Exposure Compensation | What took me so long?
Seriously! Why did no one tell me about exposure compensation when I was starting out?!?! I know what you are thinking. You didn't know about exposure compensation? ...and you are a PHOTOGRAPHER? ummm...the answer would be YES. Resoundingly.
A few years ago, I was shooting just fine, adjusting my ISO, my aperture, my shutter speed, creating interesting compositions, capturing emotion - I thought I was doing great!
Something was missing though. I had to shoot in perfect lighting. I always had to find perfect shade for beautiful photos. Even when I was adjusting my settings, I couldn't shoot in horrible conditions (like shooting into a bright wall of sunlight and still capturing the people's faces without silhouetting them). How could I shoot weddings where I couldn't arrange the setting to maximize my photography? I needed to figure out exposure compensation, but I didn't know it.
By now, you probably realize that I was NOT formally trained. If I were, I would have learned everything about exposure early on. Now, let me take a short side trail and encourage all of you girls (and guys!) that are learning photography on your own. It absolutely can be done and there are advantages! When you teach yourself, you often learn things differently, you grow into your own style instead of being heavily influenced by your teacher and I believe you learn things more deeply and intrinsically when you are heavily invested in studying and figuring things out yourself. Of course, there are downsides to teaching yourself as well. One downside is that you might skip something vitally important - like exposure compensation.
Take a look at the top of your camera. There is a little +/- button - see it on the right?. That is your exposure compensation button. You press the +/- button and roll the knob on the back at the same time to adjust (this might be different on some cameras...consult your manual!) Very basically, if you want more light, you adjust to the + numbers. If you want less light, you adjust to the - numbers.
Of course I still try to find perfect lighting. I still try to find that perfect day of softly lit cloud cover for portraits, but weddings are planned on wedding days, and they are not always perfect. So, I use my exposure compensation button a lot. It is the quickest way to adjust without changing a multitude of settings in a fast shooting environment. I only wished someone had told be about exposure compensation sooner! At least you can no longer say the same thing! You know about exposure compensation now, so go forth and use it!!!
If this post was helpful for you, you will want to move on to the next step which is figuring out layouts! If you want to get your work published, you need to read THIS!
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A few years ago, I was shooting just fine, adjusting my ISO, my aperture, my shutter speed, creating interesting compositions, capturing emotion - I thought I was doing great!
Something was missing though. I had to shoot in perfect lighting. I always had to find perfect shade for beautiful photos. Even when I was adjusting my settings, I couldn't shoot in horrible conditions (like shooting into a bright wall of sunlight and still capturing the people's faces without silhouetting them). How could I shoot weddings where I couldn't arrange the setting to maximize my photography? I needed to figure out exposure compensation, but I didn't know it.
By now, you probably realize that I was NOT formally trained. If I were, I would have learned everything about exposure early on. Now, let me take a short side trail and encourage all of you girls (and guys!) that are learning photography on your own. It absolutely can be done and there are advantages! When you teach yourself, you often learn things differently, you grow into your own style instead of being heavily influenced by your teacher and I believe you learn things more deeply and intrinsically when you are heavily invested in studying and figuring things out yourself. Of course, there are downsides to teaching yourself as well. One downside is that you might skip something vitally important - like exposure compensation.
So what is exposure compensation?! By definition, "exposure is the total density of light allowed to fall on the photographic medium (photographic film or image sensor) during the process of taking a photograph. Exposure is measured in lux seconds, and can be computed from exposure value (EV) and scene luminance over a specified area. In photographic jargon, an exposure generally refers to a single shutter cycle. For example: a long exposure refers to a single, protracted shutter cycle to capture enough low-intensity light, whereas a multiple exposure involves a series of relatively brief shutter cycles; effectively layering a series of photographs in one image. For the same film speed, the accumulated photometric exposure (Hv) should be similar in both cases."
Still confused? It is easier to think about it in terms of film. Picture the roll of film in your camera. A large roll of brown of film inserted into your camera and attached so that it will "capture" whatever picture you are looking at through the viewfinder. When you press the shutter, you allow light in and that light prints a picture on the film. Yes? Basically, exposure is how much light is "falling" on the film. If you allow a lot of light, then your picture will be brighter and lighter and if you have a small amount of light, the photo will be dark. You can adjust the exposure by adjusting your ISO, your shutter speed and your aperture. However, to tackle the serious exposure nightmares, you need to compensate - thus exposure compensation!
Take a look at the top of your camera. There is a little +/- button - see it on the right?. That is your exposure compensation button. You press the +/- button and roll the knob on the back at the same time to adjust (this might be different on some cameras...consult your manual!) Very basically, if you want more light, you adjust to the + numbers. If you want less light, you adjust to the - numbers.
You are confused again,. aren't you?
Don't worry...it gets easier when you practice with it - I promise!
Let's move on to the nitty gritty details...
Here is a photo that is OVER EXPOSED. It is too bright. See how much of the detail is lost ? The pink petals are just flat and too garish.
Let's move on to the nitty gritty details...
Here is a photo that is OVER EXPOSED. It is too bright. See how much of the detail is lost ? The pink petals are just flat and too garish.
The color is nice, I like the depth of field, the focus point is crisp,
so I am simply going to adjust the exposure compensation one stop to -.03 to lessen the effect of the bright sunlight.
Do you see how much softer the pink petals look and how much more detail of light and shadow you see?
Here is another example. It was noon and the sun was very bright against this bank of windows.
The bride and groom were going to be standing directly in front of the windows,
so there there was not an option of shooting in better lighting or adjusting the subjects.
Notice how the sky goes from blue to bright white.
That is because I am raising the exposure compensation to +2 or so and the detail in the sky is blown out.
In a perfect world the sky and subjects would be perfectly exposed, but in this situation, the groom's face
was more important than the sky, so I "brightened" his face by adjusting the exposure.
Here is another example. The window is very bright, but I want to capture the shoes as well as the skyline.
I know that I need to adjust the exposure compensation because the shoes are going to be very dark if I shoot as is (like the groom above).
So I adjust to +2 and the shoes are well lit, but the skyline is too bright and loses too much detail.
So, I adjust the exposure compensation back to around +.03 and I get the skyline exposed well, but now the shoes are too dark.
I adjusted back to +1.3 and ended up with an exposure that I am happy with.
The skyline and the shoes are both sacrificing a bit because the skyline is a bit too bright and the shoes are still a bit too dark,
but I can see the detail of both and have a workable photo that can be adjusted in editing if I choose to later.
Of course I still try to find perfect lighting. I still try to find that perfect day of softly lit cloud cover for portraits, but weddings are planned on wedding days, and they are not always perfect. So, I use my exposure compensation button a lot. It is the quickest way to adjust without changing a multitude of settings in a fast shooting environment. I only wished someone had told be about exposure compensation sooner! At least you can no longer say the same thing! You know about exposure compensation now, so go forth and use it!!!
If this post was helpful for you, you will want to move on to the next step which is figuring out layouts! If you want to get your work published, you need to read THIS!
IF YOU LIKED THIS POST, PLEASE come visit me on FACEBOOK!
Get more updates and the occasional newsletter from Amy Renea by subscribing to the Nest Post below!
