Exposure: A guide to waveforms

 Exposure:

A Guide to Waveforms - Set up

To set exposure using a waveform monitor, you'll typically follow these steps:

Frame Your Shot: Compose your shot with the subject and elements you want to capture.

Enable the Waveform Monitor: Access the camera's settings and enable the waveform monitor display.

Adjust ISO and Aperture: Begin by adjusting the ISO and aperture settings to achieve the desired depth of field and sensitivity.

Observe the Waveform: Look at the waveform monitor to analyse the distribution of brightness levels in your image. A well-exposed shot will generally have a balanced waveform, with details in both shadows and highlights.

Exposure:

A Guide to Waveforms - Set up

Underexposed Image: If the waveform graph is bunched towards the left side, it indicates underexposure. You'll need to increase either the aperture or ISO to allow more light in.

Adjust as Needed: Make incremental changes to ISO or aperture and monitor the waveform display until you achieve the desired exposure levels.

Fine-tune: Pay attention to critical areas of your image, such as skin tones or key highlights, and adjust accordingly to ensure they fall within the desired luminance range.

Remember, using a waveform monitor can be especially helpful in situations with challenging lighting conditions or when precise exposure control is crucial, such as in professional video production.

Zebra function in the GH5 video camera is a helpful exposure tool that overlays diagonal stripes on areas of the image that exceed a certain brightness threshold. This feature is designed to assist videographers and cinematographers in identifying overexposed highlights in their footage.

this session helped me get used to the settings used in cinema cameras, it taught me how to correctly expose the image using the iso or aperture and to make sure that all of the image falls in the desired luminance range. i havent used wave forms very much before so it has definitely showed and taught me why and why they are useful and how they can improve me work