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How to Take Photographs with Good Exposure |
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Written by TobiasSterling
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Sunday, 08 November 2009 |
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If you have been taking photos for a while, you may have noticed a curious phenomenon: when you take photos in very bright conditions, like at the snow, they turn out too dark, and when you take photos in dark conditions, they turn out too light. So why does this happen?
by TobiasSterling
If you have been taking photos for a while, you may have noticed a curious phenomenon: when you take photos in very bright conditions, like at the snow, they turn out too dark, and when you take photos in dark conditions, they turn out too light. So why does this happen?
Unfortunately, most people believe that they can just point and shoot their camera and reproduce a photo depicting exactly what they saw. However, this is not the case when a camera is in its automatic mode. This mode makes the camera decide for itself what the proper settings should be.
Unless you are using a fully manual camera, your camera must make the decision as to how much light to allow the sensor to be exposed to. If there is too little light, the subjects of the photograph may appear almost invisible, also known as 'underexposed." In reverse, if there is too much light allowed, areas of the photo may be completely white, also known as "overexposed."
Cameras make these decisions on the basis that most scenes are comprised of equal parts of light and dark. This belief is referred to as 18% grey, however in some situations, this is not always the case.
Consider for example what happens if you take a photo in very bright conditions, perhaps the classic example of a polar bear at the snow on a sunny day. You will want your photo to come out very bright, reproducing what you saw with your eyes. However, it is very likely that the photo will instead render the bear and snow as a kind of dirty grey. That's because your camera is applying its rule of thumb to a situation that is unusual.
The reverse situation can be explained with an example of a dark photograph. Perhaps you wish to capture the magic of a dark street lit by streetlights. You are expecting a photo that is mainly dark with areas of illumination. However, because your camera is making decisions using its rule of thumb, you are more likely to have a photo that is brown in areas that should be black as well as having lighter areas that are white or overexposed.
To manage these situations, you will need to take over control of your camera. This means the camera will no longer be able to make its own decisions. One way to achieve this is to dial the 'exposure compensation' setting on your camera. A good rule of thumb to go by would be one stop forward for bright scenes and one dial back for darker scenes. An additional option is to turn your camera into manual mode. This will allow you room to play and experiment with settings as you view them in your LCD screen until you determine the exposure you are looking for.
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