Need Advice - Setting Manual Exposure for BIF in Low Light

[Michael Pancier]

Maybe I'm out of practice shooting land based subjects lately, but I went out yesterday to the beach to try out the 7d. I only had 1 bird and it was a magnificent frigate bird. Black with red throat.

I arrive around one hour before sunset. So I have the sun low in the sky. There is blue sky and as I usually do, I set the meter at +2 off the blue esp. given the hour. Now given this subject I was shooting, should I have gone to +3? All my images came out badly underexposed. I was shooting f/5.6 1/400 ISO 800 in M. mode. (I'm sure flash would have helped, but this was an impromptu shoot). Sadly, when boosting the exposure in the raw file, there's way too much noise to get anything worth salvaging. :confused:

I was under exposed whether the bird filled the frame or not even at +2 the blue.

My rule of thumb has always been in good light; +1 off blue; + 2 off clouds; and given my subject and time of day, I figured I could go +2 off the blue. So I can pretty figure that I have to boost exposure even moreso if I'm photographing a frigate bird?

Would appreciate some input so I can avoid the exposure snafu in the future.

[James Shadle]

What camera are you using.
In my experience there is a 2/3 of a stop difference between some Nikon and Canon meters.
James

[Michael Pancier]

What camera are you using.
In my experience there is a 2/3 of a stop difference between some Nikon and Canon meters.
James

I was using the 7D. It was my first time out with it for BIF.

[Don Hamilton Jr.]

Mike great question, i'm also in the exposure snafu stage.. this is a great topic.
Don

[John Chardine]

Michael- These rules of thumb are just starting points in the process of determining optimum exposure. IME they need testing and tweaking using the histogram before a final exposure level is determined.

[Michael Pancier]

Michael- These rules of thumb are just starting points in the process of determining optimum exposure. IME they need testing and tweaking using the histogram before a final exposure level is determined.

I'm also guessing that my issue here is the all black bird with just the bit of red. I've not had problem with Turkey vultures which are similar; I was in low light....

I've just posted 2 sample histograms. So I guess with this bird, the peak on the shadow side should have been pushed to the right and if by how much?

[Michael Pancier]

here's a sample histogram.

[Michael Pancier]

here's another sample histogram.

[Fabs Forns]

Histograms show the only two colors present: black and white.
Trying to do Frigatebirds in low light is a loosing game. In fact, only decent way to do them is over sand if they fly low, sand acting as reflector. Even with good light they are a pain...

[Michael Pancier]

Histograms show the only two colors present: black and white.
Trying to do Frigatebirds in low light is a loosing game. In fact, only decent way to do them is over sand if they fly low, sand acting as reflector. Even with good light they are a pain...

so my next question is; I guess flash is a must for this type of shot? I'm bummed, since they were pretty close to me from the pier...got frame filling shots; just too dark...:confused:

[Charles Glatzer]

Your exposure methodology may have been correct for a mid-toned subject, w/ black requiring you open up another EV to render detail. You would have to let the sky go completely white, as there is too great a difference in the lit sky and shadowed underside of the bird to get detail in both under the conditions described. If the bird banks or orients itself to the light source then the bird and background would be in the same light...different ballgame.

Chas

[Fabs Forns]

You can try flash in M mode, 1/1 and a good better beamer.
Remember the higher your shutter speed, the less flash output, and if you do a burst, only one is going to get flashed. I'd try the synch speed of your camera as shutter speed and take one pix, hope for the best.

[Fabs Forns]

On a different note, have you tried using Nik's reflector on the images you got?

[Doug Brown]

Hey Michael. I'm in agreement with Fabs about the futility of photographing Frigatebirds in low light without a flash. My advice: wait for the good light! :D

[John Chardine]

Also, flash does not work well on black birds.

[Michael Pancier]

On a different note, have you tried using Nik's reflector on the images you got?

I did. doesn't have the same effect as it would with a lighter toned bird. I have too much noise in the shadows.