Proper Exposure: Sky vs Dark Object (Blue Angels)

[fire-eyes]

I am going to an Air Show. I have shot a number of air shows, but not one with the Blue Angels. I have shot the Thunderbirds, and that is easy because their aircraft are white, blue and red.

The Blue Angels on the other hand are a dark blue. Has anyone else shot them? Did you have to stay away from spot metering (which is what I usually use)? Any general tips to get exposure right?

I will be shooting in raw.

[Chip]

I've never taken photos of dark planes, but I have taken photos of dark birds. Close enough, I hope?

I've had some good results with dark birds by over exposing by roughly one stop.

With my camera (D90), whether I use spot or matrix/evaluative metering depends on whether I'm shooting into the sun or not. If into the sun, I use spot. If not, I use matrix/evaluative. Your particular shooting style, camera, etc. may lead you to a different method.

But, over exposing for dark objects in the sky does seem to be a fairly valid "rule." At least for me.

Over exposing will/could slow down your shutter, though. Bump up the ISO if needed.

Have fun and good luck!

[fire-eyes]

Originally Posted by Chip

I've never taken photos of dark planes, but I have taken photos of dark birds. Close enough, I hope?

Sure, both are objects, one just moves a lot faster than the other. Same concepts. I had not thought of messing with bumping up the exposure manually, it seems that's the one thing I always forget. I'll have to experiment.

It sounds like spot won't be the way go to on mine, but instead evaluative. Probably the equivalent or similar to matrix. Such is the fun of trying to figure these things out on the fly at and at high-speed.

Thanks!

[Chip]

You're welcome. If it's sunny, you should have no trouble getting a fast enough shutter speed to stop the action.

Like you said: experiment, learn a bit, and have fun.

[jojonac]

I would recommend setting the exposure in manual before they start flying. Depending on the type of weather your exposure should really not change as long as you are shooting into the sky and not the ground.

Do you know how to use the histogram? I find using that will help me more often then just relying on what my camera has metered. Work on getting the histogram so its does not clip on the right side of the scale.