Are You Using the Histogram Incorrectly in Your Photography?

When it comes to photography, the histogram is often considered an essential tool for achieving perfect exposure. However, I believe there’s a common misconception about how to use this tool effectively. In this post, we’ll explore why you might be using the histogram incorrectly and how, I think, it should actually be used to aid your photo editing.

What Is the Histogram?

You’ve likely seen the histogram on your camera’s screen or within your editing software like Lightroom. It’s a graph that represents the distribution of light and dark areas in your image. The left side of the histogram shows the darker areas (shadows), while the right side represents the lighter areas (highlights). The middle section is where midtones reside.
For simplicity, let’s consider a black and white image. In this case, the histogram might look like a mountain, with the peak indicating where most of the image data falls in terms of brightness. Many photographers assume that a well-exposed image should have a histogram with a nice, even hump in the middle. But that’s not always the case.

The Myth of the “Perfect” Histogram

A common piece of advice I hear all the time, suggests that a good photo should have a histogram with a balanced distribution — nothing too far to the left or right, and most of the data centered in the middle. This idea might seem logical, but it’s not a rule that applies universally.
Consider an image of the moon against a black sky. The moon’s surface might have a range of grays, while the surrounding sky is nearly or entirely black. In this scenario, the histogram will show a peak on the left side (for the dark sky) and another, smaller, peak in the middle (for the moon’s surface). According to the “perfect” histogram theory, this image would be considered poorly exposed because it doesn’t have a centered hump. However, this histogram accurately reflects the image and how it is exposed.

Real-World Examples

To illustrate further, let’s look at a few more examples:

• A Bird in Bright Sky: If you photograph a bird against a bright, cloudless sky, the histogram will show a spike on the right side, representing the bright background. The bird itself might create a small peak on the left or middle, depending on its exposure. This histogram is perfectly fine for this scenario, even though it doesn’t have the so-called ideal hump.
• Night Photography: An image taken at night, with most elements in shadow, will have a histogram skewed to the left. Trying to adjust the image to create a centered hump in the histogram would result in an overexposed image, making the image look more like it was shot in the daytime.
• High-Key Images: Particularly bright, high-key image, such as an Arctic fox in snow will show a histogram that is heavy on the right due to the abundance of bright tones. Forcing this histogram to the center would darken the snow, rendering it gray and unnatural.

Conclusion: Use the Histogram as a Guide, Not a Rule

The key takeaway here is that the histogram is a tool — not a target. While it can be incredibly useful, especially in difficult lighting conditions, it’s not a definitive measure of a good image. Instead of trying to force every photo’s histogram into a particular shape, use it to understand the exposure and tonal distribution of your image. Then, trust your eyes to make the final adjustments that suit your artistic vision.

You can see the video I made on this subject below.

---

Go back to main blog page