Tag: mastering exposure

Mastering Exposure–Everyday Photography

This tip shows an easy way to get more exciting photographs from your point and shoot camera.

I talked to a lot of people at the Joshua Tree Art Festival this past weekend, sharing with them a little tip about getting better photographs from their point and shoot cameras.

In fact, this tip can apply to any digital camera for those times when you don’t want to have to pay close attention to the camera settings.  You may just want to shoot and have the confidence you’ll get decent photographs.

So this tip is very handy in that it will result in pictures with better colors and greater, more interesting contrast.  And it can be achieved in three simple steps.

Camera Mode

program_mode_settingOur cameras all have different shooting modes.  Many people I talk to use Auto pretty much all the time.  This is the mode where the camera takes care of everything.  In other words, it makes all the decisions.

The first simple change is to switch from whatever mode you’re using to P (for Program mode) as illustrated here.  This returns control of some key functions back to you, the photographer.    The camera will still set the aperture and shutter speed based on the light conditions.  But you gain access to some key corrections that will result in better pictures.

Exposure Compensation

The second change is exposure compensation.  This is the technique of either increasing or decreasing the exposure that the camera determined without resorting to setting the exposure manually.  In other words, you can still let the camera determine the exposure (as it does in P mode) but then tell it to decrease the exposure a certain amount.

expcompiconNot all cameras have this capability but if your camera is one that does there will be a button or dial with this symbol somewhere on the camera.  Or there will be an exposure compensation menu option.  It indicates that you can refine the exposure by increasing or decreasing it.  In other words, it allows you to slightly over expose (or lighten) the image or underexpose (or darken) the image.  Here’s how it works.

The camera determines the exposure using its built in light meter.  It generally does a pretty good job but it has certain limitations.  The exposures it determines may overexpose the image ever so slightly, resulting in pale colors.  So if we slightly underexpose our  photographs they will gain a richness of color that is very pleasing.

expscaleI recommend we use –1/2 to –2/3 stop exposure compensation.  That is to say, we tell the camera to decrease the exposure by 1/2 or 2/3’s of a stop.  Your camera will display a scale similar to this one that will show the amount of exposure compensation.  On the minus side, 1 means decreasing the exposure or darkening the image by one stop.  Two means the exposure is decreased and the image is darkened by two stops.  The positive side increases or brightens the image by one and two stops respectively.

If your camera is set up to adjust exposure by half stop increments there will be one dot between the numbers as in this illustration.  If it is set up to adjust exposure by one third stop increments there will be two dots.  I prefer to set my camera to adjust exposure by 1/3 stop increments.  And then I set my exposure compensation to –2/3 stops.

You may need to check your camera’s manual to determine exactly how to set your camera’s exposure increments and how to do exposure compensation.

Auto ISO

The third change is to set your ISO setting on Automatic.  ISO refers to the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor which in turn affects the amount of light required to produce a correct exposure.  The greater the sensitivity, the less light is required.  Increasing the ISO increases the sensor’s sensitivity.  So an ISO of 100 has low sensitivity and requires more light for a correct exposure.  An ISO of 400 has much higher sensitivity and therefore requires much less light for a correct exposure.

Cameras produce the highest quality images at low ISOs.  And when the ISO is set on Auto the camera will automatically select the lowest possible setting to give you the highest quality image in the prevailing light conditions.

As with exposure compensation, you may need to consult your camera’s manual to determine exactly how to do this.

I use these settings myself on my Canon point and shoot (G11), the camera I take with me everywhere I go.  When I’m doing casual shooting or even scouting for ‘serious’ photograph locations I’ll use the G11 configured in this way.  In times like these I don’t want to be focusing on exposure settings, ISO and all the other things I think about when shooting my big Canon.  I want to focus on the image and the compositional possibilities.  And these settings allow me to do that and still capture high quality images.

So, try them for yourself and see if you like them.  Set up your camera in this way and shoot some photographs.  I think you’ll be pleased with the results.

Join me on an upcoming workshop.  Click here for more details.

To see more of my photographs click here.

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Mastering Exposure–Histograms Part 3

This is the third post in a series on the histogram. This post discusses the Rocky Mountain histogram, what it is, when you can get it, how to photograph and how to do the post processing.

This is the third post in a continuing series on the oft misunderstood but oh so important histogram.  In the first two posts we discussed the histogram in general.  If you missed them, click on these links.

Mastering Exposure – Histograms Part 1

Mastering Exposure – Histograms Part 2

Recap

To recap, the histogram displays a graph of the tonal values in the scene you are about to photograph.  It shows how the dynamic range of the scene matches and fits into the dynamic range of your camera’s sensor.  There are two critical pieces of information a histogram tells you:

  1. If your exposure is correct
  2. If you have problems capturing the dynamic range of the scene

To recap, the exposure is displayed by the position of the histogram curve within the boundaries of the graph area.  As you increase the exposure the histogram moves to the right.  As you decrease the exposure it moves to the left.  If the exposure is increased so that the histogram moves all the way up against the right side of the graph area you will have highlight clipping. Likewise, if it moves all the way to the left side you will have shadow clipping.

The dynamic range of the scene is displayed as the breadth of the histogram,  The wider the histogram the greater the dynamic range of the scene.  The narrower the histogram the lower the dynamic range.  When the histogram is so wide that it extends from one end of the graph area to the other you are facing a situation where your camera’s sensor will have a difficult time capturing the full dynamic range of the scene.  The worst case is you will have both highlight and shadow clipping.

Continue reading “Mastering Exposure–Histograms Part 3”

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Mastering Exposure–Histograms Part 1

Alas, the histogram is misunderstood…, or not understood at all.  I often run into students on photography workshops who say they’ve noticed the histogram but never knew what it was nor paid much attention to it.  But the histogram is one of our most effective tools we have for getting the correct exposure.  And a correct exposure is essential to a compelling photograph.  So, what is a histogram?  Read on as we explore the ins and outs of this powerful tool.

Continue reading “Mastering Exposure–Histograms Part 1”

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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.

Continue reading “Mastering Exposure – Next Steps”

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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.

Continue reading “All You Ever Wanted to Know about Exposure”

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