Using Your Histogram

Most of us who have been around digital cameras for a while have come to love the histogram, which is basically a bar graph that charts the tonality of a photo. At a rudimentary level, it makes it easy to keep from under- or over-exposing photos. From a more nuanced perspective, it is possible to use the histogram to expose photos in a way to achieve a specific tonality for one or more parts of the scene, much like using the zone system. If you’ve never fully understood how to read a histogram, check out this video I put together:

For an even more detailed explanation, you can read my blog post that goes along with this video here: http://monkmanphoto.com/archives/4212.

Originally Published February 23, 2012

Wide Angle Wildlife

Reach for your wide angle lens to capture more of your subject’s story.

5 National Parks For Summer

They’re not too hot, not too crowded and they offer tons of summer-specific photographic opportunities.

Ends Of The Earth

Paul Nicklen on his career in conservation photography, climate change in the polar regions and his new book, Born To Ice, celebrating those ecosystems and their inhabitants.

Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge

Exploring Our National Wildlife Refuge System

The National Wildlife Refuge System protects vital habitats, making them excellent destinations for wildlife photographers.

Landscape Photography Lenses

Our guide to wide-angle lenses, the most popular and useful optics for landscape photography.

Lenses For Wildlife Photography

When it comes to selecting lenses for wildlife photography, the first thing most photographers look for is focal length—a long lens that can reach out and cover great distances, bringing animals in for close-ups—but other features are also incredibly useful.

Read Next

Featured Articles