First timer, exposure & EXIF question.

[wilks04]

Hi everyone,

Am extremely new to photography and trying to get a handle on manual settings, one step at a time! Finding the tutorials on DPS extremely helpful, although when I get the camera out feel like I stumble trying to manage the settings according to the environment, lighting etc. Anyway, won't get far if I don't keep taking pics and this is my very first upload which I would love some feedback about. My main question is regarding the exposure.. is the light on her face overexposed, and how do I know this is going to be the case when I am taking the picture? Also... I see the importance of noting down EXIF data.. how can I find this for each individual shot? For this photo I was using the AV setting, ISO 100 F5.6... unsure about shutter speed. (Forgive me!) Any suggestions for improvement would be welcomed.

Flickr: wilks04's Photostream

Having a ball with it, what an awesome hobby!
Cheers

Canon EOS Rebel XS 1000D

Wow, so much to cover. Lets start with EXIF before one of the moderators gets all rude with you..

In your case, finding EXIF is too simple. On any picture on your flickr page, just above the photo you will see 3 buttons.. Favorite/actions/Share this. If you click on the Actions button, one of the choices will be for Exif. This will give you an exhaustive list of camera settings.. some critical and some so obscure I have no idea why they are included. If you have not done major edits to the photo, that information should always be there for you. (Typically, you should also be able to view that information in your photo editing software too. Find the photo properties in one of the menus in the software.

OK, it is early and I am going to make coffee. If nobody else jumps in.. I will be back in a few minutes!

[autofocus]

Welcome Wilks. I'll start by saying you've done a pretty nice job on your photo considering your very limited experience. What you have here is a high contrast lighting situation, and because of the limited dynamic range of the sensor it's probably one of the toughest exposures to get right. Very often it becomes a bit of a compromise to get good detail in the highlight areas while also getting good detail in the shadow areas. There may be a few areas below her eyes that are slightly overexposed, but all in all, the overall results are pretty good.

I am one that would lean toward saying that it is a little bit over-exposed. But as Vince mentioned.. you chose a very difficult set of conditions for your first post here.

Look for information on "histograms" and how to read them. Your camera may have this as a built-in feature. Also, get familiar with how your camera meters, and the metering modes. These will help you to get it right in the camera.

[wilks04]

Thanks guys....taken that all on board, will seek out metering tutorials today. Cheers.