How to Photograph with the Correct Exposure

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE PHOTO BASICS PDF

Aperture and shutter speed are your two primary controls to adjust the exposure of a picture. These controls affect how much light enters into the camera and exposes the sensor to light.

• EXPOSURE: The amount of light that enters into your camera.
• APERTURE: The size of the lens opening, which controls the amount of light that enters into your camera. This controls the depth-of-field, telling the camera how much of the scenery you want in focus.
• SHUTTER SPEED: The amount of time light can enter into the camera. This controls how much of a given moment you want to be recorded.

1. Think about what you want to capture (i.e. Close-up shot vs. large scene and blurred motion vs. in focus fast scene). This makes a difference on whether you want to start adjusting your aperture or shutter speed first.

OPTION 1: APERTURE
When controlling the amount of depth in focus is most important to you, setting your aperture, before shutter speed is the way to go.



OPTION 2: SHUTTER SPEED
If capturing the motion of your subject matter is most important, you should set your shutter speed first. Shutter speeds are measured in fractions of a second.




2. Once you set your first control, check your camera’s light meter with your second control until the meter reading aligns to the center of your meter bar. Once you get this perfect exposure, you can always adjust.

Notes: Shutter speed and aperture work inversely to each other. For example, if you have the right exposure set, but decide to adjust the aperture one stop higher, you would need adjust the shutter one stop lower by doubling the time the shutter is opened.