Friendlier Zebras

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DNathan

Well-known member
We keep our zebras at 70%, and try to keep it so that it only slightly touches the face of the talent. If we're just filming the dress we have the zebra overtake about half the dress. It seems that outside the talent tends to blow out even when we apply the same standard. Does anyone have a more sophisticated technique with zebras?
 
I use 70 and 105 and have pretty much the same technique as you. I dont shoot weddings but I would say a face slightly underexposed is better than a dress thats completely blown out.
 
Definitely use both zebras, and watch for whites that blow out. Totally agree with matt s.; the face of a caucasian subject is usually optimally exposed when the zebras at 70 just barely start to show up, but if it's a choice of a great big blown out mess of a dress vs. a perfectly exposed face, lower the exposure, save the dress, and let the face go slightly darker.

Of course, if you're talking about a Hispanic or African or other darker-skinned subject, you shouldn't be anywhere near 70% in the first place, that rule only applies for relatively fair Caucasian skin.
 
About where would the zebra exposure be set for darker skin faces?. This is always a challenge, darker face and bright clothes. I don't do weddings, but whenever this happens, I am always challenged. How about a compressed scene file?

Grant
 
I pretty much use the WFM. I hate the distraction of zebras.

Darker skinned faced are usually between 40% - 60% depending on how dark.
 
That's the thing -- skin tones vary so widely, how do you know exactly where to set it? As Denwa said, it depends on how dark.

For a "compressed scene file", don't forget the DRS function -- it can work quite well in balancing both bright highlights and dark tones in the same scene, it just sometimes introduces graininess. But if it's a choice of blown-out ugly white dresses, or some grain in the picture, you may find that you prefer the grain.

One nice aspect of the HMC40 is DRS works in all modes. On the HMC150/HPX170, it's limited to 60p/60i, but on the HMC40 it works in 24p and 30p too.
 
to make sure nothing is blown out completely to white. you dont want any zebras @ 105 to show, You can push the 150 up to that point and still retain detail in the highlights.
 
That's never made sense to me. Why isn't 100% white representative of 100% of the detail? How can you have detail past 100% without moving to some broader color enviornment (like 32bpc float, an After Effects setting that stores super-whites)?
 
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