Exposure - As I Know It.

I have decided to write about what I will be learning about photography and my personal experiences with those learning bits. This is a way for me to understand the techniques better and to use it as a reference point in future (when needed). In the meantime it may also benefit someone like me i.e. an amateur.

Having said that, I have to start with Understanding the Exposure as I believe it is one of the most important aspect of the photography (digital photography in this context if its any different to film). It is therefore the prime objective of any photographer to capture a photo with appropriate exposure i.e. one which is neither too bright nor too dark, in relation to the conditions at that time.

The different modes and controls that are available on a camera are there to enable the camera or the photographer to control the light on the image so that the output has a perfect balance of light and shade. The famous Aperture value (F stop), Shutter speed and/or ISO settings are there to define an ideal combination that will allow adequate amount of light through the lens onto the sensor of the camera in order for it to develop a beautiful image. I say beautiful because that is what an accurately exposed image should look like. As I have noted earlier Playing with Exposure, despite the given rules of shooting in the daylight or in low light, it is ultimately the photographer who is responsible to instruct the camera about how to expose the scene that he is focusing at.

Quoting from my own experience, I suggest to learn the control following way:

Conditions: A Clear Sky Bright Sunny day

Set the ISO to a low number i.e. 100
Set the Aperture value (Av) to say f/8

Now you should play with Shutter Speed (Tv) to control the amount of light passing through the shutter. Start with 1/100 and see how it affects your image then from there you can increase the shutter speed or reduce it to control the light how you want. You should also try with different combination of Av and Tv to find the perfect balance of light and shade on your photos. It is you to decide what combination creates a perfect exposed photo. It is important to change the shutter speed with the changing sun light i.e. if there are clouds that cover the sunlight or there are trees preventing your scene from the direct sunlight, that means you will need to adjust the shutter speed accordingly in order to keep the image properly bright and exposed. When it is slightly overcast, you may need a slow shutter in order to allow enough light onto the sensor to develop the image correctly. Once again it is up to the person how he wants to capture the scene or what settings suits his requirements.

I haven't tried shooting in the dark or in the evening or overcast conditions yet therefore I won't write anything about that for now. Although it is almost the inverse settings when you are shooting in low light but still I want to practice and experience it myself before I can blog about it. Remember I said it is my personal experiences and I don't have one yet.

This much is what I understood Exposure so far, may be right or may be wrong, but I'm looking to improve my understanding of it in the future as time permits me to play more with the camera and then I will be able to write more about it.

Let me know if you agree/disagree or have any suggestion/comment on this post that may help improve my or have helped your understanding of Exposure :-)

Happy Learning !!