Bald Eagle Blow Out (1 Viewer)

I took this photo yesterday in full sun behind me and was greatly disappointed to see how badly the whites blew out. I have a Canon Rebel XT (350d) and was using my Canon 400mm f/5.6 on a tripod. Here is additional exif:
3456x2304, cropped 1136x796, exposure 1/1250 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400
Here is info on my processing in lightroom (I am a self-taught novice on both lightroom and photoshop elements 6.0):highlight tones -31; light tones -33; temperature +4; clarity +22; vibrance +23; saturation +4; black clipping +16; exposure -.50; brightness -12; highlight tones +30; vignette midpoint -2.
I also converted to 8bit jpeg in photoshop and used neat image on the background 40%. I don't think that my camera will shoot RAW automatically, so unless the subject is still (in which case I switch to manual after noting the light reading in sport mode and adjust to that reading in manual/RAW) I usually use the sport mode which is a JPEG.
I will also include the original, converted to 8 bit, reduced a 1/3 in size, and compressed to jpeg.

Whites in full sunlight are always a problem Curt. You are better off using a non auto program mode where you have control. Switch to AV mode and use spot or Partial metering - depending on how much the spot is covering the bird, dial in some underexposure, also . Check for 'blinkies' in the histogram. Better still use manual mode as it is easier to quickly change the exposure settings.
The whites on this shot are completely blown and no amount of processing will bring them back. For white birds in the full sun I underexpose by anything up to 2 stops.

Thanks Roy

Very good tips. I guess you have to lose some good shots as a motivation to learn.

Too bad on the white because it is such a nice shot of the Eagle that you did.

In the good old days of film I used to rely on the sunny F16 rule, rather than my camera meter.
The basic idea is that if you set the aperture to F16, the shutter speed will be the same as the film speed on a bright sunny day. White subjects such as egrets would one stop less, ie f22 to preserve detail. From this I could work out what shutter speeds I would need with my most commonly used apertures.
In fact the little tables you used to see in film cartons use this rule, expanded for cloud/shade etc and are worth memorizing, and a number of photographic books contained this information too.
Must admit though, that over the last few years i have not given it much thought- I just fire a few test shots, check the screen and and adjust accordingly. Really ought to remember to see if the rules still work with my digital equipment.

My blog http://philbishopsbirdingblog.blogspot.com/

Curt,
A white bird in bright sunlight is always going to be a problem. Because you are using auto exposure (sport) against a dark background the problem is is made even worse since the camera is trying to average out the scene and in doing so blows the whites. There are a few things you could try to prevent this in the future. Try adjusting your camera settings so that the processing parameters does not include increased contrast. You can always add contrast later on your computer if its needed. secondly make sure you shoot RAW, there is a lot more chance of bringing back highlights than there is from a jpeg.

This said its far better to get the picture correctly exposed in the first place. There is only one way on earth you could have got this exposure correct and that is by using manual exposure mode. For this you would have had to have known the eagle was your next subject and it was going to be flying in the sunshine. If you know this, then its easy to set your camera in readiness. The easiest way to do this is point your camera at a similar coloured object, in this case most likley a gull (similar to white parts of eagle)and take a photograph. The exposure can then be checked on the back of the camera including checking the histogram. Importantly if you have enabled the highlight warning, not sure you have this on your camera, any blown highlights will be flashing anyway. If the whites are overexposed in your photo simply increase shutter speed to darken the highlights. This sounds a bit of a shot in the dark! but its quite easy once you get to know roughly the shutter speeds needed for different lighting conditions. Im guessing, but iso200, f6.3 at 1/2500 sec would have been about right for you eagle. Well a good starting point to test on a gull to make sure when the eagle passes you are spot on for the whites. As I say, set your camera up and then take a test shot if its not correctly exposed change your settings to suit.
kev