Understanding Exposure with the Exposure Triangle
Based on comments and emails I have received there are still some people that are confused about how the three elements of exposure play together to determine how dark or bright an image is. Today I want you to think of the three elements of exposure as the three points of a triangle each having an equal effect on the final exposure of the image.
It all adds up
If the visual references isn’t quite enough, then another way to think about it is to think of a perfect exposure as the combination of the right proportion of ingredients made up of ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture setting. If a perfect exposure = 9, and you have equal parts of Shutter, ISO, and Aperture, then you have a good mix (3+3+3 = 9). If you need to adjust one of the ingredients, then you have to adjust one of the others to come up with the same final number (2+4+3=9), subract from one, you have to add to another to make up the difference. If you have too much of one, without substracting from another, you end up with an overexposed image. Conversly, if you take away from one but don’t add another, you end up with an underexposed image.
The Sunny 16 Example
In a previous article we looked at the sunny 16 rule, this states that on a bright sunny day, a perfect exposure should be f/16, ISO 200, 1/200th of a second. (ISO and shutter are the reciprocal of each other). If we wanted a shallower depth of field and wanted a larger aperture like f/2.8, then since f/2.8 is 5 stops brighter than f/16, we would then need to compensate with either a lower ISO or a faster shutter. Increasing the shutter is the easiest in this example then we need 5 stops of shutter giving us a speed of 1/6400th of a second.
Low Light Adjustments
In low light we have the opposite issue, trying to get enough light into the camera. We only go so slow before we run into blurring issues with slow shutter speeds, and the aperture limit is going to be based on the lens we are using. If we still don’t have a bright enough exposure then we have to compensate by increasing the ISO speed.
Bringing it all together
While each setting can have an effect on the overall image quality, the sum of the three effect the overall exposure. For a refresher on the other settings, be sure and go back through these previous articles:
- Beginner’s Guide to Aperture
- Controlling Exposure
- The Sunny 16 Rule in Photography
- Capturing movement with shutter speed
- Understanding Depth of Field
Author: Kerry Garrison
Popularity: 8%
Related posts:
- Photography Basics: Controlling Exposure
- The Exposure L – Understanding the Correlation Between Shutter and Aperture
- Learning to shoot in manual mode
- Photography Basics: Beginners Guide to Aperture
- Using manual flashes with PC Sync
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Isn't 5 stops more shutter speed 1/6400?
1/200
1/400 – 1 stop more
1/800 – 2 stops more
1/1600 – 3 stops more
1/3200 – 4 stops more
1/6400 – 5 stops more
Thanks Bryan, I knew it didn't look right when I wrote it.
[...] the RSS feed for updates on this topic.Powered by WP Greet BoxGreat post over on Camera Dojo titled Understanding Exposure with the Exposure Triangle that has some excellent information on exposure and makes it easy to quickly understand [...]
[...] Camera Dojo > Shooting Tips > Understanding Exposure with the Exposure Triangle > Adjustmen… The sunny 16 rule has always escaped me. I'm not sure I've shot a picture at f16 in my LIFE. (tags: tips photography exposure) [...]
[...] Understanding Exposure with the Exposure Triangle [...]
[...] Understanding Exposure with the Exposure Triangle [...]
[...] Been discussed a couple of times lately, here’s a really good description with links to more bits. Blog Archive Camera Dojo > Headline,Shooting Tips > Understanding Exposure with the Exposure … [...]
yo bitch ass niggah..
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shut up sno-ho.
great article. to earn more about how to practically use the triangle try reading understanding exposure by bryan peterson.
love thesunny 16 rule by the way.
[...] If you aren’t familiar with the relationship between ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture, you should read the article we have about it (Link: The Exposure Triangle). [...]
can you use a real world example. I understand using equal numbers 3+3+3=9 but how does that work in the real world. If I want an exp of ƒ8.0 what should my ISO/Shutter be set to to make them even?
Its going to depend on the amount of light available. For example, in bright daylight conditions an aperture of f/16 / ISO 200 / 1/200th will get you a good exposure, but in the evening you may have to make that f/16 / ISO 800 / 1/60th. There is nothing that is entirely set it stone, the concept is just that it takes elements from Aperture, Shutter, and ISO together to get the exposure and depth of field you are looking for.
some good practical advice in here. anyone starting out in photography should take some time to understand the info in this lesson. thanks
some good practical advice in here. anyone starting out in photography should take some time to understand the info in this lesson. thanks