the adventures of teapot the cat

The 18% Problem

Posted on January 3rd, 2006

As an aspiring (sometimes perspiring!) photographer, I try to learn as many tricks as I can. One bit of research lately about how to take photos in snow really opened my eyes as to how built-in camera exposure meters work. Have you ever had your photo of a black subject turn out more gray than black? Does your snow look like ash? Well, the reason is most likely the 18% gray problem. Built-in meters assume that the subject of your photos is 18% gray - this is because most scenes are on average this tone. While this won’t cause problems with your average shot, it incorrectly assumes your snowy landscape is 18% grey and underexposes it to adjust. The trick is to give white subjects a stop more exposure, and true black subjects a stop less, give or take. Of course, the best guide I to learn through experimentation and learn how to shoot by manually adjusting for your given scene. Get a much more in-depth look here

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