The Sunny 16 Rule in Photography
Although you may think that no two situations are alike, the fact is that there are quite a few constants that you can rely on to give you a good starting point. The sun is one of these things you can count on to be consistent. Of course there are things that affect the sun’s output like the time of day, haze, fog, and clouds, but on a bright sunny day the light output is very consistent and knowing the camera settings for this condition will give you a guideline to make adjustments. This is where the “sunny 16″ rule comes into play.
To put it simply, on a bright sunny day, set your camera on f/16 and set the shutter speed to the reciprocal of the ISO speed. So if you are set to ISO 200, then set your shutter speed to 1/200th. If you want a faster shutter speed then increase the shutter speed and set the ISO to match. For example, if you want to shoot at 1/400th of a second, set the ISO to 400.
f/16 ISO 200 - Shutter 1/200th
f/16 ISO 400 - Shutter 1/400th
To compensate for overcast conditions, simply adjust the f-stop to a more open setting like f/11, and keep adjust down as needed. A good chart of recommended settings is in the following table:
|
Aperture |
Condition |
Shadow Detail |
|
f/16 |
Sunny | Crisp |
|
f/11 |
Slight Overcast | Soft edges |
|
f/8 |
Overcast | Barely visible |
|
f/5.6 |
Heavy Overcast | No shadows |
|
f/4 |
Sunset | Long shadows |
By utilizing the sunny 16 rule you will help ensure that you get the right settings dialed in quickly and easily. It’s always nice to have some frame of reference when getting started. When all else fails and you don’t know what settings to start with, remember the sunny 16 rule and adjust as needed.
| Equipment Used | |
| Camera | Canon 50D |
| Processing | Lightroom 3 |
Popularity: 4%
Related posts:
- Photography Basics: Controlling Exposure
- Photography Basics: Beginners Guide to Aperture
- Understanding Exposure with the Exposure Triangle
- Learning to shoot in manual mode
- Capturing a sense of motion with shutter speed
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The first sentence of the second paragraph contains an error that will result in slight underexposure. It states "on a bright sunny day, set your camera on
f/18
and set the shutter speed to the reciprocal of the ISO…" The later table correctly refers to f/16.
The first sentence of the second paragraph contains an error that will result in slight underexposure. It states “on a bright sunny day, set your camera on f/18 and set the shutter speed to the reciprocal of the ISO…” The later table correctly refers to f/16.
Thanks for the corrections
Thanks for the corrections
Interesting note on this one – I was first taught to use this rule as a way to calculate photographing the moon after dark. It ensures the moon retains detail and is not overexposed, which we all know is easy to do. I primarily use an ISO/shutter of 100 and it works perfectly. Great post, Kerry.
Interesting note on this one – I was first taught to use this rule as a way to calculate photographing the moon after dark. It ensures the moon retains detail and is not overexposed, which we all know is easy to do. I primarily use an ISO/shutter of 100 and it works perfectly. Great post, Kerry.
Very good idea, practical for a quickly starting point
Very good idea, practical for a quickly starting point
Excellent article, will have to remember that one,
Chris
Excellent article, will have to remember that one,
Chris
Excellent article, will have to remember that one,
Chris
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