COPYRIGHT 2014 KATRINA KENNEDY CaptureYour365 EXPOSURE · EXPOSURE Correct To Creative | Katrina Kennedy Katrina Kennedy | EXPOSURE Correct To Creative 2 3 CLASS SCHEDULE Classes

EXPLORING THE CORRECT AND THE CREATIVE EXPOSURE

EXPOSURE

PLUSSelf-assessments,

quizzes, & exercises.

>>>page 80

USING A GRAY CARDWhat it is. Why it matters. Tricks to find

neutral gray.

>>> page 22

TECHNIQUES & TRICKSSetting your exposure without using your

hand or a gray card. How to use Sunny 16,

Mr. Green Jeans, and Brother Blue Sky.

>>> page 48

THE INTENSITY OF LIGHT FALLING ON A SENSOR

CaptureYour365COPYRIGHT 2014 KATRINA KENNEDY

EXPOSURE TRIANGLEBalancing ISO, Aperture, and Shutter

Speed, the keys to correct and creative

exposure. Play with them to get the result

you want.

>>> page 8

We wi l l focus on the semi-manual and manual modes through c lass. No fear. You can do this .

THE TRIANGLETogether aperture, shutter speed, and ISO create a correct exposure. Change one and the other two are effected. Whether you are making these changes manual ly or the camera is choosing them, the exposure t r iangle uses the same 3 e lements. READ MORE ON PAGE 8

E X P O S U R E C o r r e c t T o C r e a t i v e | K a t r i n a K e n n e d y K a t r i n a K e n n e d y | E X P O S U R E C o r r e c t T o C r e a t i v e

2 3

CLASS SCHEDULE

Classes post each

Monday

Oct 6

Oct 13

Oct 20

Nov 3

Nov 10

Nov 17

VIDEOS/WEBINARS/CHAT

Oct 6 - Video

Oct 13 - Video

Nov 6 - Quiz Webinar

Nov 10 - Video

Nov 20 - Webinar

NEED TO HAVE

A DSLR camera

A lens

Wi l l ingness to

exper iment

GOOD TO HAVE

Tr ipod

Gray card

KATRINA KENNEDY

Captureyour365.com

katr ina@

katr inakennedy.com

7 weeks of explor ing

EXPOSURE

LESSON 1: THE EXPOSURE

TRIANGLE An overv iew of

creat ing a correct exposure.

Review, re inforce, and

conf i rm what you know.

LESSON 2: METERING

TECHNIQUES Us ing a gray

card. Choosing meter ing

modes. Sett ing a custom

white balance. RAW reasons.

LESSON 3: LOW L IGHT

S ITUATIONS Creat ing

interest ing low l ight images.

S i lhouettes & backl i t

exposures.

LESSON 4: TRICKS &

TECHNIQUES Brother B lue Sky.

Mr. Green Jeans. Sunny 16.

Explorat ion of some c lass ic

meter ing methods.

LESSON 5: L IGHT Qual i t ies and

colors of l ight . Us ing ambient

l ight and creat ing l ight for an

image.

LESSON 6: EXPERIMENT & PLAY

Time for fun! Taking a l l of our

knowledge and cutt ing loose!

Underexposing and overex-

posing for creat ive effect .

WELCOME TO CLASSThanks for jo in ing our explorat ion of EXPOSURE. Enjoy the c lass. Ask quest ions. Share your photos. Comment on others . Get what you need. Have fun!

Understanding how

your camera creates

an image opens

doors to creat iv i ty and fun.

With that knowledge you can

shoot correct and creat ive

exposures more conf ident ly.

I ’ve designed the c lass with

pract ice throughout . Have

your camera in hand and

your manual nearby as you

read through the pages of the

c lass handouts. We are going

to shoot , shoot , and then

shoot some more.

As you move through the

c lass, avoid going back to the

sett ings you know. Chal lenge

yoursel f . You’ l l learn

most when you fo l low the

exerc ises. Every step has a

thought process and purpose

behind i t . Hang in there when

i t gets hard. You can do this !

In our f i rs t lesson, we review

the exposure t r iangle . This

lesson gets us a l l on the

same page. For some i t

wi l l be review; for others

i t re inforces what you are

learning.

Af ter Lesson 1 we’ l l move

i t up a bi t as we tackle

di fferent meter ing techniques

and low l ight s i tuat ions.

I hope to help you to pick up

your camera in any s i tuat ion,

look at the l ight , look at your

camera and know exact ly

what to do and how to do i t !

Are you ready? Grab your

camera, and your manual ,

and let ’s f ind some l ight .

THANKS FOR JOINING ME FOR EXPOSUREWHAT TO EXPECTDATES & DETAILS

http://www.captureyour365.com

mailto:katrina%40katrinakennedy.com?subject=Exposure%20Class%20Communication

mailto:katrina%40katrinakennedy.com?subject=Exposure%20Class%20Communication


4 5

» p.66

» 38

» p.78

» p.16 » p.30 » p.42

» p.54

6 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGEThe exposure t r iangle

8 THE EXPOSURE TRIANGLE

10 EXPLORING APERTURE

12 SHUTTER SPEED14 ISO16 MY EXPOSURE

EXPOSED18 ON ASSIGNMENT -

TRIANGLE PLAY

20 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGEMeter ing techniques

22 USING A GRAY CARD.

24 METERING MODES26 WHITE BALANCE28 SHOOTING IN RAW30 MY EXPOSURE

EXPOSED

32 ON ASSIGNMENT - METERING PLAY

34 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE Low l ight exposure

36 LOW LIGHT38 THE SILHOUETTE40 BACKLIT & FLARE.

42 MY EXPOSURE EXPOSED

44 ON ASSIGNMENT - LOW LIGHT PLAY

46 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGETricks and techniques for

meter ing

48 USING COLORS FOR EXPOSURE

50 THE SUNNY 16 RULE

52 EXPOSURE COMPENSATION


56 ON ASSIGNMENT - TECHNIQUE PLAY

58 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGELIGHT

60 THE QUALITY OF LIGHT

62 EXPOSING WITH FLASH

64 FILL FLASH66 MY EXPOSURE

EXPOSED68 ON ASSIGNMENT -

FLASH PLAY

70 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGEUnder, over and a l l around

72 WHAT’S RIGHT?74 UNDEREXPOSING76 OVEREXPOSING.


80 ON ASSIGNMENT - FINAL EXAM

MEASURE WHAT YOU KNOW

NOW AND WHAT YOU LEARN

THROUGH CLASS.

∆ I know where to

change my aperture,

shutter speed, and ISO.

∆ I am fami l iar with my

camera’s meter ing modes

and know when to use

each.

∆ I know what i t means to

stop down or open up.

∆ I know the l imits of my

camera’s ISO.

∆ I have successful ly used

my hand to meter for a

correct exposure.

∆ I know where to f ind

the focal length and

aperture of each of my

lenses.

∆ I know what happens

when I use a s low shutter

speed or a fast shutter

speed.

∆ I ’m fami l iar with when

to shoot in aperture

pr ior i ty, shutter pr ior i ty, or

manual modes.

∆ I know where to adjust

my white balance.

∆ I know when to use f i l l

f lash.

∆ I know how to blur the

background using aperture,

d istance, and focal length.

∆ I know how to stop

act ion and how to capture

mot ion blur.

∆ I know what area to

use to expose in most

s i tuat ions.

∆ I consistent ly achieve

correct exposure.

PROGRESS REPORTCONTENTS


6 7

Let ’s test your knowledge of

the exposure t r iangle .

1 APERTURE. Whi le shoot ing

in aperture pr ior i ty mode, I

rea l ize my subject ’s face is

underexposed. What can I do

to get a correct exposure?

A. Adjust my shutter speed,

one stop faster.

B . Adjust my shutter speed,

one stop s lower.

2 APERTURE. I want to b lur my

background. Which aperture

should I choose?

A. f /1 .4

B. f /5 .6

3 APERTURE. I have two sub-

jects in my f rame. I want

both of them to be in focus.

Which aperture should I

se lect?

A. f /8

B. f /2 .8

4 SHUTTER SPEED. My chi ld is

moving FAST. I want to make

sure I s top his mot ion. Which

shutter speed do I se lect?

A. One over the rec iprocal of

the length of my lens.

B. Something faster than

1/125 of a second

5 SHUTTER SPEED. My subject

was running toward me, but

is now running across the

f rame. How should I change

my shutter speed?

A. Set i t faster than when the

subject was running toward

me.

B. Set i t s lower than when

the subject was running

toward me.

6 ISO. There is very l i t t le

l ight and I ’ve opened up my

aperture as far as I can. What

should I do with my ISO?

A. Lower i t to avoid noise.

B. Raise i t two or more stops.

7 ONE STOP MORE. I f my

sett ings are f/4 , ss 1/250,

ISO 200 and I need to add

one stop more of l ight , which

sett ings would I choose?

A. f /8 , ss 1/250, ISO 200

B. f /4 , ss 1/125, ISO 200

8 ONE STOP LESS. I f my set-

t ings are f/5 .6 , ss 1/500, ISO

400 and I want one stop less

l ight , which sett ings should I

choose?

A. f /5 .6 , ss 1/500, ISO 200

B. f /5 .6 , ss 1/500, ISO 800

9 STOPS. What is the next

number in th is sequence of

apertures?

f/1 .4

f/2 .8

f/4 .0

10 STOPS. What is the next

number in th is sequence of

shutter speeds?

ss 1/500

ss 1/250

ss 1/125

You’ l l f ind the answers on page 17 .

TEST WHAT YOU KNOWWhat would c lass be without a test? Consider i t a b i t of se l f -assessment before you dive into the lesson. Take i t again at the end to see how much you’ve learned!

Aperture controls

depth of field.

Shutter speed

controls motion.

ISO gathers light

and determines

noise.

QUIZ: THE EXPOSURE TRIANGLE

The +1 Stop Rule: P lace your hand in f ront of the lens in the same l ight that fa l ls on your subject . Set your exposure for a correct exposure. Then overexpose +1 stop.

» Aperture Priority

» Manual Mode


8 9

THE EXPOSURE TRIANGLEI f your camera is in manual mode you are fami l iar with the exposure t r iangle - aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Balancing them creates correct and creat ive exposure.

your shutter speed unt i l

your camera’s l ight meter

shows a correct exposure.

When you f ind that l ine r ight

in the middle, you know

your camera thinks you’ve

exposed correct ly.

You are smarter than your

camera though. You know

that as you point your

camera at d i fferent parts of

the f rame, the l ight meter is

going to bounce a l l over the

place, showing you di fferent

readings.

You a lso know that there are

a number of combinat ions

that your camera reads as

correct exposures. Open up

your aperture for a b lurred

background and you’ l l need

to adjust your shutter speed

or ISO to balance the l ight

coming in.

One of the most d i ff icu l t

obstac les for people learning

manual mode is where to

point for a correct exposure.

Your scene may have l ight

coming f rom di fferent

d i rect ions, with di fferent

intensi t ies , and be dominated

by di fferent colors . That can

be t r icky.

The +1 Stop Rule. P lace your

hand in f ront of the lens in

the same l ight that fa l ls on

your subject . The subject

doesn’t need to be in focus.

Adjust your aperture, shutter

speed, and ISO unt i l your

camera shows a correct

exposure. Then overexpose,

one fu l l s top (+1) . In most

cameras that is three smal l

dashed l ines or c l icks.

A lmost as i f by magic , you’ve

got a correct exposure. Of

course, th ings get t r ick ier

when you can’t get your hand

in the f rame.

When you can’t get c lose

enough to put your hand

in the f rame, se lect some

skin. Look for the port ion of

your subject ’s face that is in

the l ight you want correct ly

exposed. Typica l ly th is is a

highl ight area. I f you expose

for the darker areas of a

person’s face, the l ighter

areas might be blown out .

St i l l use the +1 stop rule

when using someone’s face

for exposure.

F i l l the f rame for the best

exposure. The less compet ing

contrast areas of l ight

and dark, the better your

exposure is going to be.

G ive i t a t ry. F i l l the f rame.

Shoot . Without changing your

sett ings, step back and shoot

again. See what happens

as you a l low more into the

f rame.

What i f there is no skin in

your f rame and YOU CAN’T

get c loser? Now things get

t r ick ier. We’ l l explore th is

more in Lessons 2-6 . For

now we are going to keep i t

s imple.

Understanding how exposure

works improves your

photography. The more you

know about how your camera

responds to changes in the

e lements of the exposure

t r iangle , the more contro l

you wi l l have, no matter what

mode you shoot in .

Isn’t i t just eas ier to shoot in

aperture pr ior i ty anyway? Yes

and no. Take two photos of

my husband as an example.

I t took me t ime to adjust

in manual mode. Look what

happened in aperture pr ior i ty

mode though. I rea l ly need

to adjust my exposure

compensat ion up one stop

to get a l i t t le more l ight in .

Time is spent in aperture

pr ior i ty or manual mode.

(Yes, they’d be better photos,

i f he’d opened those eyes up

a bi t ! )

The three e lements of

the exposure t r iangle

work together to

create a correct ly exposed

image. I can balance

aperture, shutter speed, and

ISO in a number of ways to

achieve a proper ly exposed

image.

I f i t helps, th ink of the

exposure t r iangle as one

long str ing with three beads

on i t . I f you pul l one part

of the str ing, the beads a l l

move together. You can’t p lay

with one without something

happening to the others .

Let ’s set as ide the creat ive

part for just a minute and

just get technica l . In manual

mode you select your ISO

and aperture and then adjust

THE EXPOSURE TRIANGLE

Aperture is l i tera l ly the

hole in your camera’s lens, aperture can blur the background or throw an eye out of focus. A low number is considered wide open and a large number stopped down.

» f/4

» f/5.6

» f/8

» f/11

» f/16


10 11PRACTICE

Grab your camera and your

widest lens. Shoot at each

of the apertures at your

minimum focus distance ( that

spot where you are as c lose

as you can be and st i l l focus

on the subject) .

Take a look at your photos.

Not ice how they are di fferent .

Take a few minutes. Wr i te

down your responses.

ARE YOU ALWAYS WIDE?

Do you get stuck using one

or two apertures? I t is so

common to buy a 50mm f/1.4

lens, then dia l in f/1 .4 and

shoot , shoot , shoot . And then

you real ize, wow, th is lens

just isn’t very sharp.

I t ’s not the lens, s i l ly ! I t ’s

the aperture! Move through

your other apertures and

open al l sorts of doors for

creat iv i ty. Aperture is only

one way to blur the back-

ground. Consider the dis-

tance behind your subject ,

your focal length, and your

prox imity to your subject i f

you want a shal low depth of

f ie ld .

Are you having a hard t ime

gett ing a moving subject in

focus? Use a narrower aper-

ture ( larger f/ number) .

Go there and suddenly you

real ize, focus is a b i t eas ier.

You have a wider target .

When something is moving, i t

wi l l make a l l the di fference

for you! Of course, you’ l l

need to adjust the exposure

t r iangle , gather ing l ight f rom

your ISO.

APERTURE AND L IGHTS

Different apertures create

di fferent l ight effects in

your photo backgrounds. I f

you shoot at the wider end

of your apertures (smal ler

numbers) you wi l l create

bokeh - b lurred l ights . I f you

shoot at the narrow end of

apertures ( larger numbers)

you wi l l create star burst

l ight effects .

The next t ime you watch a

movie, pay attent ion to the

di fferent l ight effects in the

background.

TAKE A LOOK AT APERTURES

In my photos on the r ight ,

not ice how the s ize of the

aperture changes. A lso

not ice, how the focus on

my bandana, hai r and the

numbers change in each

photo.

Extra credi t to anyone who

can expla in why my l ight

green bathroom wal ls turned

white!

THE CREATIVE USE OF DEPTH

OF F IELD

Playing with aperture, pro-

duces di fferent depths of

f ie ld in our photographs.

At the widest end of your

apertures, you iso late your

subject by blurr ing the back-

ground. Iso lat ion creates

a c learer story and helps

to convey your message.

However, don’t over look the

beauty of context and deta i ls

in your photos found at the

narrower apertures.

Let ’s examine how aperture

works.

Each of the numbers l is ted is

considered a fu l l s top. Each

t ime you move up to the

next number in the ser ies ,

you double the amount of

l ight coming into your lens.

Memorize these. Create a

rhyme, a song, or anything

i t takes for you to commit

them to memory. They wi l l

be so important as we move

through future lessons.

f/1 .4

f/2 .0

f/2 .8

f/4 .0

f/5 .6

f/8

f/11

f/16

f/22

EXPLORING APERTURE Aperture is the favor i te piece of the exposure t r iangle for most people because of i ts impact on an image’s back-ground. A wide aperture blurs the background.


I f you want creat ive exposures, p lay with your shutter speed. How you portray mot ion in your f rame changes the creat ive effect l ike no other sett ing in photography! Think about us ing a fast shutter speed for a s low moving subject or a s low speed for a fast moving subject . See what you get . P lay and have fun!


12 13

SHUTTER SPEED Shutter speed plays a more important ro le in photography than some people real ize. Use i t creat ive ly for ar t is t ic , meaningful photos, but know the l imits .

Exposure is a choice. In

fact , i t is a ser ies of

choices. Choices about

meter ing modes, shutter

speeds, apertures, and ISO.

There are unl imited combi-

nat ions in most s i tuat ions.

Some wi l l produce cr isp,

sharp photos and others

create interest ing, unique

images beyond what our eyes

can produce.

Shutter speed opens the door

to creat iv i ty. So, how does i t

rea l ly work?

You know the shutter is the

curta in in your camera. I t l i t -

era l ly opens and c loses at a

designated speed. I f i t s tays

open longer, you gather more

l ight , but have a greater

chance of mot ion blur. At the

opposi te end, a fast shutter

creates cr isper, sharper

act ion, but doesn’t gather as

much l ight .

I t ’s Not Just Aperture That

Works In Stops

Shutter speed works in stops

too. Each of these numbers is

considered a fu l l s top:

1/15

1/30

1/60

1/125

1/250

1/500

1/1000

Know these numbers just l ike

you know the fu l l s top aper-

ture numbers. These are a

l i t t le b i t eas ier to recal l as

the number doubles between

each stop.

Know Your Speed

Whi le you are committ ing

speeds to memory, keep a

few more numbers in mind.

Knowing the speed for a s i tu-

at ion, makes i t eas ier to grab

a correct exposure

.

1/125 Stops everyday mot ion

1/500 Stops most chi ldren

1/1000 Stops cars , b ikes, and

runners

Speed Is About Your Subject

and Your Shutter

The speed and the di rec-

t ion of your subject wi l l

change the shutter speed you

choose. A subject running

at you wi l l require a s lower

shutter speed than one

running diagonal ly or across

your f rame. Think about i t

l ike you think about a car. I f

i t is headed toward you, the

movement isn’t as obvious

compared to i t whizz ing

past you as you stand at the

corner wait ing to cross the

street . .

The further away the subject

is f rom you, the s lower your

shutter speed can be as

wel l . So sports act ion shot

f rom the stands can use a

s lower shutter speed than

sports act ion shot f rom the

s ide- l ine.

The Connect ion Between

Shutter Speed & Focal Length

Your lens choice wi l l a ffect

your shutter speed choice.

The longer your lens, the

faster your shutter speed

needs to be to compensate

for the length and weight .

Image stabi l izat ion wi l l g ive

you some f lex ib i l i ty but don’t

re ly on i t a lone i f you are

hand holding your camera.

A monopod or t r ipod can be

used to help out , but wi l l

l imit your f lex ib i l i ty and

speed in changing s i tuat ions.


ISO is equivalent to f i lm speed f rom f i lm camera days. The lower the ISO, the less l ight you gather. Bump your ISO up and you gather more l ight whi le a lso increasing the r isk of d ig i ta l noise in your image.


14 15

You are not a lone i f

you often forget to

change your ISO. For

many of us, i t has become

the af ter thought in the

exposure t r iangle . However,

ISO is one of the most

powerful e lements of the

exposure t r iangle .

You select your aperture

for depth of f ie ld and your

shutter speed for mot ion.

So what about ISO? I t works

to a l low you to keep your

shutter speed and aperture

where you want them for

creat ive impact .

As we move into low l ight

photography, ISO wi l l be one

of your “go to” adjustments.

Go ahead and move your ISO

off of auto, i f you’ve got i t

ISOISO is the key to creat ive photos. I t provides a means of co l lect ing more l ight , a l lowing f lex ib i l i ty with your aper-ture and shutter speed.

there, so you’ l l be ready to

play.

Knowing the L imits of Your

Camera

You need to know the l imits

of your camera’s ISO. I f you

haven’t shot through your

camera’s range of ISOs,

consider doing that now.

F ind a subject and set your

camera to e i ther aperture

or shutter pr ior i ty mode to

make i t a b i t eas ier.

L ike shutter speed and

aperture, ISO can be

measured in stops. And l ike

shutter speed, the number

doubles between stops.

100

200

400

800

1600

Once again, you are doubl ing

the amount of l ight col lected

as you move up each stop.

The other ISO numbers

avai lable are considered one-

thi rd stops, g iv ing you more

f lex ib i l i ty in the quest for the

correct exposure.

Start at an ISO of 100. Shoot

and then ra ise your ISO one

stop. Shoot at each stop unt i l

you reach your largest ISO

number. Once you have your

ser ies of photos, v iew them

in your process ing software.

Enlarge them and real ly look

to see when you begin to see

noise. Establ ishing your ISO

l imit wi l l help you know how

far you can push i t in low

l ight condit ions.

For a l i t t le extra fun, go into

your camera’s menu and set

your ISO Boost . This sett ing

wi l l g ive you an even higher

» ISO 2000

ISO when needed. Not a l l camera

models have this feature.

ISO won’t replace l ight , but i t

wi l l certa in ly help to col lect i t

in low l ight s i tuat ions.

I t ’s A l l About Balance

You’ve thought about aperture,

shutter speed, and ISO. You’ve

reviewed the exposure t r iangle .

Get in the pract ice of th inking

about thei r re lat ionships to each

other.

I f you go up one aperture, your

shutter speed or ISO wi l l need

to change. Not ice mot ion blur

in your image? Bump up your

shutter speed one stop.

Knowing this helps you to

real ize that these photos are

each the same exposure, with a

far d i fferent creat ive effect .

You make the choice of gett ing

your l ight f rom shutter speed,

aperture, or ISO. So when you

read the words, “go up one

stop,” you know you have three

opt ions to choose f rom. Choose

the one that helps you achieve

the creat ive effect you are

working toward.

I f you look at the photos on

page 11, you’ l l not ice that my

aperture changed in each one.

Do you think I changed my

shutter speed or ISO to get a

correct exposure as I s topped

down each aperture? I f you

guessed ISO, you are correct !

Br inging Them Together

Understanding the balance of

ISO, shutter speed, and aperture

prepares you to take the next step

toward creat ive exposures.


TEST WHAT YOU KNOW ANSWERS.

1. B2. A3. A4. B5. A6. B7. B8. A9. 5 .610. 1/60

How did you do? Try i t at the beginning and end of c lass. Review the

lesson for what you got wrong. G ive i t a t ry again.

I f something doesn’t make sense, p lease ask in the forums. I ’ l l happi ly expla in each answer in more deta i l .

I ’m here for you!

E X P O S U R E C o r r e c t T o C r e a t i v e | K a t r i n a K e n n e d y

16 The Deta i ls

I took this photo in our back-

yard at 8 :43 AM on June 23rd.

Our backyard s i ts on the west

s ide of our house, so the

morning sun was not d i rect ly

over us.

He was on his t i re swing

under the shade of a large

t ree. Surrounded by l ight

wood chips.

I used my 100mm macro lens

on my Canon 5D Mark I I .

My Technique

I se lected an aperture of

f /4 .0 so that both eyes would

be sharp without the extra

work required of a wider

aperture.

He was re lat ive ly st i l l at th is

moment, but because he was

on a swing, I se lected a fast

shutter speed to stop any

movement.

I spot metered, exposing for

h is cheek. I am over ly re l iant

on spot meter ing for most of

my images. I t is typica l ly my

defaul t .

My ISO was 1600 to a l low

me the faster shutter speed

g iven the aperture I had

selected.

Post Process ing

I shot th is in RAW as I do

most of my images. I post

processed in L ightroom. I

adjusted the exposure +.45,

most l ike ly because I forgot to

bump up +1 af ter meter ing off

h is face. I of ten forget that

extra bump.

I adjusted the contrast ,

c lar i ty, v ibrance, and satura-

t ion. I set the white balance

using a se lect ion f rom the

pupi l of h is eye.

I d id not crop the or ig inal

photo. (The photo is cropped

here to f i t the format of our

c lass document.)

Look With A Cr i t ica l Eye

Take a look at my photo with

a cr i t ica l eye. Where do you

not ice the shadows and the

highl ights? How do these add

to or d ist ract f rom the photo?

Look at h is sk in tones as

a good indicator of correct

exposure.

Think about what di rect ion

the l ight is coming f rom.

Check his catchl ights for a

c lue.

I ’ l l admit , I have an advantage over many moms try ing to capture thei r chi ldren’s act iv i t ies .

Most of ten I have a semi-cooperat ive subject who understands we are captur ing memories

but a lso working on c lasses and blog posts . He of ten asks me, “Are you going to share th is

with the wor ld?” So thank you, wor ld, for making i t eas ier to photograph him.

MY EXPOSURE EXPOSEDF i l l your f rame and you increase your chances of a correct exposure. I re ly

on this exposure technique. My son has grown up on the other s ide of my

lens, so i t is a natura l , easy place for h im to be.

f /4 .0 | SS 1/320 | ISO 1600 | 100mm | Meter ing-Spot | Manual Mode

WHERE ARE YOU HAVING SUCCESS?

Look at your favor i te photos with a cr i t ica l eye. What makes them your favor i tes?

See i f you can f ind patterns of exposure sett ings among them. Is i t your se lect ion of shutter speed or aperture or ISO that is creat ing better images for you?

Doing more of what you do wel l wi l l improve your photography.

Then try the opposi te exerc ise. Look at your fa i led attempts. What do you not ice as the common threads between them?


18 19Assignment #1: Expose Using

Your Hand +1

1. Se lect any subject in a

wel l - l i t area.

2 . Us ing your hand, set your

exposure.

3 . Focus on your subject .

4 . Shoot .

5 . Now set your aperture,

one stop wider than your

previous photo.

6 . Without reading your l ight

meter, adjust your shutter

speed one stop faster to

obta in a correct exposure.

7 . Shoot .

Assignment #2: Expose Using

Skin +1

Select any subject in a wel l -

l i t area.

1 . Zoom in on the skin or

walk r ight up and f i l l the

f rame with your subject ’s

face.

2 . Set your exposure as you

point at the br ightest part

of thei r sk in, typica l ly the

cheek.

3 . Step back.

4 . Shoot .

Share & Ask

Share your photos in the

gal lery. We’d love to see

them!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this

lesson. Next week we’ l l

explore meter ing techniques

and meter ing modes.

P lease post any quest ions

you have in the forum.

You can a lways send me

a personal e-mai l as wel l .

katr ina@katr inakennedy.com

L inks To Help You More

I f you are looking for more

resources to help you

understand the exposure

t r iangle , t ry these l inks:

Understanding Aperture

Understanding Shutter Speed

Understanding ISO

Blurr ing The Background

ON ASSIGNMENTNow we can real ly let the fun begin! You may need to look back over the lesson or even ask quest ions to complete your ass ignment. Get what you need to be successful .

Shoot ing in manual

mode s lows me down.

I t is one of the most

important reasons I choose

i t . I do, however, use

aperture pr ior i ty and shutter

pr ior i ty modes when I know

the s i tuat ion is going to

be faster than I can safe ly

change my manual sett ings.

For these lessons, p lease use

manual mode and your spot

meter.


mailto:katrina%40katrinakennedy.com?subject=Exposure%20Lesson%201

http://thedailydigi.com/understanding-aperture/

http://thedailydigi.com/understanding-shutter-speed/

http://thedailydigi.com/understanding-iso-completing-the-exposure-triangle/

http://thedailydigi.com/understanding-iso-completing-the-exposure-triangle/


20 21


meter ing techniques and a

few re lated subjects .

1 METERING. Your camera’s

l ight meter sees in

A. Color.

B . B lack & white .

C. Neutra l Gray.

2 METERING. Your camera’s

l ight meter measures

A. L ight fa l l ing on your

subject .

B . L ight ref lected off your

subject .

3 METERING. I f you meter

off snow, your camera wi l l

produce an image that is

A. Underexposed (dark) .

B. Overexposed (br ight) .

4 METERING MODES. This

mode reads the smal lest

amount of l ight in the f rame

to determine your exposure.

A. Part ia l Meter ing

B. Spot Meter ing

C. Evaluat ive Meter ing

5 WHITE BALANCE. My outdoor

photos have a blue color

cast . Which white balance

sett ing was I us ing?

A. Auto White Balance

B. Incandescent

C. Shade

6 WHITE BALANCE. White

balance can be set in camera

or in post process ing.

True or Fa lse

7 RAW. Post process ing RAW

images requires you to set

A. Exposure.

B. C lar i ty.

C . White balance.

8 RAW. Many photographers

convert thei r RAW f i les to

DNGs because

A. They l ike the name.

B. DNG is a standardized

format.

C. DNG saves space.

9 STOPS REVIEW. What is the

next number in th is sequence

of apertures?

f/8 .0

f/5 .6

10 STOPS REVIEW. What is the

next number in th is sequence

of shutter speeds?

ss 1/1000

ss 1/500

You’ l l f ind the answers on

page 31.

TEST WHAT YOU KNOWCameras meter the l ight to create an image. Understanding how l ight is ref lected off your subject wi l l help you make your meter ing choices.

Your choice

of metering

modes tells the

camera how you

want light to be

measured.

QUIZ: METERING TECHNIQUES

CALIBRATE YOUR HAND

Cal ibrat ing your hand with your gray card ensures a correct exposure reading. To ca l ibrate your hand:

1. P lace your gray card in di rect sunl ight .

2. F i l l the f rame with the gray card.

3. Adjust for a correct expo-sure (no need to overexpose +1) .

4. P lace your hand in the same l ight .

5. Watch how much the l ight meter jumps, most l ike ly +2/3 to +1 stop overexposed.

6. You’ve now cal -ibrated the Hand+1 rule to your hand.

7. Now use your hand, with the amount the meter jumped, for a correct exposure.

Ti red of reds that aren’t red? There are four th ings to consider adjust ing. 1)Check that your camera and your software are set to the same color prof i les . 2)Check your exposure with a gray card. 3)Set a custom white balance or shoot in RAW. 4)Cal ibrate your monitor.


22 23

One of the most d i ff icu l t

choices for people learning

manual mode is choosing

what to expose for. Your

scene may have l ight coming

f rom di fferent d i rect ions,

with di fferent intensi t ies and

di fferent color tones.

Seeing a l l those choices can

be baff l ing. S imply shoot ing

in aperture pr ior i ty mode or

an auto mode may produce a

less than desi rable image.

USING A GRAY CARDYour camera measures l ight in neutra l gray. There are mult ip le ways to f ind neutra l (middle) gray. Explore the methods to f ind your favor i te .

That is what your camera

sees and wants to make

everything unt i l you

intervene and te l l i t

otherwise.

The Gray Card. A gray card is

a s imple tool to add to your

camera gear to make gett ing

the correct exposure easier.

I t is especia l ly handy when

you are shoot ing br ight or

dark subjects .

Using A Gray Card. So how do

you use this card now that

you have i t ?

1 . In the same l ight as your

subject , f i l l the f rame with

your gray card.

2 . Adjust your sett ings for a

correct exposure. No need to

use your hand; the card is

the correct co lor.

3 . Remove the gray card and

ignore your l ight meter.

4 . Shoot .

You l ight meter is jumping

a l l over the place; what do

you do? Af ter you set your

exposure with the gray card,

your camera’s l ight meter is

going to bounce around as

you point your lens toward

di fferent parts of your image.

I t is cont inuing to read the

l ight . This is where you

become smarter than your

camera by s imply ignor ing

what i t is doing and st ick ing

with your gray card exposure

sett ings. You do not need

to readjust unt i l you are in

di fferent l ight condit ions.

Can’t I just grab a piece of

card stock? A gray piece of

paper might appear to work,

unt i l you look at i t more

c losely. Of ten paper has other

colors in i t . Those colors can

throw off your exposure. You

might be able to get away

with i t , but i t won’t be as

exact as a t rue neutra l gray

card.

Taking Exposure A Step

Further. For those of you

intr igued by High Dynamic

Range (HDR) photography,

understanding the need to

expose for d i fferent parts

of an image is cr i t ica l . The

basis of HDR is creat ing

mult ip le exposures for

d i ffer ing ref lected l ight in an

image. These images are then

combined to g ive you a photo

with a greater range of tones.

Understanding middle gray baff led me at f i rs t . I t became easier when I thought about

walk ing across a b lacktopped parking lot with white l ines on a sunny day. Looking down, the

l ight off the blacktop doesn’t hurt my eyes. When I got to the br ight white areas, my eyes

can’t take i t . There is too much l ight and I must compensate by squint ing. Your camera reads

the whites in the same way, underexposing instead of squint ing. Middle gray is the spot

where i t ’s just r ight .

I ’d l ike you to t ry an

exper iment. Get your camera

to take four photographs. F i l l

the f rame with each color

below. Don’t use your hand

to set the exposure for these;

point your camera at the

object , adjust your exposure

to be correct ( the middle

l ine) , and shoot .

• Something black

• Something white

• Something green

• Something red ( the

br ighter the better)

What do you not ice with your

resul ts? What has happened

with your colors?

Your camera records the l ight

as i t is ref lected off your

subject . I t reads in neutra l

gray. That means i f you point

your camera at white snow to

obta in a “correct” exposure

using your l ight meter, your

snow is going to turn out

a yucky shade of gray. The

camera reads everything at a

neutra l 18% gray.

METERING TECHNIQUES

Your choice of meter ing modes determines how shadows and highl ights are exposed in your f inal image. Look at the l ight in your f rame to determine which is the best for

your photo.


24 25with your subject being

somewhat dark.

Evaluat ive meter ing may a lso

be ca l led mult i -segment,

matr ix , or overa l l meter ing.

SPOT

(BOTTOM RIGHT PHOTO)

Spot meter ing determines

the exposure based upon the

l ight at your focal point . I f

your subject is dark against

a br ight sky, you wi l l expose

for your subject correct ly but

“blow out” the sky, making i t

white .

Spot meter ing works wel l in

high contrast s i tuat ions. The

key is looking at your subject

and determining the spot you

wi l l meter f rom.

CENTER-WEIGHTED

(MIDDLE RIGHT PHOTO)

Center weighted meter-

ing works s imi lar ly to spot

meter ing but evaluates the

l ight f rom a larger area

around the center of your

focal point .

CHOOSING A METERING MODE

How do I dec ide which meter-

ing mode I want to choose?

I begin by looking at the

l ight that is in my f rame.

I f the l ight is even without

much var iat ion in shadows

and highl ights , I wi l l se lect

evaluat ive.

Spot meter ing, I do love you.

Why, you ask?

I t g ives me beaut i fu l images

when other meter ing modes

just won’t come through for

me. The low l ight scene. The

backl i t image. I t does i t .

A s imple switch. Meter ing on

the subject . Done. Beaut i fu l .

Thank you.

I t isn’t a lways the answer

for a great image, but when I

need i t , i t ’s the perfect one.

I f the l ight is uneven with

a lot of contrast , I ’ l l choose

spot meter ing.

Want a quick t r ick to remem-

ber which mode to choose?

Match the shape of the indi -

cator to the area of l ight you

want i t to measure.

A face in the center of the

f rame, you choose spot . A

landscape with beaut i fu l

l ight , you choose evaluat ive.

Mult ip le faces with backl ight ,

you choose center-weighted.

METERING PLAY

Do you know what each mode

does? Have you played with

them?

It is eas iest to see the meter-

ing mode di fferences i f you

shoot in low l ight or backl i t

s i tuat ions. Try test ing a

s imi lar subject in mult ip le

l ight s i tuat ions.

Run through al l your modes

with the same subject to see

the di fferences. In s i tuat ions

without a lot of contrast ,

the di fferences between the

modes wi l l be harder to see.

METERING MODES

Your camera uses ref lected

l ight to create a photographic

image. L ight areas ref lect

more than dark areas. When

choosing your meter ing

mode, analyze your subject

for i ts ref lect ive qual i t ies to

determine which mode wi l l

best sui t you.

You typica l ly have a choice

of three modes, depending

upon the make and model of

your camera.

Each mode reads the l ight

d i fferent ly, f rom the smal lest

area in the f rame to the

ent i re f rame. They’ve become

very sophist icated.

Camera makers use di fferent

names for thei r meter ing

methods. Essent ia l ly they fa l l

into three categor ies .

EVALUATIVE/MATRIX/PATTERN

(TOP RIGHT PHOTO)

Evaluat ive meter ing uses the

l ight f rom the ent i re f rame to

determine the correct expo-

sure for a photo.

The contrast ing l ight in

a f rame is measured and

balanced.

Using evaluat ive meter ing

with your subject against a

br ight sky, most of the image

wi l l be exposed correct ly,

METERING MODESCameras measure l ight through severa l types of meters . Se lect ing the one for the l ight in your scene wi l l enhance your f inal image, making the most of avai lable l ight .

METERING TECHNIQUES

Did you know you can use your gray card to set a custom white balance? I know, I know - gray isn’t white . But neutra l is neutra l , and that is the key to great color ! I t ’s much easier to carry one i tem with mult ip le uses and save yoursel f some money!

» Before white balance is adjusted. Notice the yellow cast.


26 27

WHITE BALANCE Our eyes adjust in di fferent s i tuat ions to see white as t rue white . Our cameras aren’t as f lex ib le . Sett ing our white balance is one way to keep whites white .

Gett ing the white

balance r ight just

makes your photos

s ing. I love when I can nai l

i t in camera, making post

process ing so easy. Do I

get there every t ime? Nope.

Would I l ike to? Maybe.

A l l l ight is not the same

color ! You probably a l ready

know that i t ranges f rom

cool to warm. Your camera

needs a l i t t le nudge to deal

with i t in order to capture

t rue whites and avoid a color

cast . Changing your white

balance for the l ight you are

shoot ing in wi l l dramat ica l ly

change the photos you

capture.

To f ind the r ight white

balance sett ing, match the

white balance symbol on your

camera to your l ight source.

The t r ick for me is paying

attent ion to the color and

source of the l ight .

Auto White Balance

Choosing auto white balance

(AWB) lets your camera

make a best guess at the

l ight . I t works wel l in most

s i tuat ions, but not a l l .

Custom White Balance

What about sett ing a custom

white balance? I t is an easy

thing to set and once you get

i t , wow!

There are a few ways to set a

custom white balance - do i t

yoursel f methods and i tems

you can purchase. E i ther path

can produce great resul ts for

you.

Purchase a white balance

card. You can a lso use your

gray card, s ince i t is a

neutra l co lor. The Expodisc

is another popular tool for

sett ing white balance.

So, what about the DIY route?

A few s imple steps and you

can set your white balance.

Have you been to Starbucks

late ly? I t might just be t ime

for a t r ip . A c lean white

coffee l id can work. Not a

coffee dr inker? Grab a white

sheet of copy paper.

1 . P lace your white i tem (DIY

or purchased) in the same

l ight in which you wi l l be

shoot ing.

2 . Nikon users , se lect your

white balance and user

preset . Canon users , sk ip

to step 3.

3 . In aperture pr ior i ty mode,

set your aperture to f/8 .

4 . F i l l the f rame with your

white source.

5 . Manual ly focus on the

paper or l id .

6 . Shoot (Nikon users are

complete; Canon users

cont inue with steps 7 &

8) .

7 . In your camera’s menu,

se lect the custom white

balance opt ion.

8 . Se lect your photo to use

as the ca l ibrat ion photo.

Remember to reset your

white balance when you

move into a di fferent l ight

s i tuat ion.

Sett ing White Balance In Post

Process ing

You can use the white or

gray card in post process ing.

P lace the card in your f rame,

shoot , and now you have

white and gray points to edi t

f rom when you post process.

You can use the gray and

white points to set white

balance or for a levels

adjustment. We can discuss

th is more in the forums i f

you have quest ions.

What About Other Colors?

I f you want to add another

step and check other colors

in your images, you can

purchase a color checker

card. You place th is in the

scene and shoot . Then shoot

your subject . You then can

easi ly set your colors to

match against the card. I f

you’ve had a lot of issues

gett ing your reds correct ,

th is might be a great opt ion

for you.

METERING TECHNIQUES

RAW f i les conta in the fu l l image data exact ly as captured by your camera’s sensor. I t is the dig i ta l equivalent to a f i lm negat ive. RAW f i les conta in more data than thei r equivalent JPEG f i les .

WHY NOT JUST EDIT TO GET EXPOSURE RIGHT?

The c loser you are to a correct exposure, the less edi t ing you wi l l have to do. That isn’t everything though.

With each edi t you make to your photo, you introduce some noise. Yes, that noise is reduced when shoot ing in RAW, but you are st i l l

moving data around, especia l ly when you need to make sweeping exposure adjustments in your post process ing. Wi l l you get i t per fect every t ime? Not at a l l , but work to get i t c loser to save t ime and photo qual i ty.


28 29

Do you recal l our f i lm

days with cameras?

You might remember

taking a pr int to have copies

made. They came out okay.

But i f you had an image’s

negat ive avai lable , you could

get a c leaner, sharper pr int .

RAW f i les work in a s imi lar

way. There is s imply more

data in your RAW f i le than in

your JPEG image.

The Benef i ts of RAW

Do you shoot in RAW or JPEG?

That is the big quest ion.

Have you wondered what you

should be doing?

I t is a personal choice. There

are benef i ts to both as wel l

as drawbacks.

RAWF lex ib i l i ty with my exposure and white balance is one of the reasons I choose to shoot in RAW. When your exposure isn’t perfect , RAW gives you a l i t t le wiggle room.

Let me expla in my choice and

share a photo example.

I shoot in RAW 100% of the

t ime. RAW provides me a

l i t t le extra room with my

exposure. How is that?

Shoot ing RAW is equivalent

to a f i lm negat ive. There is

more data avai lable to play

with in post process ing. I f I

need to bump the exposure

up, there is more avai lable

data than with a JPEG photo.

I can a lso play with my RAW

photo, opening i t up over and

over again, making a l l k inds

of adjustments without los ing

any data integr i ty. I cannot

do that with a JPEG image. .

The Drawbacks of RAW

RAW does take more space on

your card and your computer.

With my Canon 5D Mark I I I

am able to f i t approximately

34 RAW images on a one

g igabyte card.

RAW can be s low to process

i f you are taking mult ip le

f rames, as you might with

act ion photography. RAW also

requires post process ing.

The RAW Process

Shoot ing in RAW doesn’t

require anything other

than sett ing your camera

to RAW and edi t ing in post

process ing software l ike

L ightroom or Photoshop.

RAW Post Process ing

When you open your f i rs t RAW

image, you may be shocked

that i t looks dul l and ugly.

RAW, l ike a negat ive, requires

some post process ing before

you use i t . JPEG compresses

your data, making decis ions

for you, producing a more

appeal ing image stra ight out

of camera, but a l lowing less

f lex ib i l i ty in post process ing.

Se lect ing your white balance

is the most important step

for RAW process ing. JPEG has

processed this ; RAW has not .

RAW images a lso need

sharpening.

Addit ional adjustments wi l l

vary based on the indiv idual

image.

RAW and DNG

RAW is a camera speci f ic f i le

format. My Canon does not

use the same RAW format as

a Nikon. Many photographers

choose to save thei r RAW

photos to DNG format. DNG is

an Adobe standard format for

RAW images.

Af ter process ing RAW images,

they must be saved to

another format ( l ike JPEG)

for pr int ing.

The RAW Process

Get in the habi t of checking

a l l your sett ings. Create a

rout ine that you fo l low when

you pick up the camera.

My f low is :

1 . Check shoot ing mode - M,

AV, TV.

2 . Check ISO.

3 . Check white balance.

4 . Check meter ing mode.

5. Adjust aperture.

6 . Adjust shutter speed.

7. Readjust ISO i f needed

to get a faster shutter

speed.

I t sounds l ike a lot of steps,

but i t does get faster.

Your RAW Choice

Ult imately, th is is a choice

only you can make. Make i t

in an informed way. Most

profess ional photographers

shoot RAW, but there are

def in i te ly except ions. Tamara

Lackey is one example of a

JPEG shooter.

For the everyday

photographer, RAW may not

be pract ica l . The choice to

shoot in RAW ul t imately

depends on what you are

looking for out of your

photography and how much

t ime you want to spend

edi t ing your photos.

METERING TECHNIQUES


1. C2. B3. A4. B5. B6. True7. C8. B9. f /4 .010. 1/250

How did you do? Try i t at the beginning and end of c lass. Review the

lesson for what you got wrong. G ive i t a t ry again.

I f something doesn’t make sense, p lease ask in the forums. I ’ l l happi ly expla in each of them in more deta i l .


» Processed in Lightroom

» Straight out of camera


30 I took this photograph at 5 :56

PM on October 29, 2011. Yes,

I rewrote th is page at the

last minute because this was

a much better example than

my pr ior photo!

The sun was low in the

sky behind our homes with

l ight ref lect ing up f rom the

s idewalk below her.

I used my 70-200mm f/2.8 L

lens on my Canon 5D Mark I I .

My Technique


f /2 .8 to b lur the background.

I chose an ISO of 1600 s ince

the l ight was fading fast and

I needed a faster shutter

speed to shoot with a heavy

lens at 75mm.

A cooperat ive subject meant

I had a l i t t le more t ime to

get the exposure correct . I

used my hand +1 to set my

exposure. I made sure we

didn’t move out of the l ight

f rom my or ig inal reading so

I wouldn’t need to adjust my

exposure.

I used center-weighted

meter ing s ince the l ight was

even on her, without a lot of

contrast .

Post Process ing

I shot th is in RAW. I post

processed in L ightroom.

I set my white balance by

enlarg ing her eye to a 1 :1

rat io . Us ing the eye dropper,

I p icked a neutra l target in

her pupi l . I f ind neutra l gray

by f inding equal percentages

in the RGB percentages at the

bottom of the target box.

My process ing was:

B lack c l ipping +10

Br ightness +50

Contrast +25

Clar i ty +34

Saturat ion +8

Preset :Edge Effects-PC

Vignette2

I cropped the or ig inal image

to get r id of a b i t of the extra

and to put more of the focus

on her face. I t ’s not of ten

you get to photograph a blue

faced neighbor.


Would you have made

s imi lar choices? How would a

di fferent aperture or shutter

speed change this image?

How far away do you think I

was f rom my subject?

There is something about a costume that just needs to be photographed. When the costumed

person gets into the character, i t ’s even better ! We played around in our f ront yards in

beaut i fu l af ternoon l ight for about 15 minutes. She had spent so much t ime putt ing her

costume together, i t needed to be documented!

MY EXPOSURE EXPOSEDHow can you possib ly expose for the blue Corpse Br ide when her sk in is . . .

b lue? ! My neighbor was too cute to not capture. A wi l l ing subject is an

absolute t reat to photograph too!

f /2 .8 | SS 1/125 | ISO 1600 | 75mm | Meter ing: Center-weighted

WHAT EDITS ARE YOU MAKING?

No matter what edi t ing program you use, pay attent ion to how much you are adjust ing exposure. Are you a lways bumping i t up or pul l ing i t down? Knowing how you commonly edi t can help you change your pract ice whi le shoot ing. Keep track for a few days and see i f you begin to

see a pattern.

I a lmost a lways underexpose, bumping my exposure up a quarter to three quarters of a stop in post process ing. This is something for me to work on whi le shoot ing.


32 33Assignment #1: Shoot With A

Gray Card

1. Se lect any subject in a

wel l - l i t area.

2 . P lace your gray card in

the same l ight as your

subject .

3 . F i l l your f rame, focusing

on the gray card.

4 . Adjust your ISO, aperture,

and shutter speed for a

correct exposure.

5 . Recompose for your

subject .

6 . Shoot your subject .

7 . For an extra chal lenge

shoot a f rame exposing

with your hand+1, and

then in aperture pr ior i ty

mode, and compare your

resul ts .

Assignment #2: Set A Custom

White Balance

Nikons & Canons wi l l complete

th is ass ignment di fferent ly.

Canons skip step 1. Nikons

skip steps 7-9 .

1 . Nikon select WB, User

Preset .

2 . Grab your white balance

card, sheet of paper or DIY

method

3. Set your camera to

aperture pr ior i ty.

4 . Set your aperture to f/8 .

5 . Manual ly focus on your

white object .

6 . Shoot .

7 . Canons - In your menu,

se lect Custom White

Balance.

8 . Se lect your photo.

9 . Se lect the custom white

balance symbol in your

WB sett ings ( the external

button) .

10. Shoot your subject in the

same l ight as where you

set your white balance,

us ing whatever exposure

you want .

Share & Ask



them!






L inks To Help You More

Looking for more resources?

Try th is l ink:

So What Is A Meter ing Mode?

ON ASSIGNMENTOne dist inct ion between f i lm and dig i ta l photography is the lat i tude you have with exposure. F i lm captures highl ights best , whi le d ig i ta l captures shadows best .

There are a lways

choices in

photography. F inding

the choice that wi l l get you

the creat ive resul t you are

looking for becomes easier,

as you know more about how

your camera funct ions.

I love to use spot meter ing,

but I a lso need to adjust that

choice to sui t the subject and

l ight in my f rame.

The more you pract ice, the

better your photography wi l l

be.

METERING TECHNIQUES


http://debbiehodge.com/2010/11/photography-tutorial-metering/


34 35


low l ight exposure and a few

re lated subjects .

1 LOW L IGHT. This combinat ion

is useful in low l ight

s i tuat ions when stopping

mot ion.

A. Wide aperture, fast shutter

speed, h igh ISO.

B. Narrow aperture, s low

shutter speed, low ISO.

2 LOW L IGHT. The important

piece of the t r iangle to avoid

camera shake and mot ion blur

is

A. A wide aperture.

B. A fast shutter speed.

3 LOW L IGHT. With a s low

shutter speed, a moving

person wi l l be

A. B lurred or not present in

the f rame.

B. Wel l l i t and in focus.

4 LOW L IGHT. For low l ight

port ra i ts , th is meter ing mode

is best

A. Part ia l Meter ing.

B. Spot Meter ing.

C. Evaluat ive Meter ing.

5 LOW L IGHT. I f I expose for

the l ight behind my subject

in a low l ight s i tuat ion, a

person in the scene wi l l be

A. Exposed Correct ly.

B. Overexposed.

C. S i lhouetted.

6 BACKLIGHT. Which opt ion

can I use to expose a backl i t

subject?

A. Spot meter on the face.

B. Use aperture pr ior i ty

without any compensat ion

adjustments.

C. Use evaluat ive meter ing.

7 FLARE. To photograph the

best sun f lare use a

A. Wide Aperture.

B. Narrow Aperture.

8 EXPOSURE TRIANGLE REVIEW.

Which of the fo l lowing is

considered a wide aperture

(meaning wide open)?

A. f /11

B. f /2 .8


I f I ’m shoot ing with a 50mm

lens, I want my shutter speed

to be at least

A. 1/500

B. 1/50

10 EXPOSURE TRIANGLE

REVIEW. The three e lements

helpful in b lurr ing the back-

ground are

A. Narrow aperture, d istance

f rom the subject , h igh ISO.

B. Wide aperture, prox im-

i ty to the subject , d istance

behind subject .

You wi l l f ind the answers on

page 43.

TEST WHAT YOU KNOWWhen the l ights get low, we need to pay attent ion to the exposure t r iangle more than ever. The s l ightest d i fference in sett ings can make a photo go f rom unusable to wow!

Playing with

light can create

interesting,

artistic images

that capture your

memories in

unique ways.

QUIZ: LOW L IGHT S ITUATIONS

To f ind the correct exposure, f i rs t look for the l ight . Decide where you want the shadows and the highl ights to fa l l . Move yoursel f or your subject to create more even l ight before you push the shutter.


36 37

LOW LIGHTA photograph needs l ight to be created. Shoot ing in low l ight takes a l i t t le f iness ing to get enough l ight to record a recognizable image.

Which part wi l l convey my

story?”

I typica l ly choose the area

where the l ight is most

even; where i t fa l ls without

a shadow and without

harshness.

I f I want the ent i re scene

to be i l luminated evenly, a

f lash is needed. We’ l l cover

that in a future lesson. I f I

don’t want to use f lash, then

I have to re ly on the t rusty

exposure t r iangle .

I f ind manual mode easiest to

shoot with in low l ight s i tua-

t ions. I ’m going to need:

A wide aperture.

High ISO.

Fast enough shutter speed

to stop any camera shake or

subject movement.

Once you’ve done that , then

change your meter ing mode.

See what occurs as the

camera processes the l ight

d i fferent ly.

Af ter you’ve played with your

meter ing modes, switch to

aperture pr ior i ty mode and

see what happens. See how

the l ight comes in. See how

i t changes your exposure.

Where Do You Expose?

Place your camera on spot

meter ing. This wi l l te l l your

camera to “read” the l ight

f rom a concentrated area

around your focal point .

Set your camera to manual

(M). Leave your lens on auto

focus (AF) .

Set your white balance

according to the type of l ight

you are shoot ing in. Lower

l ight s i tuat ions of ten provide

a yel low cast to your subject .

Set your ISO to 800. The less

l ight you have, the higher

you wi l l want your ISO.

Choose a wide aper-

ture. Depending upon your

lens, choose your lowest f/

number; remember ing the

smal ler the f/ number, the

wider the aperture. The wider

the aperture, the more l ight

you let in .

From this point forward,

you’ l l be using the same

methods we did in pr ior

lessons. A im your camera at

your subject , zooming in or

walk ing as c lose as you can.

I f you are photographing

act ive chi ldren, use your own

hand or an adult to set your

exposure as long as what you

choose is in the same l ight

as your subject

F ind the area you want

to have most “correct ly”

exposed. Whi le you are

zoomed on your subject you

don’t need to be in focus.

Check your shutter speed. I f

you are not us ing a t r ipod,

keep i t above 1/50th of a

second (displayed as 50) to

avoid camera shake. Adjust

your sett ings unt i l your

meter indicator fa l ls on the

midpoint (or the overexposed

amount for your hand).

Recompose your shot .

Ignore your l ight meter

sett ings as they bounce

a l l around. Your camera is

“seeing” l ight f rom al l around

your subject and warning you

that your exposure reading is

wrong. Ignore i t ; you are now

smarter than your camera!

Photographing Bi r thday

Candles. I love to photograph

bi r thday cakes. My son is

accustomed to mult ip le

b i r thday cakes dur ing

his b i r thday jubi lee ( the

week before and af ter h is

b i r thday) .

How Do I Do I t ?

The key to the bi r thday photo

is to decide what you want

to expose for. Do you want

the candles to be perfect ly

exposed or the face? Let ’s

assume you want to expose

for the face. I th ink that

is eas iest . In manual mode

expose for your subjects

face, watch your shutter

speed, and watch your

resul ts . Can i t rea l ly be that

easy? Fol low what you’ve

done in c lass so far and i t is !

Shutter Speed Play In Low

L ight

Shutter speed gets fun with

l ights at n ight . F ind moving

l ights outs ide for fun play.

Car l ights work real ly wel l .

You wi l l need your t r ipod or

a f i rm surface to shoot f rom.

Set your ISO to 100, your

shutter speed to 20”(20

seconds) , and aperture to

f/11. G ive i t a t ry and see

what happens. You may want

to check your histogram, but

you probably won’t need to!

I love the chal lenge of low

l ight photography. There

is something magica l

about play ing with the l ight

and working toward a correct

exposure.

There are three things that

get in the way of good low

l ight photos: mot ion blur,

camera shake, and dark

exposures.

In low l ight photography, you

can’t have i t a l l . Something

is going to get lost and

something is going to stay.

When you look at a low l ight

scene, ask yoursel f , in the

words of Camera Guru Rick

Sammon, “Which part of the

l ight do I want to capture?

LOW L IGHT S ITUATIONS

http://ricksammon.com

http://ricksammon.com

There is some-thing magica l about s i lhouettes. They hint at your subject , leaving a l l the deta i ls to the v iewer’s imaginat ion. The bonus? They are easier to create than you might

th ink.


38 39

• In an open door.

• In f ront of a window.

• In f ront of the sun,

when i t is low in the

sky, just above the

hor izon.

Once you f ind the l ight , let

your subject go. Let them

play. Let them pose. Or

s imply f ind a scene with

interest ing objects .

LOOK FOR STRONG L INES &

CLEAN BACKGROUNDS

You can create a st ronger

image by having less in the

photo to compete with your

subject . L ike most photogra-

phy, a c lear story is eas ier to

convey with minimal d ist rac-

t ions in the image and good

use of negat ive space.

METER FOR THE SKY

Si lhouettes are def in i te ly

a place where i t benef i ts

you to shoot in manual

mode, a l though you can be

successful with other modes.

Choose evaluat ive or matr ix

meter ing.

Point your camera at the area

of sky or l ight beside your

subject . Adjust your l ight

meter for a correct exposure.

We’ l l d iscuss why this works

in the next lesson.

You have a lot of f lex ib i l i ty

with your camera sett ings.

Start with an aperture around

f/8 . To get a sharp image,

choose a shutter speed you

can easi ly hand hold. Choose

the lowest ISO you can,

g ivenyour shutter speed.

Try a few di fferent angles and

a few di fferent sett ings.

PLAY WITH YOUR EXPOSURE

Exposure bracket ing can be

helpful . Choose this opt ion to

take a ser ies of photos one

stop over and one stop under

what you’ve metered for.

You’ l l f ind the sett ing e i ther

in your camera menus or as

a button on the back of your

camera.

Once you move the photo

into your process ing soft -

ware, adjust the levels ,

shadows, and highl ights unt i l

you get the look you are

hoping for. Don’t be afra id to

up your b lacks just a b i t to

get a darker s i lhouette.

CREATING A S ILHOUETTE

Have you ever, unknowingly

created a s i lhouetted image

and then been f rustrated

you couldn’t recreate

intent ional ly?

A few s imple steps can get

you consistent ly creat ing

s i lhouettes.

F i rst th ink about l ight and

how your camera reads i t .

You know from the previous

lesson that your meter reads

l ight in di fferent ways. For

a s i lhouette, which meter ing

method is most l ike ly going

to read the most l ight?

I f you guessed evaluat ive

or matr ix , you are correct .

So adjust your camera. We

want to ignore a l l we’ve

covered about exposing for

faces, hands, and using

the gray card. Now we are

going to use a port ion of

our background to set our

exposure.

This is a s i tuat ion when

shoot ing in e i ther aperture

pr ior i ty or shutter pr ior-

i ty can g ive you good resul ts

too.

F IND BACKL IGHT

Br ight l ight behind your

subject is the easiest way

to create a s i lhouette. A few

places you can f ind backl ight :

SILHOUETTEA s i lhouette is created by ignor ing much of what you have a l ready learned! Rather than exposing for your subject , we are now going to expose for the background.


There wi l l be t imes when you wi l l be in the f ie ld without a camera. And, you wi l l see the most g lor ious sunset or the most beaut i fu l scene that you have ever witnessed. Don’t be bi t ter because you can’t record i t . S i t down, dr ink i t in , and enjoy i t for what i t is ! ~DeGr i ff


40 41

BACKLIT & FLARE L ight can be used in a var iety of ways for a creat ive look. Backl i t images and f lare are two very sty l ized, popular methods of exposing an image.

It might be a br ight day,

a br ight window, or just

an awkward moment.

There you are looking at the

sun as your subject looks at

you wonder ing why you are

squint ing. A backl i t subject

is the quickest way to an

underexposed subject !

I t ’s A l l About Where You

Expose

You are probably catching

onto a theme by now.

Your photo’s exposure is

determined by where you

read the l ight . When the

l ight is behind your subject ,

expose for thei r face using

spot meter ing and you wi l l

have a correct exposure.

You can use your hand +1

(or whatever your ca l ibrated

number is) , your subject ’s

face, or your gray card.

Whichever you choose, you

need to get in c lose to avoid

reading the br ight l ight in

your f rame.

Grab your camera, put a

subject in f ront a br ight l ight

source, and see what you can

create. You’ l l e i ther get a

s i lhouette or a wel l exposed

subject , but now you’ l l

understand why!

F lare

Are you intr igued by photos

of sun f lare? Have you won-

dered how people capture

i t so beaut i fu l ly in thei r

images?

Let ’s step back a moment

and think about a few things

you’ve learned in pr ior

lessons.

F i rst , what aperture would

g ive us the best f lare? You

know that wide apertures

(smal l f / numbers) can create

l ight bokeh. Probably not the

effect we are looking for. So,

you want to choose a narrow

aperture. Anywhere between

f/11 and f/22 wi l l serve you

wel l .

Second, what meter ing mode

is going to g ive you the

look you want? This gets a

l i t t le b i t t r ick ier and wi l l be

dependent upon your subject .

I f there is a face in your

image that you want exposed

correct ly, center-weighted or

spot meter ing might g ive you

the best resul ts . I f there is

no face and not one part ic -

u lar area in your f rame you

need better exposed than

the others , then evaluat ive

meter ing wi l l work.

Why do I say might? Why

don’t I just commit to some-

thing so you can set your

camera and be on your way?

Without seeing your exact

l ight and subject , i t can be

a l i t t le hard to predict . Try

both to see which produces

the best resul t for you.

Your ISO can be low and your

shutter speed fast enough to

stop mot ion.

Where do you want the sun

to be?

The lower on the hor izon

the sun is the better for a

sun f lare shot . Once you see

i t through your lens, shoot

around your subject , tak ing

mult ip le f rames. Somet imes

the best resul t wi l l be the

one you didn’t expect .

I f the sun is h igher in the

sky, t ry part ia l ly b locking i t

with your subject ’s head and

body, a t ree, l ight post , or

some other st ructure.

Have fun with th is effect .



1. A2. B3. A4. B5. C6. A7. B8. B9. B10. BHow did you

do? Try i t at the beginning and end of c lass. Review the lesson for what you

got wrong. G ive i t a t ry again.




42 The Deta i ls

I took this photo at our local

sc ience museum at 1 :48 PM

on September 18th, 2010.

The room was dimly l i t wi th

absolute ly no window l ight .

The biggest l ight source was

the x-ray board as he enjoyed

turning i t off and on.

I used my 50mm f/1.4 lens on

my Canon 5D Mark I I .

My Technique

I se lected a wide aperture

of f /1 .4 to let the most l ight

into the camera. I was at a

distance f rom him, so more

of the image is in focus.

There is a lso very l i t t le

space between him and the

background.

His movements were smal l

as he was engrossed in

examining the feet , but I was

st i l l able to keep my shutter

speed at 1/160th of a second,

just in case.


h is cheek. My ISO was 800 to

a l low me the faster shutter

speed.

Post Process ing

I shot th is in RAW and post

processed in L ightroom. I

kept the process ing s imple.

My process ing was:

C lar i ty +34

Highl ight Recovery +41

Highl ight recovery br ings

some of the deta i l back to

the br ight areas in the x-ray

board.

I cropped only a s l ight port ion

of the edges f rom the or ig inal

photo.

I a lso converted this photo to

b lack and white . I used the

black and white as my photo

of the day, but i t was a di f -

f icu l t choice. The convers ion

e l iminates much of the ref lec-

t ion on the x-ray board.



a cr i t ica l eye. Where do you

not ice the shadows and the

highl ights? How do these add

to or d ist ract f rom the photo?

Look at h is sk in tones as

a good indicator of correct

exposure.

Had I exposed for the br ight

areas of the x-ray, what

would have happened?

To create a s i lhouette, what

would I have done in th is

s i tuat ion?

Do you have di ff icu l ty photographing your own chi ldren? I know I do! The older he gets , the

more di ff icu l t i t becomes. I t ry to capture him whi le engrossed in play, but I ’m not above

br ib ing him to get the photo I want !

MY EXPOSURE EXPOSEDWhen I saw him playing here, complete ly engrossed in the x-rays,

dressed in his p i rate doctor costume I knew I had to capture i t Lucki ly

he was real ly engrossed in what he was doing, a l lowing me to adjust my

exposure.

f /1 .4 | SS 1/160 | ISO 800 | 50mm | Meter ing: Spot

“OH, YOU CAN GET THIS WITH A BIGGER CAMERA!”

Great photos are not about the gear you are using! Don’t get fooled into bel iev ing that b igger, more expensive cameras wi l l t ransform your photos.

Yes, you may get some di fferent sett ings. Your ISO range might increase. But knowing how to

use the camera you have wi l l improve your photos the most .

Learn how to set your exposure in a var iety of s i tuat ions and you are ahead of the game!


44 45Assignment #1: Create a Low

L ight Port ra i t

1. Se lect a human subject in

a low l i t area, with some

l ight fa l l ing on thei r face.

(Candle l ight , monitor

l ight , phone l ight . . . a l l

wi l l work) A bi r thday

cake with candles is a

great way to pract ice th is

ass ignment, but a candle

wi l l do as wel l .

2 . Point your camera at the

br ightest spot on thei r

face.

3 . Adjust your ISO,aperture,


correct exposure, keeping

your shutter speed fast

enough to hand hold. (Use

any or a l l of the three

exposure methods we’ve

covered - sk in, hand, or

gray card.)


subject .

5 . Shoot your subject .

6 . Se lect another area of l ight

in the f rame.

7. Set your exposure on the

new area.

8 . Shoot .

9 . Compare your resul ts .

Assignment #2: S i lhouette &

Backl ight

1. P lace your subject in

f ront of a l ight source (a

window, the sun, or other

source) .

2 . Meter on the l ight just to

the s ide of your subject .

3 . Set a correct exposure.

4 . Shoot .

5 . Now meter off your

subject ’s face, us ing

any one of your three

methods.

6 . Shoot

Share & Ask



them!






A L i t t le More Pract ice

Grab your t r ipod and fo l low

the s low shutter speed

di rect ions on Page 37 to see

what you can create!

ON ASSIGNMENTOne dist inct ion between f i lm and dig i ta l photography is the lat i tude you have with exposure. F i lm captures high-l ights best , whi le d ig i ta l captures shadows effect ive ly.

Play ing with l ight is

the most fun when

we move to low l ight

s i tuat ions! Have fun with

these lessons, st retching

yoursel f to get real ly

creat ive with subjects and

l ight sources! You’ l l be so

surpr ised by your resul ts .




46 47

Let ’s test your knowledge

of exposure t r icks and

techniques.

1 CORRECT EXPOSURE. Meter

off th is to obta in a correct

exposure

A. A white wal l .

B . A b lack cat .

C . A b lue sky.

2 CORRECT EXPOSURE. When

photographing a scene with

green as the predominant

color meter off

A. The green and underexpose

-2/3.

B. The green and overexpose

+1.

3 SUNNY 16. The Sunny 16 rule

is an a l ternat ive to

A. Sett ing a white balance.

B. Using your camera’s l ight

meter.

4 SUNNY 16. Sunny 16

sett ings are

A. ISO 100, f /16, ss 1/100.

B. ISO 200, f /5 .6 , ss 1/160.

C. ISO 1600, f /16, ss 1/50.

5 SUNNY 16. The rule of

Sunny 16 states that in a

sunny s i tuat ion you should

set your shutter speed to the

rec iprocal of your ISO.

True or Fa lse?

6 EXPOSURE COMPENSATION.

Which opt ion is best to

expose a backl i t subject

without creat ing a s i lhouette?

A. Aperture pr ior i ty and

adjust exposure compensa-

t ion +1 or more.

B. Aperture pr ior i ty without

compensat ion adjustments.


Using this sett ing, r isks some

of your subject being out of

focus:

A. Fast shutter speed.

B. Wide aperture.

C. Narrow aperture.

8 METERING REVIEW. When

creat ing a photo with a

predominant ly white subject ,

your camera wi l l

A . Overexpose the image.

B. Underexpose the image.


I f I ’m shoot ing with a 200mm

lens at the longest focal

length, I want my shutter

speed to be at least

A. 1/50

B. 1/20o

10 LOW L IGHT REVIEW. Which

sett ings are best for creat ing

a low l ight image:

A. Narrow aperture, s low

shutter speed, h igh ISO.

B. Wide aperture, fast shutter

speed, h igh ISO.


page 55.

TEST WHAT YOU KNOWReady to test your knowledge again? Don’t forget to hold your camera in your hands i f you need to. You’ l l f ind a few review quest ions as wel l !

Reflected light

can be used in

many ways to

help create a

correct exposure.

Get creative to

get your shot!

QUIZ: TRICKS AND TECHNIQUES

Sett ing a correct or creat ive exposure is not as easy as point ing your camera at something, gett ing the l ine in the middle, and shoot ing. There are a few s i tuat ions that

work exact ly that way though!


48 49

method is a quick way to set

a correct exposure.

Here’s how:

• Point the camera at the

blue sky.

• Meter for a correct expo-

sure - - adjust ing ISO,

aperture, and shutter

speed to the middle

“correct” spot .

• Compose the shot .

• Shoot .

I f there is a person in your

f rame, make sure they are

f ront l i t .

For compar ison, I used a few

di fferent exposure methods.

Aperture Pr ior i ty :

• Set the aperture.

• Double check the shutter

speed.

• Shoot .

Auto: the steps are easy

enough. Point , c l ick .

The four photos on the r ight

show each exposure method.

No post process ing used.

Can you see the di fference?

Which do you think is which?

They are l is ted in the order

of auto, aperture pr ior i ty,

Brother B lue Sky, and the

Sunny 16 Rule (we cover i t on

the next page) .

Do you understand what

was happening to create

the exposure in each? Share

with me in the forums. You

probably not ice the last

two are a bi t underexposed.

What is the benef i t of

underexposure?

MR. GREEN JEANS

The color green doesn’t

ref lect as much l ight as

a middle, neutra l gray

does, so our camera reads

i t incorrect ly. Our images

end up overexposed.

When photographing a

predominant ly green scene,

adjust your exposure by -2/3

to get a correct ly exposed

image (no gray card or hand

needed). The green must

be in the image you are

photographing for th is to

work.

Bryan Peterson cal ls i t the

Mr. Green Jeans method.

• Point the camera at the

green area.

• Meter for a correct

exposure.

• Underexpose -2/3.

• Ignore your l ight meter.

• Recompose.

• Shoot .

Sounds easy enough, doesn’t

i t ? G ive i t a t ry.

So why can I point my

camera at some colors ,

adjust , and get a correct

exposure? Why can’t I on

other colors?

I t ’s a l l about l ight . Ref lected

l ight to be exact . I f the

l ight ref lects back near 18%

ref lectance, then i t can be

used as a gray card in your

f rame. There are a lso colors

that are c lose to 18%, and

with a quick bi t of over or

underexposure we can get

them correct .

I s tood in f ront of the

pumpkin patch. A pumpkin

patch on a sunny 84 degree

day? That is just wrong. Gone

were the c louds creat ing a

perfect sof tbox. There were

no warm sweatshir ts cover ing

every inch of our sk in.

In thei r p lace were short

s leeves and shorts saying,

dec lar ing, that summer was

st i l l hanging on.

The photos with my son were

just not working for me. So I

went for the landscape.

A perfect opportuni ty to prac-

t ice what I teach.

BROTHER BLUE SKY

I learned about Brother B lue

Sky f rom Bryan Peterson

in his book, Understanding

Exposure. The blue sky

TRICKS & TECHNIQUESBe aware of the color in your surroundings. Colors are handy for sett ing a quick exposure. No worr ies about your gray card and no need for hand +1.

TRICKS & TECHNIQUES

Want to quick ly improve your photography? Get more

techniques in your bag of t r icks and you wi l l create better

images. Know what your camera is doing!


50 51

THE SUNNY 16 RULE How did photographers set exposure before thei r cameras had l ight meters or h istograms or LCD panels to help them along? Let me introduce The Sunny 16 Rule.

There are many

ways to use your

camera. My way is

just that , my way. You might

f ind success using other

approaches. And that is

OKAY! In fact , I encourage i t !

Going Old School

One way to use your camera

is to take an old school

approach. You might recal l

the days when you put f i lm

in your camera and were

stuck with one ISO. You might

remember, i f you’ve been

into photography for a long

t ime, when cameras didn’t

have internal l ight meters to

help you determine exposure.

What did you do then?

The Sunny 16 Rule was one

strategy.

The Sunny 16 Rule

Sunny 16 is one of the

easiest ru les to use and

remember. Couple i t with

your understanding of how

stops work and you have a

lot of f lex ib i l i ty.

On a sunny day set your

shutter speed to 100, the

aperture to 16, and your ISO

to 100 for a correct exposure.

The Reciprocal of Your ISO

The key to Sunny 16 is for

your shutter speed to be the

rec iprocal of your ISO. So i f

you have an ISO of 100, your

shutter speed is 1/100. ISO

500? Shutter speed is 1/500.

What happens to your aper-

ture? You are moving i t in

the appropr iate number of

stops in synch with your

shutter speed. So i f you want

a wider aperture of f /8 , then

adjust your shutter speed to

1/200. Now you know why I

was stuck on those numbers

in lesson 1!

Do I use this method a lot?

Not at a l l , but I do love

having i t in my bag of t r icks!

When the sunny day pres-

ents i tse l f I ’ve got a “go to”

method to use.

I f you not ice spots in your

image at f /16, i t is a good

indicator you have dust on

your sensor. See the Grand

Canyon photo as an example.

More Sunny Day Strategies

We need l ight to create a

photograph, but sunny days

can provide too much l ight .

So on days with br ight l ight ,

do you just not shoot? Do

you avoid captur ing those

memories in any way?

Not at a l l .

On sunny days, you have

some opt ions:

Look for shade.

The even l ight of shade,

especia l ly at the non-dappled

edges, is good for n ice

images.

Go for the bigger picture.

Avoid t ry ing to create por-

t ra i t - l ike photos unless you

have a l i t t le extra equip-

ment with you. Pul l back and

get the big picture so fac ia l

deta i l doesn’t get lost in the

shadows.

Use Backl ight . Put your

subject ’s back to the sun and

meter us ing the skin method.

You are going to b low out

your backgrounds, but you

wi l l be able to see your

subject .

Grab your f lash.

F i l l f lash was made for sunny

days. With your f i l l f lash you

can get even l ight on your

subject ’s face and not b low

out the deta i ls of your scene.

Di ffuse the f lash i f poss ib le

with e i ther a di ffuser or a

DIY i tem. We wi l l d iscuss th is

more in our next lesson.

Neutra l Densi ty F i l ter

Do you have landscape

photos with a gorgeous blue

sky, but your foreground area

turns out to be too dark?

A graduated neutra l densi ty

f i l ter wi l l help address th is

issue for you. With the f i l ter

in place, you can expose for

the foreground, us ing the Mr.

Green Jeans Method. Your sky

wi l l not be blown out , as the

f i l ter gradual ly b locks the

l ight f rom top to bottom in

your image. Less l ight is let

in at the top, more l ight at

the bottom. Problem solved.

TR ICKS & TECHNIQUES

Somet imes you need to use Aperture Pr ior i ty mode. Don’t fee l l ike you are taking a shortcut . Know what to expect f rom i t , adjust accordingly, and you’ l l quick ly create great images.


52 53

COMPENSATIONWhat about a l l those other features on your camera? Don’t you need to

be using your histogram and display to get the best photos you can? Why

hasn’t i t been ment ioned yet?

Have you not iced I ’ve

not ment ioned your

histogram? Did you

wonder i f I was forgett ing

something?

I t was very intent ional on my

part .

Advancing your photography

ski l ls means you can pick

up your camera and adjust

your aperture, shutter

speed, and ISO to create a

correct exposure. No crutch

of h istogram or highl ights

and c l ipped areas needed.

No need to v iew the photo

on the LCD. You re ly on your

knowledge.

When you are able to contro l

your camera, you can walk

into v i r tual ly any s i tuat ions,

know how to move around,

d ia l in the numbers, and get

what you want .

I f you have a subject in f ront

a br ight window, you know

the steps:

• Manual mode - - spot

meter ing.

• Expose for your hand +1

or use a gray card.

You know the exposure

resul ts you are going to

get , leaving you to focus

on the composi t ion of your

photo and connect with your

subject .

But , of course, you don’t

a lways have t ime to shoot in

manual mode, set a custom

white balance, meter the gray

card, and st i l l capture the

moment.

What to do? Just go with

auto? Not at a l l .

Exposure Compensat ion

This is where aperture

pr ior i ty and exposure

compensat ion come into play.

What would happen i f you

fo l lowed these steps?

• P lace your white skinned

subject ’s back against a

br ight window.

• P lace your camera in

aperture pr ior i ty mode.

• Change your meter ing

mode to evaluat ive.

What resul t are you going to

get?

I f you answered a dark

subject against a br ight

background, you are correct .

Your camera measures the

br ight area, ignor ing the

person in your photo and

g iv ing you a dark subject .

I f you know this resul t before

you shoot , then you can

correct for i t before you ever

push the shutter button.

The easiest way? Change

your steps and add one quick

adjustment.

• Leave you subject in place

( I rea l ize we can move

them, but we aren’t going

to) .

• P lace your camera in


• Adjust your meter ing

mode to spot or part ia l

meter ing (you need to

measure less l ight and

don’t want to measure the

br ight area) .

• Now adjust your exposure

compensat ion to

overexpose by one stop

(+1) .

What resul t do you expect

now? Give i t a t ry. See what

happens. You’ l l be surpr ised

at your resul ts .

Thinking through your

camera choices before you

shoot and knowing how your

camera works wi l l change

your photography. I t wi l l

get eas ier and your resul ts

wi l l get better. I t rea l ly wi l l .

You are smarter than your

camera!

What Is Exposure

Compensat ion?

Exposure compensat ion is

most s imply put , sett ing your

camera’s shutter speed to

br ing in more or less l ight .

This a l lows you to quick ly

adjust for a s i tuat ion whi le

us ing aperture pr ior i ty or

shutter pr ior i ty mode. You

photo’s metadata and your

camera wi l l show a + or - to

indicate i t was used.

Try us ing aperture pr ior i ty

in a few di fferent sett ings.

Look at the l ight , determine

how the camera is going to

respond to i t , and adjust

your exposure compensat ion

accordingly.

Checking Your Histogram

I f you are going to use your

histogram to help you get a

great exposure, know what

you are looking for.

The most important part of

your histogram is the range

of data spread across f rom

lef t to r ight . Shadows are on

the lef t , h ighl ights are on

the r ight , and your midtones

are in the middle. We know

that pure black (0) is on the

lef t and pure white (255) is on

the r ight . This st retch f rom 0

to 255 is a lso considered the

camera’s dynamic range.

Knowing that i t becomes

understandable that an image

may have more data on the

r ight than on the lef t and st i l l

be exposed correct ly.

What about height though?

What is that te l l ing you? The

height of the data represents

the number of p ixe ls a long

each of the points f rom black

to white . I f you have a large

spike at the far le f t , you

know you have c l ipped your

shadows. In Engl ish, that

means you have underexposed

your image.

When v iewing your image’s

histogram you want a good

spread f rom the shadows,

through the mid tones, to the

highl ights . Of course, you can

expect to see di fferent heights

and ranges based on the image

you are shoot ing.

TR ICKS & TECHNIQUES


1. C2. A3. B4. A5. True6. A7. B8. B9. B10. BHow did you



I f something doesn’t make sense, p lease ask in the forums. I ’ l l happi ly expla in answer in more deta i l .



54 I took this photo f rom the

balcony of our hote l at 6 :54

AM on October 26, 2009. The

hote l faces south west a long

the top of a bay.

The sun was just beginning to

r ise, creat ing amazing colors

across the hor izon.

I used my 17-40mm f/4 L lens

on my Canon 30D.

My Technique


f /7 .1 as a start ing point . I

chose an ISO of 100 s ince I

was using a t r ipod.

I used a pattern meter ing

sett ing so my camera would

read the l ight f rom the ent i re

f rame.

I pointed my camera at the

blue port ion of the sky to

meter before recomposing

and shoot ing. My camera’s

l ight meter showed that

1 .6 seconds was a correct

exposure.

Post Process ing

I shot th is in RAW. I post pro-

cessed in L ightroom.

I star ted by adjust ing my

white balance.

My sett ings were:

Recovery +10

Black c l ipping +1

Br ightness +68

Contrast +40

Clar i ty +17

Vibrance +19

Saturat ion +8

I s t ra ightened and cropped a

smal l port ion of the bottom

of the f rame to put more

emphasis on the sky and less

on the sand. Cropping a lso

brought the hor izon l ine lower

in the f rame, avoiding having

i t toward the middle of the

f rame.


What would your choices be?

Would the image be improved

i f I had used a narrower aper-

ture l ike f/16 or f/22?

How would a di fferent shutter

speed affect the water or the

ref lect ions?

How would a di fferent meter-

ing choice change the image?

What would the image look

l ike i f I had used a graduated

neutra l densi ty f i l ter? Better

or worse? Why?

I never got a chance to shoot the Boardwalk l ights . Within hours of our arr iva l , my husband

was s ick, conf in ing us to our hote l room. I sett led for the ear ly morning sunr ise on the day

of our departure. The day before had been fogged in, cancel l ing the swim port ion of the

t r iath lon. We were amazed to wake to a beaut i fu l , crysta l c lear ocean.

MY EXPOSURE EXPOSEDWe were in Santa Cruz to watch a hal f - I ronman race. I packed my tr ipod

for the t r ip , looking forward to the opportuni ty to play with the l ights of

the Boardwalk r ides.

f /7 .1 | SS 1 .6” | ISO 100 | 17mm | Meter ing-Pattern

TAKE A LOOK BACKYou have covered

a lot of informat ion so far in c lass. Take a look back through your f i rs t lessons to see how much you know now compared to where you started.

Where are you more conf ident?

Where do you need more pract ice?

Where do you need

more informat ion?

P lease don’t hesi tate to ask quest ions in the forum.


56 57Assignment #1: B lue Sky

On a blue sky day, create a

landscape photo with Brother

B lue Sky.

1 . Point your camera at the

blue sky.

2 . Adjust your ISO, aperture,


correct exposure, keeping

your shutter speed fast

enough to hand hold.

3 . Recompose.

4 . Shoot .

For extra fun, use Aperture

Pr ior i ty and Auto for

compar ison.

No blue sky avai lable? Use

Mr. Green Jeans.

Assignment #2: Exposure

Compensat ion

1. Set your camera to


2. P lace your subject in

f ront of a l ight source. (A

window, the sun, or other

source)

3. Shoot .

4 . Now adjust your exposure

compensat ion +1.

5 . Shoot .


Share & Ask



them!






A L i t t le More Pract ice

I f you have a sunny day,

use the Sunny 16 sett ings to

create an image.

ON ASSIGNMENTPract ice makes perfect , r ight? The more you pract ice, the easier creat ing an exposure you love becomes. Move your camera’s sett ings around. Have fun. P lay a l i t t le !

There are many ways

to create a correct

and a creat ive

exposure. Not every subject

ref lects l ight in the same

way, g iv ing you the benef i t of

techniques to help set your

exposure without carry ing

extra equipment or needing a

human subject in the f rame!

TRICKS & TECHNIQUES



58 59


l ight .

1 FLASH. T TL refers to

A. Through-the- lens

technology.

B. Technica l ly to lerant lens.

C. Tota l t ime needed for lens

exposure.

2 FLASH. Lower the intensi ty

of your f lash through

A. Adjust ing exposure

compensat ion.

B. Stepping further away f rom

your subject .

3 FLASH. When using a f lash,

lower ing your ISO

A. Gathers more ambient

l ight .

B. Gathers less ambient l ight .

C . Changes nothing.

4 FLASH. F lash synch speed

refers to

A. How fast your shutter

can open and c lose and st i l l

reg ister the f lash.

B. The correct shutter speed

to use when using your f lash.

5 FLASH. Dragging the shutter

refers to us ing a s lower

shutter speed to a l low more

ambient l ight in your image.

True or Fa lse?

6 FLASH. The s lower your

shutter speed the __________

your background.

A. Br ighter.

B . Darker.

C . Nois ier.

7 FLASH. To use f i l l f lash

A. Expose for the background.

B. Expose for your subject ’s

face.

C. Expose for your hand.

8 HISTOGRAM REVIEW.

Histogram informat ion

stacked up the r ight-hand

s ide indicates

A. An overexposed image.

B. An underexposed image.

9 COLOR REVIEW. When

shoot ing a predominant ly

green scene

A. Meter the green and

overexpose.

B. Meter the green and

underexpose.


REVIEW. To blur the

background use a wide

aperture and:

A. Increase the distance

between the subject and the

background.

B. Increase the distance

between the lens and the

subject .


page 67.

TEST WHAT YOU KNOWAt th is point , you know the dr i l l ! Take a quick quiz to see what you know. Hold your camera in your hand i f you need to.

Photos are

recorded light.

When there is

not enough light

in your scene,

using a flash may

be necessary.

QUIZ: L IGHT

You need l ight to take photos. Don’t be afra id to add a

l i t t le l ight with your f lash. Di ffuse i t . Contro l i t . Move i t .

Bounce i t . Adjust i t to get the resul ts you are looking for !

L ight makes photography. Embrace l ight . Admire i t . Love i t . But above a l l , know l ight . Know i t for a l l you are worth, and you wi l l know the key to photography. -George Eastman


60 61door. The l ight wi l l

bounce off the dr iveway

onto your subject .

• P lace your subject

fac ing toward the dr ive-

way to get even l ight on

them.

OVERCAST DAYS

White overcast days act as a

huge di ffuser for the sun.

NATURAL REFLECTORS

• Al leys are great spots

for l ight , as they tend

to block di rect sun-

l ight bouncing i t off of

the wal ls . You probably

don’t f ind yoursel f in an

a l ley on your typica l day

though!

• Look for s ides of bui ld ings

where l ight is bouncing

off the ground or adjo in-

ing wal ls .

• See a large concrete s lab?

I t natura l ly bounces l ight

up and r ight onto the face

of your subject .

You may f ind yoursel f in a

few l ight s i tuat ions that ca l l

for a l i t t le creat iv i ty.

MOVE YOUR CAMERA

Somet imes f inding the l ight

means moving your camera

just a few inches to change

the angle. I f poss ib le , move

around your subject before

you shoot . See where the

l ight looks best .

When you can see the catch-

l ights in your subjects eyes

- - those l i t t le white ref lec-

t ive spots - - you know you’ve

found the l ight .

WHAT ABOUT THE FLASH?

Somet imes you wi l l just need

to use your f lash. There are

many ways to use your f lash.

In the next few pages, I ’ l l

get you started with creat ing

your own l ight .

You know morning

l ight and late af ter-

noon l ight g ive the

most even, beaut i fu l l ight to

shoot in . When the sun is at

an angle, rather than over-

head, you get a more indi -

rect , d i ffused l ight . You

can’t a lways shoot at those

perfect t imes though.

So, where can you f ind l ight?

INS IDE, NEAR A WINDOW

• P lace your back to

the window and put

your subject in f ront of

you, being careful not to

shadow your subject .

• P lace your shoulder

and your subject ’s shoul-

der toward the window,

creat ing s ide l ight ing.

North fac ing windows g ive

the best indirect l ight , but

any window can work.

• Avoid br ight , d i rect

sunl ight through a

window. Step into the

l ight beside the window or

place a sheer curta in over

the window.

IN OPEN SHADE

• F ind a t ree outs ide with

even (non dappled)

shade.

• The l ight at the very edge

of the t ree is typica l ly

best .

GARAGE DOOR

• Open your garage door

• Shoot just ins ide the

THE QUALITY OF LIGHTPhotographs are created with l ight . Great exposure techniques wi l l never be a subst i tute for good l ight condit ions.

L IGHT

When using f lash, you need to start somewhere. Start below your maximum synch speed. Remember the exposure t r iangle is st i l l working!


62 63

EXPOSING WITH FLASHGett ing better l ight in your image may mean using your f lash. Remember

two concepts to get better f lash exposure: d i ffuse i t and bounce i t when-

ever possib le .

Does the idea of us ing

your f lash terr i fy

you? Are you afra id

of that washed out , f r ight-

ened look your subjects get

when you do use i t ?

Knowing where to start with

your f lash can be daunt ing.

There are many opt ions!

Let ’s g ive i t a t ry.

Know that each s i tuat ion in

which we use our f lash wi l l

require a test shot . The test

shot wi l l g ive us a start ing

point to adjust our l ight ing.

You need to start somewhere

with f lash. This is one place

you can start . I t isn’t the

only way.

You wi l l get the best

f lash resul ts when

shoot ing in manual mode,

leaving your f lash on TTL

( through-the- lens) .

1 . Set your camera to manual

mode (M).

2 . Choose spot meter ing.

3 . Choose an ISO of 400.

4 . Set your shutter speed to

1/125th of a second.

5. Set your aperture to f/5 .6 .

6 . Turn your f lash on.

7 . I f you are using your

onboard f lash, push the

f lash button typica l ly

on the lef t f ront of your

camera with the l ightning

bol t symbol .

8 . I f you are using an exter-

nal f lash:

a . Set i t to ETTL or T TL

( typica l ly the defaul t

sett ing)

b. Adjust i t to bounce

off a ce i l ing or wal l .

Most external f lashes

wi l l swivel in mult ip le

di rect ions.

9 . Shoot .

10. Check your histogram.

Ideal ly, look for a spread

of data f rom lef t to r ight .

Now that you have your test

shot , you can adjust accord-

ing to your histogram data.

Is there too much l ight on

your subject? Too l i t t le?

To adjust the l ight on our

subject , we wi l l make one of

three modi f icat ions:

1 . Change ISO, aperture or

shutter speed.

2. Adjust f lash compensat ion

or f lash power.

3 . Adjust your distance

between the subject and

the f lash.

Change ISO, aperture, or

shutter speed: adjust ing any

one of these wi l l br ing more

l ight into your f rame.

I typica l ly begin by adjust ing

my ISO.

When using your f lash,

remember the narrower the

aperture, the more recyc le

t ime the f lash wi l l need.

Shoot ing with a wider aper-

ture (smal ler f / number) can

decrease your recyc le t ime

and br ing in more l ight .

I f you want a br ighter

background, adjust your

shutter speed. The s lower

your shutter speed, the

br ighter your background

wi l l be. S lowing down your

shutter speed to l ighten the

background is referred to as

“dragging the shutter.” Be

caut ious of s lowing i t down

so much that you register

movement in your subject .

Maximum synch speed refers

to how fast your shutter can

open and c lose whi le st i l l

reg ister ing the f lash. For

most cameras th is sett ing

is 1/250th of a second.

When using your f lash, most

cameras wi l l overr ide your

shutter speed i f i t is set

faster than the maximum synch

speed.

Adjust f lash compensat ion or

f lash power

I f you are shoot ing with a bui l t

in f lash, f lash compensat ion is

the easiest way to change the

f lash intensi ty. Located on your

camera ( i t typica l ly looks l ike

a l ightning bol t with a +/- next

to i t ) , you can ra ise th is by 1/3

stop increments to increase the

l ight or reduce i t by 1/3 stop

increments for less l ight .

I f you are shoot ing with an

external f lash, adjust the

f lash power on your f lash.

Most f lashes can be ra ised or

lowered in 1/3 stop increments.

I f you are bouncing your f lash

off the cei l ing, i t may be

necessary to ra ise your f lash

power.

Adjust the distance between

your subject and the f lash.

This is , without a doubt , the

s implest technique to change

your f lash intensi ty. Walk a few

steps backward or a few steps

forward and your l ight intensi ty

changes. S imple f ix .

Grab your f lash, g ive i t a t ry.

See what you f ind. The more

you play the easier i t wi l l

become!

L IGHT


64 65

FILL FLASH Some s i tuat ions require a l i t t le more l ight to balance the ambient l ight in a scene. F i l l f lash, a lso known as f lash f i l l , wi l l do the t r ick.

Fi l l f lash is used to

complement the avai l -

able ambient l ight ,

opening up the shadows on

your subject .

Use f i l l f lash when:

• Shoot ing in br ight , midday

sunl ight to e l iminate

heavy shadows.

• Backl i t s i tuat ions.

• Lower l ight s i tuat ions

when you want to convey

a mood.

• Your subject is wear ing

a hat that shadows thei r

face.

F i l l f lash a l lows you to keep

both the background and

your subject exposed. See

the photos on page 65 for

examples.

In the fo l lowing exerc ises,

I ’ve chosen to use an aper-

ture of f /5 .6 to keep both

eyes of your subject in focus.

You can t ry other apertures.

USING F ILL FLASH WITH BUILT

IN FLASH:

1. Set your camera to manual

mode (M).

2 . Set your ISO to the lowest

possib le number g iven

your l ight .

3 . Choose an aperture of

f /5 .6 .

4 . Look through your lens

and expose for a wel l

l i t object behind your

subject .

5 . Pop up your f lash (a smal l

button with a l ightning

bol t on the lef t hand s ide

of most cameras) .

6 . Shoot

7. Review your histogram for

resul ts

8. Adjust your f lash exposure

compensat ion

+ i f your image is too dark

(histogram stacked to the

lef t )

- i f your image is too l ight

(h istogram stacked to the

r ight)

9 . Shoot again, rev iew,

adjust .

USING F ILL FLASH WITH

EXTERNAL FLASH:

1. Set your camera to manual

mode (M).

2 . Point your f lash at your

subject .

3 . Set your ISO to the lowest

possib le number g iven

your l ight .

4 . Choose an aperture of

f /5 .6 .

5 . Look through your lens

and expose for a wel l

l i t object behind your

subject .

6 . Turn your f lash onto the

TTL sett ing ( typica l ly the

defaul t) .

7 . Shoot .

8 . Review your histogram for

resul ts .

9 . Adjust your f lash exposure

compensat ion.

+ i f your image is too dark

(histogram stacked to the

lef t )

- i f your image is too l ight

(h istogram stacked to the

r ight)

10. Shoot again, rev iew,

adjust .

» face exposed

» background exposed

» pop up flash

» bounced off wall

L IGHT


1. A2. B3. A4. A5. True6. A7. A8. A9. B10. AHow did you






66 I took this photo in the

courtyard of my son’s

preschool at 6 :51 PM on

Apr i l 30, 2010. The br ick

courtyard was open in the

middle, with some l ight

coming through. The sun was

beginning to set , leaving

l i t t le l ight for photos.

I used my 50mm f/1.4 lens on

my Canon 30D.

My Technique


f /4 .0 with a shutter speed of

1/125th of a second. I chose

an ISO of 400 for more f lash

power.

I used a pattern meter ing

sett ing so my camera would

read the l ight f rom the ent i re

f rame.

Shoot ing in manual mode

with the f lash, I know that

the f lash wi l l provide a

correct exposure.

I pointed my f lash toward my

husband’s white t -shi r t . He

stood r ight beside me at a

s l ight angle.

Post Process ing

I shot th is in RAW. I post pro-

cessed in L ightroom.

I no longer have the history

for my L ightroom adjustments

for th is part icular photo. I

know that I set the white

balance and adjusted the

exposure s l ight ly. A l l my edi ts

were completed in L ightroom

before saving as a jpeg.

Typica l ly the history in

L ightroom remains intact . A

move f rom one hard dr ive to

another is most l ike ly the

culpr i t for my lost sett ings.

Thankful ly, the photo was not

lost though.


What would your choices be?

What would the image look

l ike i f I ’d only ra ised my ISO

and chosen not to use f lash.

How would a di fferent shutter

speed change the ambient

l ight in the photo?

Did you not ice the catchl ights

in his eye? Had I bounced

the f lash off of a di fferent

surface, how would they be

di fferent?

Cooperat ion and l i t t le k ids don’t a lways go together. I seek any moment when he’s stopped

long enough for me to shoot ! S ince he was mad at me, he gave me his “sad eyes” face. L i t t le

d id he real ize i t was exact ly what I was looking for ! A moody moment captured with the help

of my husband’s white t -shi r t .

MY EXPOSURE EXPOSEDI c reated this image of my son in the late af ternoon in the courtyard of

h is preschool . The l ight was disappear ing and kids were running around

l ike crazy. He got in a l i t t le t rouble, creat ing an ideal moment for me!

f /4 .0 | SS 1/125 | ISO 400 | 40mm | Meter ing-Pattern

THIS IS FUN!Remember that

photography is fun! L ike anything new, there is a learning curve.

As you learn more you may not ice your photos get worse before they get better. St ick with i t . Keep try ing. Pract ice wi l l improve your fami l iar i ty with your sett ings.

Know that your sty le may change.

Your preferences may change. Anything you learn wi l l help you to create your own sty le and preferences.

Enjoy the process. Photography should be fun!


68 69Assignment #1: Use F i l l F lash

Select a human subject in a

backl i t or sunny locat ion.

1 . Expose for an area behind

your subject . Avoid using

a white or b lack area.

2 . Adjust your ISO,aperture,


correct exposure.

3 . Turn on your f lash.


subject .

5 . Shoot .

Try bouncing your f lash off

d i fferent surfaces to l ight

your subject .

Assignment #2: F lash Power &

Distance

Select any subject in a low

l ight s i tuat ion.

1 . Use the sett ings on page

62 to set your exposure.

2 . Stand four feet in f ront of

your subject .

3 . Focus on your subject .

4 . Shoot .

5 . Back up two more feet .

6 . Shoot .


Back up more i f you want to

play even more!

Share & Ask



them!






A l i t t le more pract ice

Try e i ther Ass ignment #1 or

#2 again. This t ime, adjust

your f lash compensat ion

to see the di fferent resul ts

you get in combinat ion with

moving c loser to or further

f rom your subject .

Let ’s ta lk in the forums

about methods to di ffuse

your f lash! There are lots of

opt ions!

ON ASSIGNMENTPhotography is l ight . P lay with i t to see what resul ts you get . Cont inual pract ice is the best method to commit everything to memory when shoot ing.

Knowing how to use

your f lash, g ives

you a wider range of

photo taking opt ions. Learn

to make i t work for you in

creat ive, fun ways.

L IGHT



70 71


some exper imental methods.

1 WHAT’S R IGHT? S lowing your

shutter speed

A. Captures deta i l .

B . Captures mot ion.

C. Stops mot ion.

2 WHAT’S R IGHT? To create a

b lue hued photo, change your

white balance to

A. Tungsten when shoot ing in

dayl ight .

B. F lash when shoot ing

indoors.

C . Sunny when shoot ing

indoors.

3 UNDEREXPOSE. When

underexposing, the image f i le

is

A. Larger than an overexposed

image f i le .

B . Smal ler than an

overexposed image f i le .

C . The same s ize as an

overexposed image f i le .

4 UNDEREXPOSE.

Underexposing shi f ts the

histogram

A. To the r ight .

B. To the lef t .

5 OVEREXPOSE. Overexposing

is used for th is creat ive

technique

A. High key

B. Low key

C. Studio

6 OVEREXPOSE. Shoot to the

r ight refers to

A. Composing an image with

the subject ’s weight on the

r ight s ide of the f rame.

B. Overexposing an image.

7 OVEREXPOSE. When

highl ights are c l ipped, no

data is present in that area

of your image.

True or Fa lse?

8 FLASH REVIEW. A higher ISO

whi le us ing the f lash

A. Increases f lash power.

B. Decreases f lash power.

9 FLASH REVIEW. To use f i l l

f lash, f i rs t expose for :

A. Your subject .

B . The background.


REVIEW. Which is a one stop

di fference?

A. f /8 to f/5 .6

B. ISO 1600 to ISO 1000

C. f /1 .4 to f/1 .8


page 79.

TEST WHAT YOU KNOWYou’ve made i t to your last lesson! I hope i t has been a fun exper ience! This is your last quiz . Take your t ime. Hold your camera. Test your knowledge.

Correct is good.

Creative is

fun. Use your

knowledge of

correct exposure

to move into

creative!

QUIZ: EXPERIMENT & PLAY

Rule are there to help us under-stand the process, but ru les are made to be played with. That p lay can lead to creat ive resul ts ! Don’t be afra id to st retch things a bi t .


72 73

WHAT’S RIGHT?Correct is correct , but take i t a l i t t le further for creat ive! Once you know the rules of correct exposure, have fun breaking them to create interest ing, unique images.

Throughout c lass

we’ve focused on

achieving a correct

exposure. Moving away f rom

“correct” can help us get to

creat ive.

Rules are there to help us

understand the process, but

ru les are a lso made to be

played with.

Overexposing

Let ’s begin with

overexposing. What happens

when you overexpose

something with strong

shadows?

Overexpose on a br ight sun-

l ight day when shadows are

strong. Overexpose one stop.

Then two. Focus on your com-

posi t ion, p lac ing the shadows

in interest ing places in your

f rame. See what you can

create.

Underexposing

Try underexposing. Start

with one stop then two. Try

under exposing when l ight

is coming di rect ly into your

lens. See what creat ive

composi t ion you can f ind to

make the subject s ing.

Whi le we are breaking rules,

t ry a few other techniques.

White Balance

Set your indoor white balance

to an outs ide sett ing. Set

your outdoor white balance

to tungsten. Tr ick your

camera into g iv ing your

photos a b lue hue by using a

tungsten sett ing in dayl ight .

Shutter Speed

Playing with your shutter

speed is the easiest way to

get creat ive. I love play ing

with shutter speed.

In low l ight s i tuat ions, you

can have a lot of fun with

l ights ! Grab a t r ipod, p lace

your shutter on bulb, point

your camera at something

moving, and shoot . The

shutter wi l l s tay open unt i l

you press i t again.

S low the shutter down even

more. Shoot again.

Move The Camera

We work real ly hard to keep

our cameras steady. What i f

you move i t whi le taking an

image? What i f you zoom in

and out whi le keeping your

shutter open?

Defy ing the rules is fun. F ind

a l ight d isplay or grab your

own l ights and s low your

shutter speed down to 1/10th

of a second or less. Press

your shutter and move your

camera. See what resul ts you

get . I t wi l l take some play

and pract ice to get i t just

r ight !

P lace your camera on a t r ipod

and move your lens whi le

keeping the camera steady. A

few quick steps and you can

create interest ing, moving

resul ts .

1 . Set your camera to aper-

ture pr ior i ty(AV or A) .*

2. Set your aperture to f/20.

3 . Set your ISO to 100.

4 . Secure your camera to a

t r ipod.

5. P lace your hand on the

zoom r ing of your lens.

6 . Press the shutter button.

7 . S lowly turn your zoom

r ing.

8 . Check your resul ts .

Try zooming faster and

s lower. In to out and out

to in .

*You can a lso use program

mode (P) or manual mode

(M) for th is technique.

P lay. Have fun.

Photography and Creat iv i ty

Photography is about creat-

ing. I t ’s about seeing. I t ’s

about captur ing the l ight .

Through play you suddenly

discover how the pieces and

parts work together. You’ l l

reveal th ings about your

camera you may not have

known before.

For me that is what

photography is a l l about . That

is the good stuff .

What is i t for you?

EXPERIMENT & PLAY

Perfect isn’t a lways creat ive. Shi f t your histo-gram to the lef t to darken your shadows and make your photos a l i t t le more unusual and inter-est ing. There are post process ing

benef i ts too!

C l ipping refers to e i ther overexposing or underexposing an image so extremely that no data ex ists in your image f i le . To v iew c l ipping in camera, turn c l ipping on in your camera’s menu. Areas that have been c l ipped wi l l b l ink when you v iew the image on your LCD screen.


74 75I t is a photographic t rade-off

to consider when choosing

your exposure.

I underexpose in s i tuat ions

when there is a r isk of

c l ipping highl ights . Br ight

days and white scenes

are two examples. S l ight ly

underexposing is a more

re l iable opt ion.

SAVING THE UNDEREXPOSED

IMAGE

I f you unintent ional ly

underexpose an image,

you can save i t in post

process ing. Here are a few

adjustments to use in the

develop module of L ightroom.

Exposure - adjusts image

br ightness.

F i l l L ight - l ightens shadows,

whi le reta in ing black tones.

B lacks - increases the black

tones in a photo.

Br ightness - br ightens the

midtones in a photo.

Contrast - g ives contrast to

image midtones

In Photoshop adjust levels .

Se lect the midtone s l ider.

Move i t to the r ight unt i l

your histogram is more

evenly dist r ibuted

CREATIVE UNDEREXPOSING

Underexposure isn’t

a lways bad. I t can be used

creat ive ly. Not everyone

agrees with th is method, but

i t can produce interest ing,

ar t is t ic images.

Focus on your composi t ion

when choosing to overexpose.

Look for subjects with

strong shadows and shapes.

Underexpose one, two, and

even three stops. Think

about creat ing l ines with

your shadows for more v isual

interest . The creat ive resul ts

may vary, but you’ l l have fun

in the process.

Consider underexposing

parts of your image to

mainta in correct exposure

in other parts . In the photo

on page 74, I intent ional ly

underexposed my son’s face

in order to correct ly expose

his surroundings. Not ice how

i t intensi f ies his shadow.

THE BASICS OF UNDEREXPOSING

At th is point in c lass you

understand what happens

when you underexpose an

image. Underexposing leaves

your whites, not qui te white .

Your overa l l image has a gray

cast to i t . The shadow areas

are very dark.

When you look at the

histogram, your data s i ts on

the lef t -hand-s ide. The more

extreme the underexposure,

the more data is stacked up

on the lef t -hand-s ide.

THE BENEFITS OF

UNDEREXPOSING

I f ind an underexposed image

is eas ier to post process than

an overexposed image. Why?

Data can be recovered more

easi ly with underexposure

than with an overexposure.

When the highl ights are

c l ipped, the data is gone and

can’t be recovered.

There is a greater r isk of

noise in shadow areas with

underexposure.

Keep in mind, OVEREXPOSED

images contain more data

than underexposed. Whi le

the underexposed image may

be easier to process, the

overexposed image has a

greater range of data to work

with.

UNDEREXPOSINGWhat happens when you intent ional ly underexpose? Watch your shadows take on a new look. Underexposing shi f ts the histogram to the lef t in interest ing ways.

The technique of

underexposing parts of

your image is ca l led low

key photography. I t is an

interest ing and creat ive

approach to photography.

EXPERIMENT & PLAY


76 77

OVEREXPOSING Overexposing is typica l ly on the l is t of th ings to avoid. A l i t t le p lanned overexposing creates interest ing images with a unique look.

Have you ever inten-

t ional ly overexposed

an image?

Most of us work to achieve

a correct exposure - - the

perfect balance of shadows

and highl ights with the

midtones evenly dist r ibuted

across the histogram.

When we overexpose our data

is stacked to the r ight hand

s ide of the histogram. Our

photos look a lmost white and

the shadows disappear.

Benef i ts of Overexposing

Somet imes we overexpose

to get an image that needs

l i t t le post process ing. We add

that l i t t le b i t of extra l ight

and can overcome pr inter

d i fferences to achieve an

image we l ike.

There is more data present

when an image is s l ight ly

overexposed than when

underexposed.

Shoot ing To The Right

Have you heard the term

“shoot ing to the r ight”?

This refers to overexposing

images as a regular pract ice.

Images with histograms

shi f ted toward the r ight

have a greater range of

shadows to highl ights . Many

photographers use i t as a

standard pract ice. There is

r isk in c l ipping highl ights

and los ing data.

High Key Photography

High key photos are a

fun way to mix up your

photography. This technique

is of ten used in a studio,

but you can create i t outs ide

of a studio with a few

adjustments to your sett ings.

The typica l h igh key photo

has no shadows, and a white

background and is of ten

descr ibed as br ight and

happy. The technique can

be achieved in camera or in

post process ing. The basic

idea is to shoot in f lat l ight

and overexpose as much as 4

stops!

The technique is ca l led high

key because the highl ights

are pushed as high as they

can go. A l l of the tone keys

are pushed to the r ight-hand

s ide of the histogram.

So how do you achieve a high

key photo?

1. F ind a correct exposure,

us ing any of the

techniques we’ve covered

in c lass.

2 . Adjust your shutter speed

2 to 4 stops s lower to

a l low more l ight to enter

the lens.

Remember that shutter

speed works in stops just as

apertures do! As you move

down the l is t , you are let t ing

twice as much l ight into your

camera.

1/1600

1/1000

1/500

1/250

1/125

1/60

1/30

3. Leave your ISO and

aperture at thei r or ig inal

“correct” sett ings.

4 . Shoot .

The f inal h igh key image wi l l

have few to no shadows. The

histogram is shi f ted to the

r ight . Ideal ly the data is not

c l ipped.

The examples above show the

same scene photographed

with a correct exposure and

at four stops overexposed.

EXPERIMENT & PLAY


1. B2. A3. B4. B5. A6. B7. True8. B9. B10. AHow did you






78 The Deta i ls

I took this photo in the

bedroom of a home at

4 :09 PM on August 6th, 2011.

She was s ide l i t by a s l id ing

g lass door to her r ight .

I used my 70-200mm lens on

my Canon 5D Mark I I .

My Technique


f /2 .8 to gather the most l ight

and blur the br idesmaids in

the background.


her cheek. I then adjusted

my shutter speed severa l

stops s lower. I held my

breath, steadied the camera,

and hoped to avoid camera

shake. Perhaps not the

wisest example of breaking

the rules!

My ISO was 1000 to col lect

more l ight in a low l ight

s i tuat ion whi le shoot ing with

a long lens.

Post Process ing

I shot th is in RAW. I used

L ightroom to f ine-tune the

high key effect .

I s tar ted by adjust ing my

white balance.

My sett ings were:

Exposure +.35

Highl ight Recovery +18

Clar i ty +43

I appl ied a Kelsey Smith black

and white preset , making

severa l adjustments to the

photo af ter the preset .

B lack Cl ipping -13

Exposure +1.9

I cropped the background f rom

the photo to emphasize her

face.

Look With a Cr i t ica l Eye


a cr i t ica l eye. How does the

high key effect change this

photo? Would i t have the same

mood i f exposed correct ly

rather than creat ive ly?

What choices would you make

in a s imi lar s i tuat ion? Was i t

too r isky to shoot a wedding

photograph in th is manner?

Would your post process-

ing be di fferent? Share your

thoughts in the forum.

The br ide was prepar ing just moments before the ceremony. A l l the hust le and bust le had

subsided and she took a quiet moment before walk ing down the a is le . Her br idesmaids

surrounded her, but she was the subject of my lens.

MY EXPOSURE EXPOSEDI love breaking rules. Somet imes opportuni t ies present themselves to play

with sett ings in beaut i fu l s i tuat ions. I couldn’t res ist creat ing a high key

image whi le shoot ing a wedding.

f /2 .8 | SS 1/25 | ISO 1000 | 160mm | Meter ing-Spot

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?

How far have you come s ince the beginning of c lass? Do you know something now that you didn’t know s ix weeks ago?

How are you using your camera today that you weren’t able to when c lass started.

Keep chal lenging yoursel f . Keep try ing new sett ings and

new techniques. The more you pract ice, the more ski l led you wi l l become.

Enjoy the process.


80 81Assignment #1: Over & Under

Select any subject for th is

ass ignment. Shoot f i rs t in an

evenly l i t area and then in

more di rect , intense l ight .

Take two photographs in each


1 . Obta in a correct exposure.

2 . Overexpose two stops.

3 . Shoot

4. Underexpose two stops.

5 . Shoot .

6 . Repeat in your second


7 . Compare resul ts .

Assignment #2: Port ra i t

F ind a human, cooperat ive

subject . P lace them near

a l ight source. Create a

correct ly exposed image using

any of the methods descr ibed

in c lass.

Suggested techniques:

• Hand +1 Rule

• Gray card

• Skin

Assignment #3: Landscape

Step outs ide for th is

ass ignment. F ind a natura l

sett ing to create a landscape

photo. Create a correct ly

exposed image using any of

the methods descr ibed in

c lass.

Suggested techniques:

• Brother B lue Sky

• Mr. Green Jeans

• Sunny 16

Share & Ask



them!






A l i t t le more pract ice

My websi te , CaptureYour365,

is f i l led with ideas and

techniques for improving

your photography. Stop by.

Say hel lo . There is a lways

more to learn!

FINAL EXAMWow! You’ve made i t . Are you ready for your f inal exam? The f inal exam br ings together everything you’ve covered so far. Have fun.

I hope you have enjoyed

EXPOSURE. My goal

throughout c lass was to

help you achieve the best

photographic resul ts you can.

Thank you for being part

of Exposure. I hope you’ve

enjoyed c lass and have had

fun learning with me.

Review the Progress Report

on page 5 to see how far

you’ve come!

For the fo l lowing

ass ignments, t ry shoot ing

without looking at your

histogram. Use the

techniques we’ve covered in

c lass to create each image.

EXPERIMENT & PLAY


http://www.captureyour365.com

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