In my photography workshops and one-on-one training I frequently have people ask me if the workshops are suitable for novices. They go on to explain that they think they have a good eye but are a bit baffled by their camera, especially when it comes 
to exposure. They just put their camera’s exposure mode dial on the little green rectangle (the fully automated mode) and shoot away. In other words, the camera makes all the decisions regarding exposure – ISO, f/stop and shutter speed. But the camera’s built in light meter is often fooled and the exposure is off.
Getting the correct exposure is one of the most essential first steps in getting a great photograph. I see a lot of photographs that have compelling compositions but are poorly exposed and the potential impact is lost. So for those individuals who are interested in taking a photography workshop but aren’t at least passingly familiar with the operation of their camera with regards to exposure, I have a number of posts dealing with the topic that I refer them to. I thought I’d pull them all together in a single post to make them easier to find.
All You Ever Wanted to Know about Exposure – This is the introductory article and explains the concept of getting the correct exposure by comparing it to filling a glass with water.
Mastering Exposure – Next Steps – This post spells out how to use the histogram to determine if you have a good exposure or not and what to do if you don’t.
Creative Use of Exposure – In this post we take the next step and get into a discussion of how to use exposure as a technique in your creative vocabulary.
Photo Foundation – Exposure – This article pulls the first three articles together and discusses the four exposure variables, the settings that generally work best for landscape photographers, the exposure challenges we face in the field and how to deal with them.
Here are a few more articles that go beyond the basics but are nevertheless of interest.
Lightroom Tutorial – Expose to the Right – This post covers a post processing technique you can use on images that were ‘exposed to the right,’ an exposure technique that produces much better final images but can look pretty bad when you first view them on your computer.
Photography Tutorial – Light Meter – This article addresses a technical question about the histograms produced by the camera’s light meter when intentionally over and under exposing a simple image. It shows the results of a test I performed.
I hope that this compilation of blog posts will will be helpful to photographers of all levels, either as a basic tutorial or as a refresher.
So, to return to the original question – are my photography workshops suitable for novices? The answer is, ‘Absolutely!’ The participants in my workshops span the range from beginners to very accomplished photographers. We try to provide the level of support and instruction that is appropriate for each participant’s needs. If you are a photographer that is low on the technical learning curve and doesn’t understand exposure then you’ll get more out of a workshop if you prepare yourself by studying up on these articles, especially the first four. That will establish a foundation from which we can move forward toward mastery of the all-important topic of exposure.
Join me on an upcoming workshop.
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