How To Use Your Histogram

Published on YouTube.Com Jun 6, 2014

Before the invention of the histogram, digital photography enthusiasts had to go through a lot more trouble to get good exposures. While the histogram is one of the most useful tools on your camera, it’s also one of the least understood. Understanding how the histogram tracks your exposure is one of the key steps in learning how to become a much better photographer.

John Greengo offers up a basic, easy-to-understand explanation of a camera’s histogram and how to best use it to improve your control over the capture process. Displayed on the back of most digital cameras, the histogram represents the variety of tones in your photos. In this video, John shows you how to determine where your picture falls on the Goldilocks scale – too light, too dark, or just right based on the tonality distribution shown on your camera’s histogram.

Use Your Histogram. Learn how to Use Your Histogram better. The better you know how to read the histogram, the better your control over your exposure with a digital camera is going to become. Always remember, saving the highlight is your friend. Highlights blown out and therefore lost, can never be recovered. Pure black in the shadows can not be opened up, they will just turn gray. So the safest, surest course to follow is getting your exposure right in the camera, before you ever get to post processing.