Tag: exposure

Mastering Exposure

With the advent of digital cameras people don’t understand exposure so well any more.  It’s not like in the early SLR days where the cameras didn’t have built in light meters.  You had to use a hand held light meter or, lacking that, just guess.  There was no way you could get along without knowing ISO (ASA at the time), shutter speeds and f/stops.  But that’s all changed now and probably not for the better, at least if you want to take photographs that make an impact.

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Mastering Exposure

This article pulls together several articles on exposure and makes them available in one place.

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 modesto 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.

 

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Photography Tutorial – Light Meter

There’s something I’ve been puzzling about for a long time.  So I finally decided to check it out and share the results with you.  I wanted to know the relationship between the camera’s built-in light meter and the histogram.  OK, sounds geeky so what exactly am I talking about and why do I care?

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Photo Foundations – Exposure

When I’m asked how I get such intense landscape photographs I respond that it all begins with the fundamentals, the photographic foundation.  Given that you have the other elements of a great photograph – a terrific subject and fantastic light – you are still not guaranteed a compelling image if it doesn’t have a solid foundation.

What is the photographic foundation?  It’s two things – a proper exposure and the correct focus.  These are so basic we never talk about them very much but, if you’re like me, you’ve had to walk away from a potentially great image because one or both of these were not carefully attended to in the field.

So let’s talk about exposure.

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Creative Use of Exposure

On using f/stop and shutter speed to achieve creative results.

In the first article (All You Ever Wanted to Know about Exposure) we identified the four variables of exposure – ISO, aperture, shutter speed and light intensity and compared exposure to filling a glass of water. We can control the first three in order to respond to the fourth. In the second article (Mastering Exposure – Next Steps) we discussed how to use the histogram on a digital camera to help us get the best exposure. We looked at examples of overexposed and underexposed images. We also introduced the concept of dynamic range and took a look at some of the challenges and opportunities we enjoy when we have images that have a very low dynamic range (low contrast) and a very high dynamic range (high contrast).

You may have thought we said all there was to be said in the first two article.  Well, believe it or not there’s more  – how to use exposure creatively. We can start by talking about the four variables. Let’s not get into the last variable, light intensity, just now. Rather let’s start with aperture and shutter speed.

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Mastering Exposure – Next Steps

On using the histogram to judge the quality of the exposure. Also discusses shadow and highlight clipping, the problems the create and how to avoid them.

In the first article on exposure (All You Ever Wanted to Know about Exposure) we discussed the exposure basics, the four variables you have to work with – the intensity of the light, the ISO setting, the f-stop and the shutter speed. We made the comparison of light with water. With this analogy, getting the proper exposure is the same as filling a glass of water (or whatever).  In this article we’ll take a closer look at the kinds of challenges we face getting the best exposure.  But first let’s take a quick review.

So, to quickly review, the sensor in a digital camera or the film in a traditional camera requires a specific amount of light to produce a proper exposure. The amount of light that is required depends on the sensitivity of the digital camera sensor or the film. Sensors or film with lesser sensitivity to light requires more light while those with greater sensitivity require less light. Sensitivity is measured by the ISO number regardless of whether we are dealing with film or a sensor. Lower numbers mean lower sensitivity The numbers start at 100, possibly even 50, and increase to 400, 800, 1600 and even higher. Each time the number doubles it requires exactly half the amount of light to make a proper exposure.

Aperture, or f/stop, is the amount of light that is let through the lens. This is controlled by a diaphragm similar to the pupils of our eyes. It can open to allow more light in or close to allow less light. Apertures are measured with a strange set of numbers like f/22, f/16, f/11, f/8, f/5.6, f/4, f/2.8. The numbering system goes backwards so that higher numbers admit less light. Adjacent numbers either double of half the amount of light coming admitted through the lens. In other words, f/4 admits twice the light as f/5.6.

The only other variable then is shutter speed, or the length of time light is allowed to pass though the shutter. Shutter speed is measured in fractions of a second such as 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/000.

We have control of three of the four variable – ISO setting, f-stop and shutter speed. These are all adjusted to respond to the fourth variable – the intensity of the light. Success as a photographer starts with getting the correct exposure and these are the three things we can manipulate to do so.

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All You Ever Wanted to Know about Exposure

On the fundamentals of exposure – the four variables that must be taken into account to achieve a well exposed image.

The most fundamental skill you need in photography is the ability to make the correct exposure. You can have the greatest ‘eye’ but if your images are not correctly exposed you will never be able to make a fine art print. In addition you will take some great photographs only to be frustrated when you try to render them as prints.

There are two exposure gremlins – over exposure overexpose_1.5and under exposure. It doesn’t matter if you’re shooting a digital or a film camera, they both are subject to the same problems. But underexpose_1.5what is constitutes an over exposed or under exposed photograph and more importantly, how can you ensure you’re getting the proper exposure?

Photography is all about light. A camera is simply a device that controls the amount of light that is allowed to shine on the sensor or the frame of film. Exposure is all about letting the right amount of light into your camera. Sounds simple? Well, there are a number of things that make this a bit more complicated, not the least of which is the terminology – f-stop, ISO settings and shutter speed.

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