In last couple of years,I’ve made several great friends who work in Photo Labs. When asked about the biggest mistake they see every day; the response is always the same. They usually answer after a long sigh, "These people just don't understand light."

Remember: all cameras average the existing light. What that means is, just because you can see it . . . doesn't mean the camera can. The human eye is far more sophisticated than the most expensive camera money can buy. If . . . for example, you stand someone in front of a bright window, your eye can still tell who that person is . . . but the camera can not, at least, not without help. Your eye will zoom into a person's face and ignore that bright light around them, but the camera will not.

The camera's whole purpose in life is to make an image that is 18% gray. Long ago, someone decided that 18% gray was as close to the human eye, as a camera can get. But if for example, 80% of the picture frame is filled with light that is brighter than 18% gray, what does the camera do? It tries to average out the given light. It will take your best friend and makes him or her, a silhouette. Don't get mad at the camera, it's only doing what it's told to do.


Remember, if you want a subject to actually be white (a wedding dress for example) you will have to give the shot more light than the camera suggest. If you want it to actually be black, (a black horse for example) you have to give the shot less light than what the camera is indicating.

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