Exposure Settings in Photography

Video Transcript

"Light and exposure are two very important parts of a photograph. And while the camera is going to do a lot to help determine what settings you should use to get the proper exposure, you're going to have to use a lot of your own thinking as well. Here comes a major difference between manual and automatic cameras, because an automatic camera is going to break down a scene and take the photograph as it best determines. Now, with a manual camera, you're able to use your own eye as well as the meter to determine what is going to be the best way to shoot a photograph. A general rule that some photographers use is that you take an image and you break it down into ten major light values. One being the brightest or darkest, and ten being the brightest or darkest. Basically, you have a range of light values in your image. Something that you need to consider is probably only the middle five or six of these values are going to come up really strong in your image, because the human eye can see more than the camera. So you have to remember that when taking your photographs. So think about the most important objects and subjects in the photograph and make sure that they're in the middle range of light. They're not in too much of darkness, and they're not in too bright of lightness. You'll see in this photograph, I took this at an airport, it was a job photographing these private jets that were for sale. Basically, it was some really dramatic light in the background, but we also still wanted to show somewhat of the airplanes. So it was important when taking this photograph to really break the scene down and to not let the camera expose too much for the light in the background or expose too much for just the planes, but a comfortable medium so that we can have an overall image. It's very important to remember, the camera is going to make mistakes, the camera is just a machine, so you have to use your own mind, as well as the tools that come with the camera to be able to determine the best scenarios and settings for shooting your photograph."