Quick Exposure For Video | Histograms

Getting good exposure for video can be hard without using external monitors or fancy cameras. In this video we're covering how to get good exposure quickly, in just 5 steps, using only the histogram found on most mirrorless or DSLR cameras.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro
0:14 What is a histogram?
1:34 Step 1
2:02 Step 2
2:22 Step 3
5:58 Step 4
7:40 Step 5
8:11 Outro
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[@terrykungel]

You appear to have a unique gift. An ability to address complex issues and offer solutions without dumbing down the content. Please stay the course and do more videos. There is a critical need for what you do so well. Thank You!

[@BradGiannini]

Thanks for the support, I will indeed!

[@Ionatanm]

I agree @Terry Kungel

[@TommyRosati]

"If you can keep your credit score rating above your ISO, you're doing pretty good." As both a REALTOR & a filmmaker, that may be the simplest, and best advice I've ever heard! 👍👍

[@BradGiannini]

Ha great! Glad to help!

[@ForeverDansky]

Such great and easy-to-understand explanations! Thank you so much Brad :)

[@pennsylvaniaghostdiaries7552]

Very informative and to the point. Finally, someone that not only expresses themselves well, but actually shows you how to do it. Thanks.

[@BradGiannini]

Great glad it helped!

[@Drewmitchellmusic]

This was THE best video to explain the histogram I’ve found while I was searching. It ALL made sense while you were separating each aspect. Bra-fuckin-vo. Sub’d and looking forward to learning more from you.

[@mikebanks4796]

Unreal that I just subbed your channel @ below 1,600 subs. You’re on your way to a silver play button and beyond. 👊

[@BradGiannini]

Really nice of you to say, thank you... Maybe someday!

[@mcfrisko834]

3:41 You are BRILLIANT 💯

[@docblog_official]

Gosh, this video is ultra-mega-helpful! And your talk style...like i've got some advices from my best friend! Thanks a lot for this video! Please make some more!

[@BradGiannini]

Great thank you, glad to help! I plan on it!

[@buildingsheriff]

Absolutely brilliant, Brad! Thank you.

[@BradGiannini]

Thanks for watching!

[@montagefilmsindia]

the best and clear cut tutorial ive ever seen , great work man keep continue doing more tutorials

[@BradGiannini]

Hey thanks for watching, will do!

[@marlonmarcello]

This was so super clear. I am a total beginner and really appreciate how you managed to explain the subject by building on the complexity. Great work Brad.

[@BradGiannini]

Really great to hear, glad to have you onboard!

[@guillermocadizp]

That. was. GENIUS. Thank you!

[@BradGiannini]

Glad to help, thank you!

[@MandlenkosiVana]

What a great video, Brad. I’ve watched it about 3 times now. Really enjoying your content.

[@BradGiannini]

Great thank you for saying that, very nice of you!

[@andrewwalker5384]

Crystal clear and entertaining all the way through. Good job 👍🏻

[@BradGiannini]

Great thank you!

[@catchlite5196]

Yep, appreciate this video a lot. Your coolness in your presentation is awesome. Keep it up! Oh, the kiss made me subscribe. 🤣🤣

[@BradGiannini]

Ha thanks! Will do, much appreciated!

[@wclinus]

Awesome tutorial, that’s one of the best one regarding to the relationship of exposure between foreground and background. Please keep the good work.

[@BradGiannini]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@dr.essamzaatar]

Absolutely magnificent .... Great one Brad ... THANK YOU

[@BradGiannini]

Glad to help, thanks for watching!

[@reigateschoolofballetcomme8629]

Really helpful and to the point, and nicely goes through all the stages without assuming anything. I wish all YT vids were this good

[@BradGiannini]

Well thank you, so glad it was helpful!

[@thelifeoffrenchiep5941]

This dude is amazing, he gave me such a clear understanding in simple terms. Awesome! Thank you 🙏🏾

[@BradGiannini]

Great glad to help!

[@DeeRosa]

Hey Brad. Thanks man.

[@BradGiannini]

Happy is helped!

[@gismoo77]

Just amazing. Thanks a million.

[@BradGiannini]

Great glad to help!

[@iambohemianpiano]

Thank you for producing this very informative video!

[@BradGiannini]

Glad to help!

[@rupestrevideo]

You are a genius.very well explained. Thanks. Subscribed!

[@BradGiannini]

Well great, glad it helped and thank you!

[@barneslx]

This is an excellent tutorial. Thank you so much for doing this.

[@BradGiannini]

Great glad to help!

[@YogaLifeEtc]

Keep going mate, you can about to take off!!!! your videos are refreshing with great content.

[@BradGiannini]

Hey thanks so much, glad you stopped by!

[@chluv1]

Informative and well executed. Thanks!

[@BradGiannini]

Hey thanks, much appreciated!

[@ZacBarnesMusic]

Excellent video man!

[@BradGiannini]

Hey thanks so much!

[@zandoleemedia9272]

Great stuff. Thanks.

[@BradGiannini]

Happy to help!

[@Chrinicles_of_ste]

Great video this! Thank you!

[@BradGiannini]

Great glad it helped!

[@WesKnows]

Awesome! Thank you 😊

[@BradGiannini]

Glad to help!

[@Jay-Go]

Very cool stuff. This was an important concept for me to learn as a beginner.

[@BradGiannini]

Great glad to help!

[@ASDPOWER]

Love it short and too the point. Upskilling for new gear and new project so short on time!! cheers great work practical simple demo. Nice warm vocal tone and clear and crisp diction. I have autism so super clear awesome.!

[@BradGiannini]

Really nice of you thanks - I'm always trying new things so good to hear feedback like this!

[@jacobsnightmare1807]

So well done. I watched your zebra explanation as well. You explain well and I actually didn't get lost like I do on many other videos. That's probably more on me since I am fairly new to filming, but yours are just what I needed. Definitely subscribed. Thank you.

[@BradGiannini]

Very nice of you to say, glad to help, there's more to come!

[@jacobsnightmare1807]

@@BradGiannini Looking forward to it!!

[@dayonedrummer]

Great Video! I found this very helpful:)

[@BradGiannini]

Thank you, glad to help!

[@nameisvamshi5129]

This is one of the best explanation across youtube.. Gained some new information on exposure for background and foreground...A big thanks.. subscribed

[@BradGiannini]

Great glad it helped...thank you!

[@luengomez]

Thank you!

[@BradGiannini]

You're welcome!

[@Ionatanm]

Awesome tutorial!

[@BradGiannini]

Hey thanks!

[@godz1_]

Amazing

[@TorontoeditsPhotography]

This was very helpful!

[@BradGiannini]

Great glad to hear it!

[@juanromero961]

I’m a total beginner so this was some great content! Thanks!

[@BradGiannini]

Great glad it helped!

[@Bullcutbaby]

you deserve more subs my friend thank you- I wish someone made one of these for my a6400 and how to best set it up for product shoots

[@BradGiannini]

Thank you really nice of you to say, if I had a a6400 I would, but I am thinking about getting a smaller aps-c Sony to go along with my current cameras, so if I do, that should be pretty comparable!

[@siroz1]

This was a very good tutorial.

[@BradGiannini]

Hey thanks!

[@PeaLoop]

Great explanation!

[@BradGiannini]

Hey thanks!

[@samadasharaf]

Very well explained.

[@BradGiannini]

Thank you!!

[@KwamtumPshX]

The kiss at the end let's me know that he cares.

[@vogters12345]

The best video I've seen thus far for the Sony A7Siii using the histogram!!! Can't wait for more content!!! Would love to see an example using the settings on the Sony A7Siii for blue hour and gold hour for video landscape.

[@BradGiannini]

For sure, I can make that happen!

[@vogters12345]

@@BradGiannini That would be amazing. I get stuck trying to decide if I should change my ISO or Apeture for the correct exposure. And is there even a thing as "correct exposure"? Anyways thanks again for the video.

[@BradGiannini]

​@@vogters12345 Yeah it can be confusing - no there's no "correct exposure" really, because there's a lot of artistic freedom, but keeping the image from being too bright or too dark is generally a good idea. As far as ISO or aperture, if you want to maintain a blurry background you want to adjust ISO, but if you change ISO too much it can really degrade your image, so it's a fun game of finding the right balance. I would test the limits of your cameras usable ISO range and then keep it within there, and if it's still too dark, then aperture will be your only option. Hope that helps!

[@workgmail2375]

awesome video! i would love to see one on zebras!

[@BradGiannini]

Thanks, I'll be making one in the future!

[@mansitanimalium]

Yes, please. Indeed.

[@Resellervideo]

Thank you 🙏🏽

[@BradGiannini]

Glad to help!

[@Dorismg_viajera]

HI Brad, thanks for your video :0) learn a lot 👌

[@BradGiannini]

Great glad to help!

[@jegatheeshwaran4874]

Nice Work , good production work

[@BradGiannini]

Hey thanks!

[@annebeaudoin2002]

I'am a beginner and it's hard for me to get to know how to manage exposure with the histogram. This video is very helpful. Thanks a lot!

[@BradGiannini]

Glad to help! I find zebras are a bit easier to manage than histograms so if your camera has that, try that out. I have a video on that as well if you need some help!

[@cowboy6591]

I find lighting the most overlooked asset with newbee's like me. I recently broke my bank to fix this and boy am I glad I did. Diffusers, Grid screen filters, color adjusting LED spots with grided guidance makes for LIGHT work load on camera settings. What's needed more of is my brain, logic wisdom and experience when mobile and no lighting gadgets found in a studio, all you have is your eye, knowledge and experience and maybe a lens filter or two. My biggest photo problem is the PEBCAG virus. Problem Exists Between Camera And Ground.

[@BradGiannini]

Ha yeah for sure, "user error" is a common phrase for me... But I agree lighting is probably the toughest thing to get consistently right, there are lots of different lighting environments and frequently changing variables... It's fun!

[@SmooveFilmsMediaProduction]

this video was so helpful bro! i just subbed. look forward to connecting in the future!

[@BradGiannini]

Very cool, thanks! Yes indeed!

[@KeepinUpWithKrissy]

Outstanding explanation 🤯

[@BradGiannini]

Thank you!

[@twoshot217]

Thanks ✌️

[@BradGiannini]

Glad to help!

[@VistarCreative]

Good stuff. New sub.

[@BradGiannini]

Thanks!

[@joeshmoe7065]

Wow thank you so much! ...the way you presented it was like a key fitting the tumblers in the way that I that I didn't know shit about it..

[@BradGiannini]

Ha thanks!

[@FelixChamber]

Awesome explanation and loved the distinction between background and foreground exposure. But what about when the key light is also brightening up the background?

[@BradGiannini]

Hey thanks! Well if your key is heavily hitting the background it's going to be hard to separate everything - if that's intentional then that's okay, otherwise depending on your light putting a grid on will help. As for exposure, I would still start with background practicals and lights but you may have to turn the key on as well and do both at the same time. Hope that helps!

[@FelixChamber]

@@BradGiannini That's very helpful, thanks! I am working with just budget gear to begin with, that is putting some constraints on it. But I might still be able to put this to good use :-)

[@linangoclan]

Hi Brad! Thank you for the video. I've been getting super grainy footage/lots of noise. Do you by chance know how I can fix it using the historgram or zebra?

[@BradGiannini]

Hi - well most likely you're underexposed. I'm not sure what camera / settings you're using, but yeah if you keep the histogram closer to the right (a bit like the thumbnail picture of this video), you should be able to avoid most grain/noise. A common trick people use to avoid noise is to slightly overexpose footage and then bring the levels down with an editing software. If you let me know what camera / settings you're using, I'd be happy to help more!

[@linangoclan]

@@BradGiannini Thank you, Brad! I am using the Sony A7C II I just got recently. I am shooting in picture profile 11 with Slog 3 & S-cine tone. I’ve been messing around with the histogram and zebra but still not super confident with my footage. Is there a recommended setting you could share for this? :)

[@BradGiannini]

Great camera! So I know some people recommend it, but in my experience using S-Cinetone color with S-Log 3 produces some weird blocky looking stuff. I personally think either S-Cinetone gamma with S-Cinetone color or S-Log 3 with S-gamut3.cine color is the way to go. But that aside, I would probably recommend using zebras. I have a video about it that may help. But I would probably either set the zebras for your face or if you really want to make sure you avoid noise, set them just below you blow out / overexpose your footage, and then bring it back down in your editor. A lot of people will overexpose using the camera meter to +1.3 or +1.7, and that can work but it's not terribly reliable. It's counterintuitive, but the darker your scene, the more you want to overexpose it to avoid the noise. I hope that helps! @@linangoclan

[@merijn_yestra]

Great video! But don’t you get any noise in the shadows explosing it so dark in slog3? Would love to hear your experience with that!

[@BradGiannini]

Thanks a lot! Well there's a little noise but it's not too bad, this scene was bright enough to get away with it I think, but everyone's tolerance for noise is a little different! I've found with the newer Sony cameras you generally don't need to overexpose unless it's a really dark scene like night time outside, in which case it does help. I started out over exposing everything but now my favorite is only around a third of a stop over in ample lighting. This was a general guide for any profile, I made a video specifically about low light for really dark scenes with the a7s3, you should check it out!

[@merijn_yestra]

@@BradGiannini Makes sense! Oh Nice I Will check out your otter video for sure!

[@CineChi]

Good stuff , but I think the same I remember most is the kiss 😳

[@BradGiannini]

Ha

[@Winta314]

I like this video from Ethiopia

[@BradGiannini]

Very cool, thank you!

[@Winta314]

@@BradGiannini Why are you not making new videos?

[@BradGiannini]

@@Winta314 Oh I am, just been very busy but I have a few I'm working on now!

[@Winta314]

@@BradGiannini I look forward to seeing your work

[@hodeman]

very good! how about EV compensation to adjust?

[@BradGiannini]

Hey thanks! You could but I find it not super useful for video

[@hodeman]

@@BradGiannini Please explain why in your next video :) Your videos are really spot on, I've learned a lot!

[@chicojuanito2]

As long as the histogram isn't against the left or right edge - you're not blowing out the image or getting any pure black.

[@ST-fl5fy]

I’m kind of confused I’m new to video aspect I’m a photographer. So, it looks like you are shooting 24fps but can still control your ship speed? I thought that the 24fps is the shutter speed?

[@BradGiannini]

Do you mean shutter speed? 24fps is the frame rate, which is separate from shutter speed. For video you can pick a frame rate (like 24), and then adjust 3 separate things to control exposure: shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. In this video I chose 24fps and 1/50 shutter speed. Does that help?

[@ST-fl5fy]

@@BradGiannini ah yes that helps thanks.

[@musicnonstop1945]

so if you have a black wall as a background, is it really expected that the histogram will peak to the left, i get it now, thanks

[@BradGiannini]

Yeah I have a black background here, and it will get close to the left, but you don't want it all the way so that you lose detail. Glad to help!

[@metallpt147]

I know every scene is different, but how bright do you have your keylight set in your face shot?

[@BradGiannini]

Really hard to say because it depends on your camera settings and the strength of your key light. I usually keep my a7siii at 640 ISO and at 1.8 aperture. My key light is the aputure c300d ii with a large soft box and I set my light at only 6%. Obviously this light is major overkill, but hopefully that gives you an idea!

[@chrispysaid]

I tried looking up my camera's native ISO and all it gave me was maximum and minimum, nothing that gives me the "best exposure" like you suggested. What am I doing wrong?

[@BradGiannini]

Which camera is it? In this case most likely your "best" ISO will be the minimum. Assuming you have enough light for it, that will probably give you the best result. Does that help?

[@jakeburns2012]

I used to breath like that when I was vaping

[@BradGiannini]

Ha

[@Praveen-cj2iz]

Aren't we supposed to expose 1.3 to 1.7 for slog3 footage ?

[@BradGiannini]

It's really only necessary in low light conditions to avoid noise, but in normal lighting i don't overexpose much

[@Praveen-cj2iz]

@@BradGiannini so in this video the overall mood looks a little bit dark but still you didn't over exposed ?

[@sendmsgs4me]

Where to find histogram

[@BradGiannini]

Depends on the camera but you can usually scroll through display options until it pops up

[@MusaonYT]

A little unrelated to the video, but duude, you talk and sound like Gerald Undone!

[@BradGiannini]

Ha, thanks!?

[@chrismcdermott7766]

Thank you!

[@BradGiannini]

Glad to help!