In film photography, your goal is to ensure the darkest parts of your image have enough information.
Think of your histogram as the Zone System in real-time. The left side is Zone 0; the right side is Zone X. The Practical Zone System: For Film and Digital...
Adjust your settings until your "important" subjects are placed exactly where you want them on the scale. Summary Table Adjustment from Meter Deep Shadow with Texture Dark Foliage / Stone V 0 Stops (Meter Reading) Caucasian Skin / Light Sand Bright Snow / Highlights In film photography, your goal is to ensure
If your highlights are too bright (e.g., Zone VIII or IX), you can "pull" the development (shorten the time) to bring them back into a printable range without losing the shadows you already set. 3. The Digital Workflow: "Expose for the Highlights" Adjust your settings until your "important" subjects are
Digital sensors behave differently. Once a pixel "clips" to white, that data is gone forever. However, digital files have incredible shadow recovery.