Histogram

A graphical representation of the camera’s exposure reading, a guide to getting a correct exposure. The image above shows the histogram on a Nikon camera. The histogram can be displayed once a photograph has been taken and played back.

On Canon cameras:
1. Press the play button to view an image
2. Press info until the histogram appears
On Nikon cameras:
1. Press the play button to view an image
2. Press up on the control pad until histogram appears

The histogram is one of the most useful tools for achieving the correct exposure. If you understand how to use the histogram, you will always be able to create images that have the maximum amount of detail, providing the best starting point for editing. The image below shows the histogram in Adobe Lightroom Classic.


The histogram above shows the image is underexposed, the image will have lost detail in the shadow or darkest areas.
This histogram shows an image with the correct exposure to get an image with maximum detail in the shadow and highlight areas
This histogram shows an image that is overexposed, losing detail in the highlights or brightest areas. This is what you need to avoid at all costs as it will create an unusable image.