There is 1 (one) proper exposure on any digital array for every image and that depends upon the scene. What is crucial is highlight detail and not losing what you want to gamut which records nothing on the array. A RAW from a good camera will preserve all the reasonable shadows. All you need is a method to retrieve and use all that shadow detail that is retained on the array.

Consider this post of lessons on 11 pages:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rockypix/2452578648/

Considered feedback welcome.

Thank you for the tips. I’ll try to use the different metering oprions on the camera. I was tihinking to use the spot methering after I’ve seen the pictures on the pc. I guess with spot methering at least the persons face will have good colors :)

Cheers,
Pavel

Here’s another thing you might wanna try.

On your metering setting, if you have your setting on Center-weight average, then youre prolly gonna have more of a chance of getting a burn out, because your camera is going to take every bit of the lighting in its frame into consideration when doing the metering.
What i would suggest you do is switch to Evaluative metering (or perhaps Spot metering) and then try your picture again.

You would find this especially useful if you are standing out in the sun, facing a building whos wall is lit up, and you want to take a picture of a man inside the dorr or window in the building. If you have your settings on Center Weight Average, then he would come out to dark, if you change to spot and focus on him, then your walls around might be too highlighted, and you might be able to get a desirable picture with the Evaluative metering.

Hope this helps.
Cheers
Roohshad

It is so strange in photography until you manage to imagine what the result will be before you take the photo. I’m saying this because our eyes see the environment in a totally different way, and you only figure out at home that 50 of your pictures have a horrible problem … I guess t comes with experience and many mistakes :)

Thanks,
Pavel

You can also try moving your friends to mear the edge of the shade and using a reflector for fill light. Even a fiend in a white t-short can act as a reflector for you.

Great article, thanks for the tips. Jut a quick question. When I take photos of my friends at some BBQ, in the middle of the day with a lot of sun (Sydney, Australia) usually we sit in the shade and I get some strange photos. The shaded parts of my friends skin gets very noisy, even if I use ISO 100 on Canon EOS 400D. I’m trying to give an example, http://www.flickr.com/photos/magda_me/2047700351/sizes/o/ although this was resized you can see that skin tone is strange. I guess I should have used the flash to make it better. Any other tips of taking better photos in the shade in the middle of the day?

Thank you,
Pavel

Also, forgot to add links in the earlier post which i just quickly googled:

HDR imaging:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range_imaging
CPLs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filter_(photography)
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/polarizers.shtml
Metering modes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metering_mode

Another idea is a CPL or a circular polarising filter, i have found it to be VERY useful which shooting images such as the canyon picture, at it saturates the blown out sky and give the entire image a lovely azure feeling.

Thanks for the write up Peter!