Black. I get it. White. I get it. Grey? Well…
Black is 100% black. White is 100% white. There is no question. Ah, if life’s choices and answers were but black and white!
Grey, for some reason is 18% (I know this from the camera department).
But where did 18% come from? I mean, why isn’t it 100% grey? Or even 50% (half way between black and white)? Now, THAT I could understand. But then again, if it were, then grey would be a black-and-white kind of grey, wouldn’t it? And when it comes to grey, it’s… well… grey, isn’t it? And a whole bunch of new questions tend to come with “grey” answers, don’t they?
So, why not 18% after all?
Best wishes with whatever is “grey” for you today!
Cheers & a good shoot to you,
Deb
Ashley Lynch says
July 1, 2011 at 7:16 amBy 18% they mean that true grey is 18% black. It’s all about shadows, highlights and midtones and the 18% grey is used as a standard of color balancing to achieve accurate contrast. When I worked in a photo lab, I encountered the occasional debate between people much more experienced than I over grey being 18% or 13% black.
debpatz says
July 4, 2011 at 5:58 amThanks, Ashley. I’ve only personally used 18% grey cards. It could be 13% too? Alas… further proves the point that grey is, well, grey. 🙂