Posted by RL Potts on January 30, 2012 at 12:38 PM
Fog ranges from dark and gloomy to bright and high key, so don't rely on the light meter too much. Use you histogram instead. I like to use a polarizer in fog because the light seems to be quite diffused and it gives me control.
In my experience, fog and mist looks best when I expose it between 1 and 1-2/3 stops above my meter reading.for color transparency film (which is similar in dynamic range to most digital sensors). Exposing in this way also lends support to the shadows.
Be careful to not over-expose the fog, i.e. 'clip the high values'. In most cases, the fog or mist in the scene will have tonal variations due to differences in its 'thickness'. You will want these differences to be recorded, otherwise the fog will look like a big band of equal value.and the sense of transparency and mystery will be lost.
Here's an example from Yosemite: Christmas Eve. For this photograph I based my exposure on the snow behind the oak tree because i needed to retain texture there. The ice fog is lower in value than the snow, but still retains a 'sense of light'. (4x5 Astia transparency).
The bottom line is this: What 'feeling' do you want to impart in your photograph? As Robert mentioned, fog or mist can be gloomy and dark, or bright and high key. A technically perfect exposure is not necessarily the 'correct' exposure, so you might photograph a scene using various exposures and then choose the one that best exemplifies the mood you want to portray.
--P
Posted by Ed Williams on February 1, 2012 at 6:47 PM
Great articles and feedback. Nice samples and examples Arne and Preston. Thank you. Any other input is welcomed.
Posted by Kevin Pepper on August 1, 2012 at 7:09 PM
Discussion
6 repliesThanks for your help.
This is a merge of several shots.
Canon 40D, f 6.3, 1/1600 sec, iso 400 -0.7 step bias, with 100-400 lens at 235 mm.
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/fog-photography.htm
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/how-to-photograph-a-sunrise
http://www.lightstalking.com/photographing-fog
Be careful to not over-expose the fog, i.e. 'clip the high values'. In most cases, the fog or mist in the scene will have tonal variations due to differences in its 'thickness'. You will want these differences to be recorded, otherwise the fog will look like a big band of equal value.and the sense of transparency and mystery will be lost.
Here's an example from Yosemite: Christmas Eve. For this photograph I based my exposure on the snow behind the oak tree because i needed to retain texture there. The ice fog is lower in value than the snow, but still retains a 'sense of light'. (4x5 Astia transparency).
The bottom line is this: What 'feeling' do you want to impart in your photograph? As Robert mentioned, fog or mist can be gloomy and dark, or bright and high key. A technically perfect exposure is not necessarily the 'correct' exposure, so you might photograph a scene using various exposures and then choose the one that best exemplifies the mood you want to portray.
--P