Perfect Exposure… Every time

For the past few weeks, I've tried to master exposure settings. It's one of the trickiest things to grasp really. My workflow usually consisted of snapping a picture, viewing the result, then fiddling with each setting randomly, then doing the process all over again until I finally stumble upon a somewhat satisfied result. It's an immensely frustrating procedure, especially for an amateur photographer with no formal training. 

Well, I just learned today that it doesn't have to be that difficult!

Seriously, this trick is a game changer. 

Ok, are you ready for this?! Everything you need know to guide you to the "sweet spot" of exposure is in your viewfinder. 

Let me first briefly explain the three pillars of exposure to fully understand what you are looking for in your viewfinder. No matter how many times I read about this, I always get confused. So, here's a refresher…. 

Exposure loosely refers to the amount of light that touches the sensor of your camera. How much light that is let in is a function of your shutter speed and aperture. Shutter speed is the amount of time your shutter is open to allow light to past through, shown as 1/125, 1/50, etc. The smaller the denominator, the longer the exposure. 

Aperture works exactly like the pupil in your eye. Measured in focal length (f/x), aperture refers to the size of the opening. The smaller the number (f/1.8 for instance) the larger the opening. Depth of Field is correlated to aperture in that the smaller the denominator, the less will be in focus around your subject. 

Your ISO also affects brightness as well as the quality of your photos. The higher the number, the brighter the picture and, unfortunately, the lower the quality. Higher ISO tend to create noise and fuzz. 

Basic principle when shooting in full manual mode is this: If you need your image to be brighter, decrease the denominator in both the aperture and shutter speed and increase the ISO. If you need your image to be darker, increase the denominator in both the aperture and shutter speed and decrease the ISO.

Ok, now that we're through that, we can get to the good stuff. Try pointing your camera at an object and hold down the shoot button half way. Hear that beep? Do you see a bunch of numbers? This beep signifies much more than the autofocus. These indicators will light up and show you the exact setting you selected and how your camera interprets the available light. It might look something like this… 

This viewfinder is telling us that we've selected our shutter speed to be at 1/125, aperture at f/4 and ISO at 200. The real magic lies within the Exposure Level Indicator. This is telling us that we're not letting enough light in. Now, without even taking your eye off the viewfinder, you are able to adjust this by simply moving the dial next to the shoot button. This changes the shutter speed. Move the dial to the right, it will move left, and visa versa. You are able to change the other settings, but you must consult your manual for those short cuts. 

The trick is to get the little guy right on the center and you will have beautiful shots almost every time!