Member-only story
Camera exposure: A 3 step approach
Every photo taken is a balancing act between 3 camera settings.
- Shutter speed
- Aperture
- ISO
These settings make up the “Exposure Triangle” shown below.
Each setting will affect how bright or dark the image is. When we are getting the correct exposure for an image we are playing a game of adjustments until the image achieves the desired brightness.
Exposure is that desired level. So when somebody says, “the image is over exposed” they are actually saying, “it’s too bright.” “Underexposed” means it’s too dark.
Most modern cameras can auto expose an image to what the camera’s sensors think is the correct brightness level. To do so you can put your camera in “auto” mode if it has it. But if you want to know how to use your camera in manual mode, which if you’re reading then I assume that’s you, these 3 steps will simplify the process.
The 3 step process I use to expose for a shot:
- Start with “Aperture” to choose desired depth of field .
- Adjust “Shutter Speed” for brightness and motion blur effects.
- Fine tune “ISO” to brighten the image if it needs an extra boost to balance the image out.
