Exposure is the amount of light collected by the sensor in your camera during a single shot or photograph. If the shot is exposed for too long a time the photograph will be washed out. If the shot is exposed for too short a time the photograph will appear too dark. Almost all cameras today have light meters which measure the light in the given composition and set an ideal exposure automatically. Most people depend on the light meter which is fine, but if you know how to control your exposures you can get some creative and sometimes greatly improved pictures.
Digital Camera Settings
Aperture and Shutter Speed
The two primary controls your
camera depends upon for exposure are shutter speed (the amount of time the
sensor is exposed to light) and aperture (the size of the lens opening
that lets light into the camera). Shutter speeds are measured in seconds
and more commonly fractions of a second. (1/2000 of a second is very fast
and 8' seconds is extremely slow). Apertures are measured in something
called f/stops (a very wide aperture is f/2.8 and a very narrow aperture
is f/19).
You might wonder why there isn't just a constant shutter
speed or a constant aperture so that you would only have to worry about
one control. The reason is that even though they both designate the amount
of light getting to the sensor they also control other aspects of the
picture. Shutter speed, for example can be used to freeze subjects in
midair with a fast speed or it can be used to blur water with a slow
speed. Aperture controls the depth-of-field which is what is in focus in
the picture. Aperture can be used to draw attention to one subject (like
the flower on the right) by blurring the background with a wide aperture
(low f/stop). Aperture can also be used to focus everything in a picture
with a narrow aperture (high f/stop).
ISO Speed
On most
digital SLR's (Single Lens Reflex) cameras today you can even change the
sensitivity of the sensor when collecting light which is called the ISO
speed. The common span of ISO speed is 100 to 1600. The higher the ISO
speed the faster the camera collects light but it also adds more noise to
the photograph than the lower speeds. For example if your trying to take
pictures in dim light without a tripod you might want to raise the ISO
speed in order to get a picture that's not blurry. Most of the time you
should keep it at a lower ISO speed if there is enough light, but it makes
a big difference when there isn't. Different cameras make different
amounts of noise in photos so I would definitely experiment with your
cameras ISO settings so you will know what to expect when it matters.
White
Balance
Most people don't experiment with or use the white balance
function on their cameras. White balance is simply a function where the
photographer has the option of designating what parts of a scene are white
so the camera can adjust to the other color temperatures accordingly.
Almost all digital cameras today give the photographer the option of
manually setting the white balance which can sometimes be hard if you
don't have a white or grey card. Many new digital cameras have a set of
preset white balances for certain types of scenes such as snow or clouds.
I have found that using the preset modes is almost just as effective as
setting the white balance manually so I would definitely advise others to
keep the preset white balance modes in mind when they are using their
cameras.
Time of Day
The time of day is usually what
determines how much light you are going to be working with. In the early
morning and the late afternoon there will be less light than in the middle
of the day. During this time there should be enough light for most kinds
of exposures except if you are trying to catch an object in motion. If you
are trying to catch sports photos or objects in motion you will have to
adjust the aperture and maybe even the ISO speed (both of which are
discussed in this article) in order to be able to use the necessary
shutter speed. In the middle of the day (with typical weather) the light
is very bright and you should be able to use any shutter speed or aperture
that you want at the lowest ISO setting. At night it is a totally
different story if you are not using flash. If you aren't using flash and
are taking photos at night probably with a tripod then you should set the
ISO speed very high and you will need a very long shutter speed and a
moderately wide aperture.
To become comfortable with exposure
settings is a very difficult task. But if you master exposure enough to
know what you should use for each scene, then you could become a much more
professional photographer.
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I HAVE READ YOUR USEFUL INFORMATION,AND I WOULD LIKE
TO KNOW THE VARIOUS ANGLES HOW TO FIX THE ANGLES
REGARDS
MAGESH