Exposure Explained
What is Exposure?
Exposure refers to the amount of light that reaches the camera's digital sensor and affects the brightness or darkness of an image. This digital sensor is what has replaced traditional film rolls for most photographers, and technology continues to progress year after year. The camera’s sensor converts the light it captures into a digital image file, saving it to a memory card and making it visible in 2D.
Too Much Light = Overexposed
When a photo is overexposed, some areas of the image are so bright that you can't edit them. Photographers refer to these areas as being “blown out.” Depending on the photographer’s editing style, they may only be concerned about specific parts of the image being blown out. Light and airy photographers typically don’t mind if the sky is overexposed, as long as the subject remains within range.
Not Enough Light = Underexposed
When a photo is underexposed, some areas are too dark to edit. Like overexposed images, some photographers don’t mind parts of their subjects being underexposed as long as the important areas remain properly exposed.
There are numerous artistic perspectives between those two markers. As a photographer, your role is to allow the sensor to receive a suitable amount of light so that your image aligns with your standards for your specific editing style.
Proper Exposure
Proper exposure means the photo maintains all the information in the highlights and shadows. It is neither overexposed nor underexposed. This is the gold standard because if all the data is retained, any part of the image can be edited to the photographer's satisfaction in the post process.
How to Know if Your Photo is Properly Exposed?
While in manual mode, look at your camera’s exposure meter on the LCD screen or through the viewfinder (sometimes, it’s on the top of the camera). It will look like the graphic below. When the indicator is centered at zero on the meter, you know you have a proper exposure. No more guessing!
How to Set Your Camera’s Manual Settings
The last piece of the puzzle is what settings to use, how to set them, and in what order. If you want to learn a simple step-by-step process for setting your camera in manual mode, we can help you with that at Lancaster Photography School.
For hobbyists, we have a course called Photography Simplified: The Basics for Personal Use that will have you taking pro-level images quickly and easily in two hours.
For those interested in learning photography as a side-hustle or new career, we have a course that will take you from camera settings, lighting, editing, and posing all the way through setting up your business, workflow, and marketing your new business.
If you need to start (or restart) a photography business, you’ll want to check out this course for twelve hours of step-by-step instructions with workbooks, swipe files, downloads, a private community…the works!