Camera Histograms Tones & Contrast

CAMERA HISTOGRAMS: TONES & CONTRAST
cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/histograms1.htm
Understanding image histograms is probably the single most important concept to

become familiar with when working with pictures from a digital camera. A histogram
can tell you whether or not your image has been properly exposed, whether the lighting
is harsh or flat, and what adjustments will work best. It will not only improve your skills
on the computer, but as a photographer as well.
Each pixel in an image has a color which has been produced by some combination of the
primary colors red, green, and blue (RGB). Each of these colors can have a brightness
value ranging from 0 to 255 for a digital image with a bit depth of 8-bits. A RGB
histogram results when the computer scans through each of these RGB brightness
values and counts how many are at each level from 0 through 255. Other types of
histograms exist, although all will have the same basic layout as the histogram example
shown below.
TONES
The region where most of the brightness values are present is called the "tonal range."
Tonal range can vary drastically from image to image, so developing an intuition for
how numbers map to actual brightness values is often critical—both before and after the
photo has been taken. There is no one "ideal histogram" which all images should try to
mimic; histograms should merely be representative of the tonal range in the scene and
what the photographer wishes to convey.
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The above image is an example which contains a very broad tonal range, with markers
to illustrate where regions in the scene map to brightness levels on the histogram. This
coastal scene contains very few midtones, but does have plentiful shadow and highlight
regions in the lower left and upper right of the image, respectively. This translates into a
histogram which has a high pixel count on both the far left and right-hand sides.
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Lighting is often not as extreme as the last
example. Conditions of ordinary and even
lighting, when combined with a properly
exposed subject, will usually produce a
histogram which peaks in the center, gradually
tapering off into the shadows and highlights.
With the exception of the direct sunlight
reflecting off the top of the building and off
some windows, the boat scene to the right is
quite evenly lit. Most cameras will have no
trouble automatically reproducing an image
which has a histogram similar to the one shown
in the boat example.
HIGH AND LOW KEY IMAGES

Although most cameras will produce midtone-centric histograms when in an automatic
exposure mode, the distribution of peaks within a histogram also depends on the tonal
range of the subject matter. Images where most of the tones occur in the shadows are
called "low key," whereas with "high key" images most of the tones are in the highlights.
Before the photo has been taken, it is useful to

assess whether or not your subject matter
qualifies as high or low key. Since cameras
measure reflected as opposed to incident light,
they are unable to assess the absolute
brightness of their subject. As a result, many cameras contain sophisticated algorithms
which try to circumvent this limitation, and estimate how bright an image should be.
These estimates frequently result in an image whose average brightness is placed in the
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midtones. This is usually acceptable, however high and low key scenes frequently
require the photographer to manually adjust the
exposure, relative to what the camera would do
automatically. A good rule of thumb is that you
will need to manually adjust the exposure
whenever you want the average brightness in
your image to appear brighter or darker than
the midtones.
The following set of images would have resulted

if I had used my camera's auto exposure setting.
Note how the average pixel count is brought
closer to the midtones.
Most digital cameras are better at reproducing

low key scenes since they prevent any region
from becoming so bright that it turns into solid
white, regardless of how dark the rest of the
image might become as a result. High key
scenes, on the other hand, often produce images
which are significantly underexposed.
Fortunately, underexposure is usually more
forgiving than overexposure (although this
compromises your signal to noise ratio). Detail
can never be recovered when a region becomes
so overexposed that it becomes solid white.
When this occurs the highlights are said to be
"clipped" or "blown."
The histogram is a good tool for knowing

whether clipping has occurred since you can
readily see when the highlights are pushed to
the edge of the chart. Some clipping is usually
ok in regions such as specular reflections on
water or metal, when the sun is included in the
frame or when other bright sources of light are
present. Ultimately, the amount of clipping
present is up to the photographer and what they
wish to convey.
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CONTRAST
A histogram can also describe the amount of contrast. Contrast is a measure of the
difference in brightness between light and dark areas in a scene. Broad histograms
reflect a scene with significant contrast, whereas narrow histograms reflect less contrast
and may appear flat or dull. This can be caused by any combination of subject matter
and lighting conditions. Photos taken in the fog will have low contrast, while those
taken under strong daylight will have higher contrast.
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Contrast can have a significant visual impact on
an image by emphasizing texture, as shown in
the image above. The high contrast water has
deeper shadows and more pronounced
highlights, creating texture which "pops" out at
the viewer.
Contrast can also vary for different regions

within the same image due to both subject
matter and lighting. We can partition the
previous image of a boat into three separate
regions—each with its own distinct histogram.
The upper region contains the most contrast of

all three because the image is created from light
which does not first reflect off the surface of
water. This produces deeper shadows
underneath the boat and its ledges, and
stronger highlights in the upward-facing and
directly exposed areas. The middle and bottom
regions are produced entirely from diffuse,
reflected light and thus have lower contrast;
similar to if one were taking photographs in the
fog. The bottom region has more contrast than
the middle—despite the smooth and monotonic
blue sky—because it contains a combination of
shade and more intense sunlight. Conditions in
the bottom region create more pronounced
highlights, but it still lacks the deep shadows of
the top region. The sum of the histograms in all
three regions creates the overall histogram
shown before.
For additional information on histograms, visit

part 2 of this tutorial:
"Understanding Camera Histograms:
Luminosity & Color"
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Camera Histograms Tones & Contrast

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CAMERA HISTOGRAMS: TONES & CONTRAST

Understanding image histograms is probably the single most important concept to

HIGH AND LOW KEY IMAGES

Before the photo has been taken, it is useful to

The following set of images would have resulted

Most digital cameras are better at reproducing

The histogram is a good tool for knowing

Contrast can also vary for different regions

The upper region contains the most contrast of

For additional information on histograms, visit

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