Mastering the Exposure Triangle: A Comprehensive Guide
WHY I DIDN’T PHOTOGRAPH IN MANUAL
Manual used to scare the crap out of me. I used to shoot on my camera’s preset settings for the longest amount of time. I would just snap a picture and if I didn’t like it I would try another setting and just wind up cycling though them all. I occasionally captured a cool image but I had no real understanding of basic camera settings and how to shoot in Manual.
I always thought that shooting in manual was only something that professionals did and that there were all kinds of numbers and letters and settings on my camera that I had to mathematically account for in order to get a perfect picture. This led me to settling. However, one day I decided to do a little research on YouTube about shooting in manual because I wanted to understand my camera some more and not just be another noob pushing a button.
Watching a few simple videos led to me becoming a master of shooting in manual in just a matter of days. There are definitely lots of words, numbers, and letters on a camera but once I got the hang of what they meant and did it was really easy.
Now I only shoot in manual or aperture priority, depending on the situation. I have a working knowledge of what aperture, ISO, and f-stop do and how they work with one another to affect a picture. I hope that this brief guide outlines what each of these settings are and when to change and use them in order to get the perfect picture. A few simple tips and you will too be a master at shooting in manual.
EXPOSURE TRIANGLE
The various settings required for a balanced image.
MANUAL PHOTOGRAPHY SETTINGS To Master Exposure
APERTURE
A space through which light passes in an optical or photographic instrument, especially the variable opening by which light enters a camera.
Aperture controls the amount of natural light that is let though a lens. Aperture is shown as what is called an “f-stop number” and will appear on the camera as f/4.
High Aperture - The higher the aperture number the less light there will be. A higher aperture will let in less light but create a more consistent focus throughout the image. A higher aperture is best used in situations such as landscapes or group photos. If the subject or subjects in your picture are at various distances away from the camera then you want to raise the aperture.
Low Aperture - The lower the aperture number, the more light there will be. The lower the aperture number the more in focus just the foreground subject will be and the blurrier the surrounding area will be. Low aperture is best used for portrait photography and for pictures with only a single subject. The low aperture really allows the lens to focus only on the subject and make it pop off the page.
ISO
ISO relates to a sensor’s sensitivity to light.
ISO is extra light that is added by the camera into its sensor for each photo taken. ISO is shown on a camera as a number and starts at 100 and goes up to around 3200 or higher.
High ISO – High ISO adds extra brightness to an image that may be dark. It is best used when there is low lighting or no light at all. ISO is artificial and can create noise in a picture which shows up as a series of dots or lines that aren’t really there. Noise is only created when ISO is really high, generally 3200 or above. Newer cameras have a very good ability at shooting in the dark with very little noise. High ISO is best used for night photography. ISO and aperture are related in the fact that they both control the brightness of an image. If a picture has a very high aperture it would have little light naturally entering and need a high ISO in order for the picture to not be too dark. Generally, ISO should be kept as low as possible and should be the last adjustment made to a camera’s settings.
Low ISO – Low ISO will produce a darker image. The ISO doesn’t add darkness but if a picture is taken in the dark with a low ISO, it may just turn up as a black image. Low ISO is the golden standard and is what I try to shoot in for all types of photography. I always start with my ISO at 100, which is the lowest it goes, and then if an image comes out dark I will up the ISO.
SHUTTER SPEED
The length of time when the film or digital sensor inside the camera is exposed to light or open.
Shutter speed affects the amount of time over which an image is taken. Generally, images are taken over tenths of seconds but sometimes single pictures can be taken over multiple seconds. Shutter speed is shown on a camera as ¼ or 1” to indicate a quarter of a second or a full second. Shutter speeds generally can be thousandths of a second or up to a minute. Shutter speed is referred to as fast and slow rather than low or high.
Fast Shutter Speed - A quick shutter speed will take a photo over a fraction of a second. Fast shutter speeds let in less light and make the picture darker. The benefit of a quick shutter speed is to capture moving people or objects. If a picture of a car driving by is captured in a hundredth of a second then there won’t be much blur from the movement of the car. Fast shutter speeds are best used for photography of moving subjects such as people, animals, and vehicles.
Slow Shutter Speed – A slow shutter speed will take an image over a long period of time. The sensor that the image is being captured though will be open to the scene for a couple seconds rather than a fraction of a second. Slow shutter speed images will be brighter because light has more time to enter and fill the frame. The best use for slower shutter speed is at night. Slow shutter speeds are used for images such as light trails, stars, and moving water. An important note is that if you are using a slow shutter speed you will need a tripod or the image will turn out blurry. If the sensor is open for 3 seconds and throughout that time the camera is shaking, then it won’t be able to fully capture a sharp image.
