Getting White right

External Since: Aug 03, 2006 Posts: 1

I have a Sony Cybershot DSC-W5 and I'll be the first to admit that when
taking pics i mostly point and click using the auto function and up to
now this has served me very well.
My problem is that as an artist i need to document my work and i'm
struggling to get the white areas (approx 80%) in my work to appear a
true white in artificial light areas ie Galleries, everything is grey
with or without flash even in bright areas:(
If anyone could give me some tips on how to improve matters i would be
very grateful

External Since: Aug 09, 2005 Posts: 498

>syneth@hotmail.com wrote:
> I have a Sony Cybershot DSC-W5 and I'll be the first to admit that when
> taking pics i mostly point and click using the auto function and up to
> now this has served me very well.
> My problem is that as an artist i need to document my work and i'm
> struggling to get the white areas (approx 80%) in my work to appear a
> true white in artificial light areas ie Galleries, everything is grey
> with or without flash even in bright areas:(
> If anyone could give me some tips on how to improve matters i would be
> very grateful

You have two different problems rolled into one ... first the
*exposure* is getting thrown off by the large areas of white ... the
meter assumes medium-tones (gray) so that's why the whites look gray
.... you would typically over expose by 1-2 stops to correct this, or
get the proper exposure by metering a gray card, if your camera allows
you to make manual adjustments.

Once you have the exposure part right then you have to worry about
balancing the color of the lighting, in digital terms this is typically
called "white balance" or similar. Daylight has a different
temperature (and color) than artificial lights, for example. If you're
using flash this part should be pretty easy.