deviations from sunny 16 in digital photography

[george013]

Those are nice shots, especially like the first and last.
Well, I suppose in the end it comes down to what gear works best for you, it's quite subjective. And for the time being getting a new camera is pretty much a theoretical question for me, cause I simply can't afford it. So the Canon works just fine...

Your camera is ok. It has everything you need for your shooting. Learn to use it.
By example with this thread you actually try to find an exposure setting for manual. There're more ways to find that. Make use of the possibilities of the camera and, very important, your improvisation.

George

[Manfred M]

Those are nice shots, especially like the first and last.
Well, I suppose in the end it comes down to what gear works best for you, it's quite subjective. And for the time being getting a new camera is pretty much a theoretical question for me, cause I simply can't afford it. So the Canon works just fine...

I think we often get to wrapped up with the gear side of things and pay too little attention to things like technique, style and experience. Some of the so-called "experts" are a problem here because they will tell you that what works for them is going to be "best practice" that everyone else should follow.

The three biggest "lies" that I have heard from street photographers are:

1. You need a tiny unobtrusive camera. I suspect that this harks back to the Henri Cartier-Bresson days where he did use a fairly small camera and hide it by covering all the shiny bits with black tape. When he started his work, not everyone carried a camera and he would have stood out. Cameras are ubiquitous, even in some of the most remote places in the world, so people really don't notice them around like they did 70 or 80 years ago.

I use a full-frame camera because I print a lot of images in larger format (A2 size). A larger sensor gives me certain advantages when playing with depth of field (shallow or wide); which bring bokeh into play as well. While "pro" lenses are much more expensive than ones aimed at the enthusiast market, they also come with wider maximum apertures.

2. You need to shoot B&W - Sometimes yes, but usually not and it depends on what the photographer is trying to achieve. B&W adds a level of abstraction to the image and that can be a very good thing if the scene needs it. This is especially true if the scene is very busy. The downside of B&W is that we loose a lot of context of the setting and in my view that is often to great a price to pay.

3. Street photography should be done with a wide angle lens - Again, it depends on what we are trying to achieve. A wide angle lens will end up bringing a lot more background into the image. If this adds to what the photographer is trying to do, then this is good advice; much like an environmental portrait. It also gives the photographer a chance to step in front of distracting elements, like other people and can help eliminate them from the shot.

On the other hand, sometimes we want less background be cause it is distracting or does not fit with photographer's vision of the shot. Sometimes the use of a long focal length eliminates distortion that we see in a wide angle shot and sometimes it can be used to give the image a more two-dimensional look (which is very much the reason we shoot that way in portraiture).

4. We need to make eye contact with the subject - again, coming from a portraiture background, this is sometimes desirable and sometimes it is not. Again, it depends what we are trying to achieve with the image.

Part of the reason I showed these particular images is that I have a mix of eye contact and no eye contact (half and half). Again each approach has a different impact on the viewer. I tend to shoot a mix of both.

5. You have to shoot with Prime lenses. This ties into point 1; prime lenses are usually physically smaller than zooms so end up being less obtrusive. While prime lenses can be sharper than zoom lenses, they also limit where you can shoot from and how you can frame your shot. Again there is no right answer, but I personally always shot with zoom lenses when I do street photography.

A technique I use when shooting with my rather large gear is something I call "hiding in plain sight". It involves spending some time (usually 30 minutes or more) in the same place. You become a fixture and people stop seeing you as a photographer with camera and see you as part of the background.

[rpcrowe]

The Subject/Title indicates that the OP wants to deviate from the Sunny 16 exposure. Asking for a conversion table is about how to stick to that exposure.

--
Odd S.

Exposure is really so easy these days in comparison to the "Dark Ages" when many photographers simply had to rely on the "Sunny 16 Rule" since cameras did tot have exposure meters and exposure meters were too expensive for many photographers.

I shot for several years without owning an exposure meter until I could finally afford a Weston Master. Funny thing is that my exposure was better relying on the Sunny 16 system than it was while I was on the beginning of a learning curve with my new exposure meter. It took me a while until I realized that this new magic tool was only giving me a suggested exposure and that I had to run the information through the computer between my ears before I could reliably get a correct exposure most of the time.

The Sunny 16 system did not only provide an approximate exposure for bright conditions at noon but, included variations for many other lighting conditions... Sunny bright, Cloudy bright and many others including variations for the brightness of the subjects photographed.

One good thing about that system is when you are shooting with a camera that has a built-in exposure meter - if the exposure is off the wall one way or another you will notice the discrepancy. I have noticed posts on this forum as well as other websites from folks who have troubles with exposure which would have been noticed if the poster could work with the Sunny 16 system...

[xpatUSA]

Discussions like these always remind me of "Actinographs" from the 1800's:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actinograph

I've posted the image here before, but the link is most interesting, IMO.

[Manfred M]

Discussions like these always remind me of "Actinographs" from the 1800's:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actinograph

I've posted the image here before, but the link is most interesting, IMO.

If I recall correctly from the last time you posted this article, these devices were aimed at users of view and field cameras these companies manufactured. Probably the exact opposite of street photography as these huge behemoths sat on huge tripods and were rather "in your face" cameras that took a long time to set up, load and shoot with.

[pschlute]

One good thing about that system is when you are shooting with a camera that has a built-in exposure meter - if the exposure is off the wall one way or another you will notice the discrepancy. I have noticed posts on this forum as well as other websites from folks who have troubles with exposure which would have been noticed if the poster could work with the Sunny 16 system...

As someone who learned photography on a camera with a basic centre weighted light meter, I very quickly learned when not to trust it. Today we have the histogram to assist us. I always advise anyone starting out in photography to use manual exposure mode first, even if they use the "green button" facility to get a base setting. understanding what exactly "one stop" exposure differential means to the picture is so incredibly useful, even if later on one uses Av or Tv exclusively.

We are back to Ted's black cat standing beside a black wall

[xpatUSA]

If I recall correctly from the last time you posted this article, these devices were aimed at users of view and field cameras these companies manufactured. Probably the exact opposite of street photography as these huge behemoths sat on huge tripods and were rather "in your face" cameras that took a long time to set up, load and shoot with.

My comment was about the determination of exposure in general, triggered by Richard's "Dark Ages", not specifically about street photography. Please pardon the off-topic post and feel free to delete it ...

[Manfred M]

My comment was about the determination of exposure in general, triggered by Richard's "Dark Ages", not specifically about street photography. Please pardon the off-topic post and feel free to delete it ...

Frankly, the whole discussion is based on a technique from the "Dark Ages". My very first camera was a single aperture, single shutter speed film camera and somehow the dynamic range of the film seemed to give me workable images, regardless of all the so called rules surrounding correct exposure.

We are dealing with a question that suggests a relatively new photographer who is not quite clear on the underlying principles of exposure and image quality. Anything that gets him on the right track will be useful. Nicely said, photographers have been "struggling" with getting the exposure right since the dawn of photography.

[Manfred M]

We are back to Ted's black cat standing beside a black wall

Or the white horse standing in front of a tall, snow covered hill? Ted won't get a lot of that, but I sure do.

[xpatUSA]

Or the white horse standing in front of a tall, snow covered hill? Ted won't get a lot of that, but I sure do.

In my youth I did, though:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uffington_White_Horse
.

[Manfred M]

In my youth I did, though:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uffington_White_Horse
.

That hill looks decidedly green.

I haven't seen that one, but clearly remember seeing the Cerne Giant while visiting Dorset.

[Pippan]

It's just quite chunky and loud. In street photography you don't want to attract a lot of attention, so having a big black box in front of your face (the swivel screen is also not ideal) that makes loud clacking noises is definitely not something desirable.

Can I suggest a way to use your 77D in the street that is so surreptitious few will realise you're taking a photo? Hang your camera on a neck strap in front of you so it's about waist level, open the swivel screen so it's angled up (so you can see it), set it to live view and shutter button focus with touch screen shutter enabled, and just touch the screen to focus on that spot and trip the shutter. This method also has the benefit of resulting in a lower point of view (well, often it's a benefit, compare your posted photo with Manfred's photo of the kids in India), which can be more appealing and personal, and more like some of the classic street photos taken with old waist-level cameras where you looked down at a large, ground glass viewfinder. Works for me (on an 80D).

[DanK]

Can I suggest a way to use your 77D in the street that is so surreptitious few will realise you're taking a photo? Hang your camera on a neck strap in front of you so it's about waist level, open the swivel screen so it's angled up (so you can see it), set it to live view and shutter button focus with touch screen shutter enabled, and just touch the screen to focus on that spot and trip the shutter. This method also has the benefit of resulting in a lower point of view (well, often it's a benefit, compare your posted photo with Manfred's photo of the kids in India), which can be more appealing and personal, and more like some of the classic street photos taken with old waist-level cameras where you looked down at a large, ground glass viewfinder. Works for me (on an 80D).

If I'm not mistaken, Vivian Meyer usually used a twin-lens reflex (some of us are old enough to remember those), which gave her the same perspective that you would get with this method. It's a very effective viewpoint for some street photography.

None of my cameras have a tilt screen, so I have never tried this myself.