Basic Exposure

[ShutterWork]

Hi all,

I have recently bought 'understanding exposure' after loads of reco from people here. Excellent book..!! It has shattered some of my basic concepts (in a right way).

Having said that I am bit more confused now, when it comes to shooting in manual mode.

The question is a true or false one - Am I right in saying that in any given exposure (photo), you can only expose one of it's subject properly...??? E.g. Clicking a photo of a flower against the sky..you can either expose the flower or the sky properly???

(for people who have read this book, I was
confused after seeing info/image on page 22..the bridge one..."with camera pointing to the sky aperture was adjusted...then recomposed the scene..", which I assume means focused on the bridge..)

Hope I am making sense. Thanks in advance.

 

[TCR4x4]

Hi all,

I have recently bought 'understanding exposure' after loads of reco from people here. Excellent book..!! It has shattered some of my basic concepts (in a right way).

Having said that I am bit more confused now, when it comes to shooting in manual mode.

The question is a true or false one - Am I right in saying that in any given exposure (photo), you can only expose one of it's subject properly...??? E.g. Clicking a photo of a flower against the sky..you can either expose the flower or the sky properly???

(for people who have read this book, I was
confused after seeing info/image on page 22..the bridge one..."with camera pointing to the sky aperture was adjusted...then recomposed the scene..", which I assume means focused on the bridge..)

Hope I am making sense. Thanks in advance.

Pretty much yes. Its a comprimise between the two. The flower is the subject, so you expose accoridngly for that.
Of course in an ideal world, you'd use flash to expose the flower and then use the camera to expose for the sky.

This is why people use the HDR technique or image blending. You can take 2 or more exposures, all exposed correctly for different parts of the image and then merge them together in software.

 

[ShutterWork]

Pretty much yes. Its a comprimise between the two. The flower is the subject, so you expose accoridngly for that.
Of course in an ideal world, you'd use flash to expose the flower and then use the camera to expose for the sky.

This is why people use the HDR technique or image blending. You can take 2 or more exposures, all exposed correctly for different parts of the image and then merge them together in software.

Thanks, makes me feel better now.... But either ways using flash or HDR, the point of focus will remain the same when the shutter is released, wouldn't it..(in my e.g. the flower)..

 

[TCR4x4]

The focus will be what ever you focus on. What Bryan is talking about is metering for one one subject but focusing on another using exposure lock.

As default, the shutter button locks the exposure when you focus, but this can be overridden using the AF/AE lock button, once you have set it in the menu to act as exposue lock

 

[ShutterWork]

The focus will be what ever you focus on. What Bryan is talking about is metering for one one subject but focusing on another using exposure lock.

As default, the shutter button locks the exposure when you focus, but this can be overridden using the AF/AE lock button, once you have set it in the menu to act as exposue lock

That makes complete sense now..! In fact you've nailed it, and have also answered a related question in another thread.

What kept bugging me was when I AF on a subject the metering would alter accordingly..but yes, using AF/AE lock will solve this issue. Now am I right in thinking that this (AF/AE lock) is true for A and S modes. Because on M mode the exposure, where it needs to be (foreground or background) is determined by us using aperture/shutter/ISO.

Thanks..sorry have been reading and watching videos from different places at once, hence so much confusion.

 

[lensflair]

That makes complete sense now..! In fact you've nailed it, and have also answered a related question in another thread.

What kept bugging me was when I AF on a subject the metering would alter accordingly..but yes, using AF/AE lock will solve this issue. Now am I right in thinking that this (AF/AE lock) is true for A and S modes. Because on M mode the exposure, where it needs to be (foreground or background) is determined by us using aperture/shutter/ISO.

Thanks..sorry have been reading and watching videos from different places at once, hence so much confusion.

Yes in manual mode it doesn't matter what the meter reads, you set the exposure and it won't change. This is why manual is preffered by a lot of people, you get consistent results from a series of shots and have complete control over exposure, this us especially useful when using flash.

My preference with flash is camera in manual mode and flash in TTL when its on the camera, I set my ambient exposure on camera and ride the flash exposure compensation on the flash to adjust flash output. When I take flash off camera I like the flash in manual mode as it isn't changing distance from subject even if I do.

 

[Syd]

That makes complete sense now..! In fact you've nailed it, and have also answered a related question in another thread.

What kept bugging me was when I AF on a subject the metering would alter accordingly..but yes, using AF/AE lock will solve this issue. Now am I right in thinking that this (AF/AE lock) is true for A and S modes. Because on M mode the exposure, where it needs to be (foreground or background) is determined by us using aperture/shutter/ISO.

Thanks..sorry have been reading and watching videos from different places at once, hence so much confusion.

Hi - Tis a lot to take in but it sounds like you have the theory nailed
In M mode Your aperture and shutter speed remain as set by you, but the lightmeter still functions and shows your over or under exposure in the viewfinder.

If you press and hold AE-L, then the meter will reflect exposure +/- relative to the scene when you pressed AE-L.

 

[lensflair]

Yes in manual mode it doesn't matter what the meter reads, you set the exposure and it won't change. This is why manual is preffered by a lot of people, you get consistent results from a series of shots and have complete control over exposure, this us especially useful when using flash.

My preference with flash is camera in manual mode and flash in TTL when its on the camera, I set my ambient exposure on camera and ride the flash exposure compensation on the flash to adjust flash output. When I take flash off camera I like the flash in manual mode as it isn't changing distance from subject even if I do.

BTW most cameras allow you to set exposure lock such that it actually locks exposure until it is pressed again. You can use Av mode, lock exposure and shoot away, if you adjust aperture the shutter speed will adjust automatically to track your changes and give you the same exposure with a different aperture. It saves you counting stops or clicks and will even make ISO changes to keep exposure consistent if you have it set up to do so. To be honest I don't use it as I'm usually in manual, but some people find it useful if using Av mode or Tv mode as it also gives consistency.

 

[ShutterWork]

Yes in manual mode it doesn't matter what the meter reads, you set the exposure and it won't change. This is why manual is preffered by a lot of people, you get consistent results from a series of shots and have complete control over exposure, this us especially useful when using flash.

My preference with flash is camera in manual mode and flash in TTL when its on the camera, I set my ambient exposure on camera and ride the flash exposure compensation on the flash to adjust flash output. When I take flash off camera I like the flash in manual mode as it isn't changing distance from subject even if I do.

Thanks Graham..Guess I have asked a question similar to this on my other thread..looking forward for your expert answer when you can...

Hi - Tis a lot to take in but it sounds like you have the theory nailed
In M mode Your aperture and shutter speed remain as set by you, but the lightmeter still functions and shows your over or under exposure in the viewfinder.

If you press and hold AE-L, then the meter will reflect exposure +/- relative to the scene when you pressed AE-L.

Thanks Syd..I still think I am a long way from nailing the theory...but will get there eventually some day

BTW most cameras allow you to set exposure lock such that it actually locks exposure until it is pressed again. You can use Av mode, lock exposure and shoot away, if you adjust aperture the shutter speed will adjust automatically to track your changes and give you the same exposure with a different aperture. It saves you counting stops or clicks and will even make ISO changes to keep exposure consistent if you have it set up to do so. To be honest I don't use it as I'm usually in manual, but some people find it useful if using Av mode or Tv mode as it also gives consistency.

Thanks for the tip Graham..Having read my D5000 manual, I have feeling my camera does do this...will try all my practicals this weekend.