Understanding Exposure: A Beginner’s Guide

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WHAT IS EXPOSURE?

In a nutshell, exposure determines how bright or dark your image is. Technically, exposure is the result of the relationship between three elements: aperture, ISO and shutter speed. These elements control the amount of light reaching the electronic sensor when you are taking a photograph.

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HOW TO CONTROL EXPOSURE?

If you want to achieve a correct exposure, you need to start taking control of your camera— use Manual Mode. Many people take photos allowing their cameras to determine the exposure. Needless to say, the results are catastrophic; some photographs are dark, blurry, and the image quality isn't good. That’s why you need to leave Auto Mode behind… unless you want to look like a drunk chihuahua in your photos.

A correct exposure requires some planning. So, before you snap a photo, ask yourself these questions:

  1. What’s the available light?
  2. What do I want in focus?
  3. Is my subject stationary or in motion?

The answer to those questions will help you select the correct settings to properly expose your photo. If you don’t know why those questions are relevant, keep on reading!


THE EXPOSURE TRIANGLE ELEMENTS AT WORK

Although ISO, Aperture and shutter speed work together to create a proper exposure, each element has a different functionality. So, let’s quickly review how each of them work.

ISO Determines how sensitive your camera’s sensor is to the light. Its job is to gather the available light to create an image.

Remember, before taking a photo, ask yourself, “What’s the available light?” if you are in a dark room, all you need to do is to increase the sensor’s sensitivity by using a high ISO number. Then, adjust aperture or shutter speed to create a proper exposure.


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Keep in mind: Using a high ISO can affect the quality of your images; they may turn out grainy or noisy.

APERTURE: Is a hole located inside the lens. It controls the amount of light that touches the sensor and the overall sharpness of an image.

Before taking a photo, ask the question, “What do I want in focus?” If you want to isolate your subject from the background, you can set a wide aperture (small f-stop number).


Keep in mind: The wider the aperture, the greater the amount of light will get through the lens and the less elements will remain in focus.

SHUTTER SPEED: Controls the amount of time a shutter remains open when taking a photograph. As a result, it will control the effects of motion in your pictures.

Before taking a photo, ask the question “Is my subject stationary or in motion?” If you are photographing your dog chasing a squirrel, you need to set a fast shutter speed (high number) to freeze the action.


Keep in mind: Fast shutter speeds freeze motion, while slow ones record motion as a blur.

Article by: Sofia Di Trapani