How to shoot against light

[Harshad Barve]

Dear all

I have 7D , 300/f4 and going to Bandhavgarh. At Rajbehara Dam , its FULL against light in afternoon at 44 deg celcius. But due to waterbodies all animals gather there,

Can you suggets me exposure settings for such a conditions , few sample images from last trip here

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=63013

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=63082

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=63160

All suggations are most welcome and much appreciated
BR
Harshad

ps , If not in right forum , Mods please move it in right forum

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Harshad ... pray for clouds :) If you are shooting a backlit subject remember you are going after the shaded side and will require to open some !! In your case you can not expose for bg and use flash ... so clouds or going over a bit will do it !!

The samples you posted are manageable ... do check the histogram closely for blinkies, will be your best friend !!!

[Harshad Barve]

Hi Alfred
Flash not allowed

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Have you dialed in positive EC? That should help if flash is not allowed.

[Harshad Barve]

may be one stop over expose :confused:

[Charles Glatzer]

If you cannot avoid shooting in back-lit full sunlight try setting the camera to auto-bracket 3 or 5 images in 1 stop increments and rip of a quick burst. Combine or open as layers in CS, use auto-align, and HDR as you see fit.

Best,

Chas

[Tom Graham]

You probably already know, but, a lens shade is more important than ever for back light.

I love back light for mammals. Maybe half of my shots I put up here will be back or strong sidelight. I use Nikon so its metering will be different then Canon. I usually let the meter use the same exposure as for normal light, but sometimes take it down by 0.5. Better than blowing out the light rimed fur or the background highlights. And of course Photoshop it until you get good looking rim light and body.
Tom

[Eric Virkler]

Nice Shots Harshad. I agree with Chas, if they're not moving for a minute, try multiple shots and HDR. Your second shot would look pretty good cropped as a panoramic.

Eric Virkler
Faces of Nature Photography
www.ericjvirkler.com (http://www.ericjvirkler.com)