Exposure is the total amount of light allowed to fall on a sensor or film during the taking of a photograph. This is determined by the exposure time (shutter speed) and amount of light admitted (lens aperture). Today, sensor/film sensitivity (ISO speed) is often also considered to be part of ...
80
votes
6answers
9k views
What is the “exposure triangle”?
What is the exposure triangle? How do the "sides" affect my photographs?
68
votes
6answers
3k views
How and why do you use an image histogram?
I realize that an image histogram is a graphical display of an images tonal distribution (i.e. horizontal darks to lights, vertical pixel distribution), but how does one really use it and why? I mean, ...
55
votes
9answers
11k views
How should I photograph falling snow?
We don't get much snow in the UK, so I don't have much experience photographing it, and when I tried photographing falling snow last year I found it very hard to capture the snowflakes in the air — ...
49
votes
13answers
24k views
How do I set the proper exposure for nighttime moon photos?
All my attempts to get a good shot of the full moon with my DSLR result in an overexposed circle on a black background. I've used a tripod, remote shutter release, low ISO, and long exposure, but ...
45
votes
4answers
3k views
What is Ansel Adams' “Zone System”?
I've heard much of Ansel Adams' Zone system, but I've never quite understood it. What is it, how and where is it used, and is it still useful with modern (digital) cameras? Thanks!
39
votes
4answers
13k views
Tips for landscape+stars photography?
I'm leaving for holidays tomorrow, and there's a good chance that I'll be able to be by night on a field with no artificial light around, and no moon in the sky.
I'd love to take some picture of the ...
36
votes
5answers
3k views
When best to use Multi-Zone/Matrix, Spot, or Center-Weight?
What are Multi-Zone/Matrix metering, Center-Weighted metering, and Spot metering? What about Partial?
Is there a good rule of thumb, or a few pointers, on when best to use each metering mode?
29
votes
6answers
1k views
What is the best technique for long-exposure photography in good light?
Can anyone offer any tips on achieving long exposures (with the intention of blurring water, clouds etc)?
29
votes
12answers
2k views
What situations are best suited for spot metering?
I have found myself using spot metering on several occasions in order to get the right exposure, such as sunsets and on bright days with a subject in the shade. What other situations are well suited ...
29
votes
6answers
6k views
How do I use spot metering?
What's the right way to use spot metering? Is it better to use in manual mode than one of the priority modes?
There's a question about when to use spot metering, but none that serves as a tutorial to ...
27
votes
7answers
5k views
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using auto ISO on a DSLR?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using auto ISO on a DSLR?
Using manual ISO obviously gives you more control, but auto ISO may mean that you get "the shot" under quickly changing ...
25
votes
8answers
4k views
Should I shoot underexposed photos?
Someone more experienced than me said that he always shoots so that his photos are underexposed (darker) and I should too. The reasoning being that you can always increase the exposure in ...
25
votes
7answers
3k views
When to use shutter priority instead of aperture priority?
Under what circumstances would you use aperture priority vs. shutter priority and vice-versa?
I typically don’t use shutter priority (ever) and favor aperture priority to try to get a max aperture ...
24
votes
6answers
2k views
When should I use graduated ND filters and when should I use HDR processing?
I'd really like to stop blowing out the sky and/or underexposing the ground in my pictures. The traditional solution would be to use graduated ND filters, but taking multiple exposures and applying ...
23
votes
9answers
1k views
How can I take pictures of far-away mountains to the South?
I'm trying to take some pictures of a pair of mountains to my south. The distance is about 20 miles away. I'm running into the following problems, and I'm wondering what you guys might suggest to get ...
23
votes
3answers
2k views
In Lightroom 3, what is the difference between exposure and brightness?
What's the difference between adjusting a photo's exposure versus its brightness?
I created a virtual copy of a photo. The original's exposure was increased 1 stop. The other got an increase in ...
23
votes
3answers
2k views
What is the meaning of “white balance”?
I would like to understand the term white balance. My camera has settings for white balance with the following options:
Auto white balance
Daylight
Cloudy
Shade
Flash
Incandescent lights
White set1 ...
22
votes
5answers
1k views
How to cope with high contrast?
Many times (especially around midday), we encounter lighting situations where the contrast of the scene is too high to capture with a camera. What can we do to create a useful picture in such ...
21
votes
5answers
3k views
Are there general rules for selecting the correct shutter speed and ISO in manual mode?
I have purchased my first DSLR (a Canon 500D) and have been playing around quite a lot within the aperture priority mode, with auto shutter speed and ISO.
Anyways as I would like to become a better ...
21
votes
6answers
439 views
Are there specific techniques/filters for snowscapes?
It is fast becoming winter, and this will be my first winter that I have a decent camera, so I was wondering how to make the most of the seasons beauty.
I am wondering if there are any techniques ...
20
votes
8answers
1k views
When is it okay to have blown highlights and shadows?
I've always worked very hard to avoid absolute white and absolute black in my photos. But I think maybe I'm working too hard. When is it appropriate to have blown highlights / shadows? Are there ...
20
votes
4answers
1k views
How to photograph a room showing both room & view out a window?
I sometimes find I want to photograph a room showing the view outside the window. This is tricky — either you adjust the shutter speed so that the the window is so bright you can see no detail, or ...
20
votes
4answers
484 views
What's “real” and what's “virtual” on a (digital) camera?
I recently upgraded from a standard compact digital camera to one of the newish "halfway cameras", hoping to get a bit better at taking photographs through having a little more control over the ...
20
votes
5answers
983 views
What is mirror lockup and what is its primary function?
My SLR is equipped with a mirror lockup function. What does it do, and when would I employ such a feature?
19
votes
2answers
2k views
What is the Black Card Technique?
I have found interested comments on 500px: Non-HDR-processed / Non-GND/ND-filtered / non-blended● Black Card Technique and group on Flickr.
Could somebody explain how to and cons and pros of this ...
19
votes
1answer
740 views
18
votes
5answers
2k views
What is exposure compensation?
What does exposure compensation do?
If I take a photo with a given shutter speed, aperature, and ISO, and then take the same shot with +1EV or -1EV, what is actually happening?
Is this just a gain ...
18
votes
4answers
1k views
Why are there limitations to the upper limit of exposure time in digital cameras?
For example, my Canon 550D will only go as far as 30 sec (and then of course the bulb mode).
For measuring exposure, I think all the camera needs is a timer, and I have no doubt they would have to do ...
18
votes
3answers
700 views
Why does a 15-second exposure on my camera actually last 16 seconds?
I was doing a test and wanted the shutter to stay open for 15 seconds -- no problem, I have a 15-second exposure setting in my camera. It seemed to stay open for about an extra second, though, so I ...
16
votes
4answers
1k views
ND filter or exposure compensation?
I was at the camera shop a few weeks ago looking for a neutral density filter, so I could play around with long exposure shots without overexposing.
The guy at the camera shop told me I didn't need a ...
16
votes
5answers
1k views
Does longer exposure increase saturation?
I have read that longer exposure times lead to increase/improved saturation and that landscape photogs use ND filters to allow for longer exposures to get better saturation.
Is this true and does ...
16
votes
3answers
5k views
How do I predict exposure when using flash?
So I've got the basics down for the exposure triangle, but sometimes you just need to add more light to the room and the flash can be the most convenient way of doing that. The problem is that the ...
16
votes
4answers
7k views
How do I “focus and recompose” using spot metering?
I usually use the "[auto]focus and recompose" method for taking candid photographs. In situations where there is a high degree of contrast, I would like to use spot metering to correct expose for ...
15
votes
4answers
582 views
Why do digital cameras need an exposure time at all?
From what I understand of digital cameras, they are basically a lens plus a tiny two-dimensional array of millions of photo-diodes. And from what I understand of photo-diodes, they create a voltage ...
15
votes
5answers
2k views
How can I handle two extremely different brightnesses in the same picture?
I am the fresh owner of my first DSLR (a Canon EOS 600D, as far as I know called Rebel T3i in the USA). I'm a total newbie, and the camera is a lot smarter than me most of the time. But I'm trying to ...
15
votes
8answers
3k views
What is the best way to handle overexposed sky in post-processing?
I'm new at photography and I have taken some pictures where the subjects in the foreground are exposed correctly but the sky is very overexposed. What is the best way to handle it in post production?
...
15
votes
3answers
573 views
What is an effective exposure strategy?
What strategy do you follow when setting ISO, shutter speed and aperture to achieve the correct exposure?
Do you have different strategies for different shooting conditions?
I believe that all ...
15
votes
4answers
2k views
What are general rules for ISO settings?
Being a novice in photography and reading about preferable settings of my camera I'm a little bit confused about ISO settings. Sometimes I'm advised to set as little ISO as possible to have higher ...
14
votes
6answers
2k views
What is one “stop”?
I always hear this term, e.g.,
I had to go down one stop
Increasing X by Y raises Z by one stop
I turned down the flash/the light two stops
This lens/sensor/strobe/Photoshop tweak raises X by ...
14
votes
5answers
580 views
What's a good ad-hoc replacement for a gray card?
I know that a real gray card is the best thing to use to determine exposure. But I'd like to know if there are other naturally available features that can be used in a quick and dirty way. Are fields ...
14
votes
4answers
978 views
How to maximise contrast range of distant landscapes with blue haze?
Distant landscapes often appear hazy, washed-out and blue due to Rayleigh scattering.
What can be done to maximise the contrast range of the exposure when photographing such scenes?
For example:
...
14
votes
7answers
497 views
Why do cameras use a single exposure rather than integrating across many very quick reads?
I have never understood why cameras need a shutter with a specific speed and why this cannot be adjusted in postprocessing. I think that present sensor works in an integral way: they save the amount ...
14
votes
2answers
573 views
When comparing sensor dynamic range, what are those numbers based on?
Dynamic range EV's are bandied about all the time and I get the feeling that a) they're not on the same 'scale' and b) they're misleading in what they're indicating so I'm hoping somebody can clarify.
...
13
votes
6answers
2k views
Why are blown highlights particularly bad in digital photography?
I've heard that digital sensors are less "forgiving" of blown highlights than film. Why is this?
There's something called "characteristic curves". How does this related, in film and in digital?
Can ...
13
votes
6answers
8k views
How do I make picture from my Canon 550D more dramatic and colourful, via camera settings if possible?
I have just started clicking with my new Canon 550D DSLR camera and while I'm getting used to its functions and settings, I was intending to get the colours more vibrant while clicking my pictures. ...
13
votes
10answers
2k views
What is the 18% gray tone, and how do I make a 18% gray card in Photoshop?
I have heard about 18% gray tone — what is it really, and why 18% (and not 20% or some other value), and how can I make it in Photoshop?
13
votes
4answers
2k views
How can I simulate a long exposure photo using a set of shorter exposure photos?
I'm shooting towards the sky to capture the stars. The exposure time is 15 seconds, so I can see the stars still, without a trace. These photos are taken continuously one after the other, because I ...
13
votes
6answers
1k views
Can you fix incorrect exposure during post processing?
If a photo is over or under exposed but not to the point of clipping (histogram does not reach the left or right side) is there any reason you couldn't just fix the exposure in Photoshop or Lightroom? ...
13
votes
8answers
593 views
What exposure mode and techniques should I use when out-and-about?
I'm interested to hear what exposure/metering techniques people use when taking out-and-about shots (no tripod). I almost always have my camera set to Aperture Priority mode, and I suspect most people ...
13
votes
5answers
846 views
If shooting RAW, is the white balance selected in camera irrelevant for exposure?
I have read the existing question - Does the camera white balance setting affect the raw image at all?
After reading the above post, I am still not clear on the part around exposure. Is it possible ...
