Life Skills

Exposure exposed

by SWORUP RANJIT

FROM ISSUE # 133 (January 2007) | IN THIS ISSUE
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ALL PICS: SWORUP RANJIT -2EV

Put simply, exposure is the amount of light collected by your camera's sensor. If a shot is exposed for too long, the photo will be washed out. If it's not exposed for long enough, it will be too dark. Almost all cameras today have light meters which set an ideal exposure automatically. Depending on these is fine, but knowing how to control exposure lets you be much more creative.

0EV

Generally, we aim for a 0 exposure value (0 EV), where the aperture and shutter speed are set to let in just the right amount of light under the given conditions. In automatic mode, cameras usually adjust to the 0 EV.

+2EV

However, 0 EV does not always ennsure great pictures, especially in anti-light or maximum light conditions. To get better photos in anti-light conditions, use your camera menu to find the EV settings and set them on a positive value to allow for more brightness on the desired subject. On the other hand, in maximum lighting conditions like a sunrise, reduce the EV to compensate for the overabundance of light.