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Exposure
Time to put things in clear order: All the terms related to exposure gathered on one page and how they are connected in a nutshell. With links to all more detailed pages around exposure.
Orientation map about exposure
Aperture, shutter speed, ISO – the controls for exposure
We start with three faithful companions who will be around you all the time in photography, today just as they have been through the decades of analogue photography:
- Aperture
- Exposure time
- ISO sensitivity.
Each by itself has a certain effect on the look of your photos:
- Aperture → Depth of field
- Exposure time → motion blur and camera shake
- ISO sensitivity → image noise.
All three together make up the exposure → the image brightness.
You can think of this as a kind of mixer with three sliders for image brightness. With each one you can increase or decrease the image brightness. And if you move one up, another one has to go down to keep the brightness the same.
Exposure metering and control – setting the sliders
Exposure metering measures the brightness of the subject and then knows how far all three sliders in combination should be turned up.
You can leave this to the camera or have a say in it yourself:
- Type of exposure metering → where in the frame should the camera measure the exposure?
- Exposure lock → measure the exposure with a different image section than your later photo.
- Exposure compensation → correct the result of the automatic exposure measurement upwards or downwards.
There are a several combinations of the three controls that provide the same image brightness and match the result of the exposure metering.
The exposure control picks one of the possible combinations of aperture, shutter speed, ISO sensitivity. Again, you can leave this to the camera or sit down at the mixer yourself:
- With the camera mode you instruct whether the camera alone decides on aperture and shutter speed or what you want to do yourself.
- You can select the ISO sensitivity yourself or let the ISO automatic adjust it up and down in a flash, depending on the camera mode, .
A guided tour about exposure
Here is the list of the more detailed pages on exposure. They form a circuit like a guided tour past all the sights on the map shown above:
AdvancedPracticeAperture, exposure time, ISO – understanding and reading themThe three faithful companions for anyone taking the step beyond full camera automatic, explained quickly: what they mean, how you can read them on your camera and how they influence the look of your pictures.
AdvancedBackground knowledgeAperture numbersBackground knowledge on aperture numbers, short and easy to read: Where do the numerical values 4, 5.6, 8, 11 etc. come from? Why do smaller numbers mean a larger aperture? And why is there often an f next to the aperture number?
AdvancedPracticeDepth of fieldThe more technical, craft part on depth of field - what it is, and how it depends on aperture, focal length, sensor size and distance.
AdvancedPracticeMotion blur and camera shakeMotion is a possible cause of blur in photos, either because the subject or the camera moves during exposure time. When exactly they occur and how you deal with them, when the blur might even be good for your photos, is the topic of this page.
AdvancedPracticeISO-sensitivity and image noiseISO sensitivity, image noise and noise reduction are the topics here. First, noise – what exactly is it, what does it look like. Noise reduction can remove it, but often a photo just looks like it has been messed up in some other way afterwards.
AdvancedPracticeAperture, exposure time and ISO sensitivity – how they interactWhat you really need to understand the interaction of aperture, exposure time and ISO sensitivity is surprisingly little and can be found here. Explained in simple words with the ©exposure mixer from digital-photography.com.
AdvancedBackground knowledgeUnderstanding exposure meteringTwo keys open up the understanding of how exposure metering works and why photos turn out as bright or dark as you see them. It's background knowledge – but with practical benefits, because with these two simple keys you can recognize and decide for yourself for many situations whether and how you intervene in the exposure.
AdvancedBackground knowledgeThe types of exposure meteringSimplification is the order of the day: What is behind the different types of exposure metering – matrix/multi/multi-segment metering, spot metering, center-weighted metering? The differences can be summarized briefly, and with this background knowledge you can decide for yourself when which method makes sense.
BeginnerPracticeExposure lockThe exposure lock allows you to control the exposure in the simplest way – even without paying attention to aperture, exposure time and ISO if you are not yet familiar with them. Find out how it works and how to use it here.
AdvancedPracticeExposure compensationThe essentials of exposure compensation: what it is good for, how to set it on your camera and which values are common.
AdvancedPracticeExposure controlP/S/A/M resp. P/Tv/Av/M, the advanced camera modes are decoded here. Read here how they differ and how to find your favourite mode.
AdvancedPracticeCamera modeThe camera mode is the most basic setting, as it determines the entire camera behaviour. What happens automatically, what you can or have to do yourself – especially for aperture, exposure time, ISO sensitivity. The different camera modes are described and explained here.
