Page 29 - Learning How to Photograph with your DSLR Camera 2nd Edition Jan 2021

Lesson 5: Perfecting Your Exposure

As I mentioned previously the metering on modern cameras are exceptionally good,
much better than compared to film cameras. Although there have been great
improvements the meter can sometimes underexpose or overexpose your photography
even if the camera meter is set correctly at 0.
As an example, photographing white subjects often underexposed the image during my
film days, and would use as much as 1 ½ to 2 stops to overexpose (I will explain later
why this happens). In contrast, on my Nikons I usually only need to add from 2/3 to 1
full stop of exposure in the same situation.

Next, we will learn about Exposure Compensation and Bracketing to perfect your
exposure.

What you are doing with Exposure Compensation (EC) is over-riding the cameras
meter.

Remember, you can only use exposure compensation in the A/Av or S/Tv Program
Modes. In Manual Program Mode you cannot use this as you have complete control of
the exposure.

Reviewing your Exposure on your LCD Screen

Having chosen your metering method and other settings for your photograph you take a
shot and as I have recommended, review this on playback (a button that usually looks
like the play button on devices). Once you have brought your image up to review:

• Check the overall exposure; is it too dark, or too bright.
• Check the composition that is composed the best you can avoid excessive
cropping in an external photo editor. Minimizing the amount, you have to crop
ensures better resolution, details with larger prints or showing poorly on the web.
• Check for sharpness. Use the Zoom function (sometimes looks like a magnifying
glass on a button on your camera) and check for sharpness.
• Review the histogram for tone balance. Look for clipping in the darks or
highlights*
• Ensure the “Highlights Warning” function is enabled on your camera during
playback. This will show you precisely where and what is being clipped.

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