for that particular shot, but we rarely have such perfection! So when we want a picture to be more moody or emotional, we go for more saturation. When we want a picture to have the best clarity and sharpness, we go for contrast.
To control contrast and saturation you must control the quality of the light, not just the amount of light, and the shutter and aperture alone cannot do this. Use the shutter to ideally stop the action with a speed around 1/125, trust the camera to choose the correct aperture for the amount of illumination, and try a polarizing filter instead of an orange filter to change the quality of the light. I believe this will help you get far better results!
