Exposure is an important concept in photography, regardless of whether you’re taking pictures with a high-end camera or on an older smartphone. 

If you don’t find the right amount of exposure, it’s going to be challenging to get the results you want with your photos. In fact, certain photos might not be possible without a better understanding of exposure.

Fortunately, exposure is one of those concepts that you can gain greater mastery over through practice and understanding. To help you achieve this, here’s a rundown of what exposure is, how it works, and how you can use it to create phenomenal effects in your photography. 

What Is Exposure in Photography?

Regardless of the type of camera you use, the camera itself functions by capturing the light that’s reflected off of whatever you’re taking a picture of. 

In many respects, a camera is similar to your eyes. You need light to see and your camera needs light to capture an image. How much light and how long that light is present is exposure. By controlling how long the film or the sensor in the camera is exposed to light, you can adjust the exposure and alter the way that the image is captured.

This may sound complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Especially if you’re used to point-and-click photography with your camera or mobile device. Much can be learned from the basics of exposure. To start with, have a look at the factors that actually control exposure.

Three Components of Exposure

Even though exposure is broadly defined as being exposed to light over time, there are actually three components that come together to make up exposure. Each of these affects exposure in a different way. 

• ISO Tips: This is a setting that affects the sensitivity of a digital sensor to light (or in the case of film photography, the film’s sensitivity to light.) On digital cameras, ISO can be adjusted to change the camera’s light sensitivity and affect how much light is required to properly expose an image. Increasing the ISO makes the digital sensor more sensitive to light and causes it to expose faster; decreasing the ISO makes the sensor less sensitive and causes it to expose slower.
• Shutter Speed Tips: As the name implies, shutter speed is the speed at which the lens shutter opens and closes. The period during which the shutter is open is the time during which the image is exposed; a faster shutter speed receives less exposure, while a slower shutter speed receives more.
• Aperture Tips: A lens aperture is the actual hole through which light enters the lens. By adjusting the size of the aperture, more or less light enters the lens and is able to reach the film or sensor. A more open aperture allows in more light, while a nearly-closed aperture lets in very little light.

You can see how each of these aspects of exposure controls the amount of light available to create an image, and also how each does so in a different way. The more light that is available, the faster an image is fully exposed. Less available light takes that image longer to reach exposure.

The type of exposure control you use for your photos can vary depending on the specific effect that you want to create. You may see different photography tips suggesting different types of exposure control for different types of shots.

Exposure and Noise

In most cases, if you see suggestions talking about ISO adjustments, they deal with controlling the amount of digital noise that appears in a picture. (Most ISO tips relate to digital cameras instead of film cameras, since the light sensitivity of the film isn’t really something that you can control beyond the film choices you make; so discussion of ISO adjustments typically centers around digital noise.) Increasing ISO makes the digital sensor more sensitive but also can increase the amount of noise in a picture if there’s too much light.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, mind you. Increasing ISO can make it easier to shoot in low-light environments and you can create some really interesting effects by playing with light and digital noise. Likewise, adjusting the ISO down can make it easier to shoot on overly bright days when everything is a bit too illuminated. The more you practice adjusting your ISO settings, the more your control of light and exposure will show in your photography.

Exposure and Blur

When it’s intentional, motion blur is an eye-catching, interesting effect. When it’s accidental, however, it can be extremely frustrating.

Motion blur occurs because something in your shot is moving faster than your exposure time. It causes your shot to try and pick up the entire movement as though it were a single object. As you might guess, adjustments to your shutter speed are your best tool when it comes to preventing or creating blur in your pictures.

The slower your shutter speed, the more time objects in your shots have time to move. This can create some amazing effects if only one thing in your scene is moving. Everything else will stay still and in focus while your moving object experiences some blur. Fast shutter speeds have the opposite effect; capturing moments as still life even if there are things moving within your scene. By making adjustments to your shutter speed you can get a feel for how to control blur effects and to get the best photos based on your exposure time.

Exposure and Sharpness

When you see photos where everything seems to be in sharp detail, that’s usually a result of aperture.

On the other hand, when you see pictures where a central subject is clear and the background is slightly or moderately blurred… that’s also a result of aperture. The aperture of the camera’s lens is responsible for setting a picture’s depth of field. A fine aperture results in the entire scene being in sharp focus. A wide aperture creates a shallow depth of field that puts only your central target in focus.

You’ll see aperture measured in units known as f-stops, which correspond to a measurement of the size of the aperture hole on the lens. The smaller the number (such as f/2.0), the larger the aperture hole is and the greater the shallow depth of field effect will be. Likewise, a larger number (such as f/32) correlates to a smaller hole and very sharp and crisp focus within the picture. Adjusting the aperture lets you experiment with different amounts of the depth of field effect, giving you greater control over the sharpness and background blur present in your final photos.

Long Exposure Photography

As you gain an understanding of how different aspects of exposure work, you’ll likely also start to understand the effects created in long-exposure photography more. 

As the name suggests, these pictures are taken with the shutter open over a longer period of time to maximize the blur effect present in moving objects. This is most commonly seen in pictures of cities at night, starscapes in motion, moving cars or athletes, and similar photos where the photographer is trying to maximize the blur effect to artistic purpose.

While long-exposure photography is achieved by controlling shutter speed, you should be able to see how making adjustments to aperture or ISO can play a part in the effect as well. Since the shutter remains open, you’ll need to use other means to control the amount of light entering the lens to achieve the effect you want. This is why some photographers find long-exposure photography a little daunting. As you become more adept at controlling exposure using all three components it starts to unlock some really interesting possibilities.

Exposure and Light

One thing to keep in mind is there isn’t any one-size-fits-all solution for controlling exposure because there are external factors that affect exposure as well. 

The biggest thing that you have to keep in mind when trying to decide on how to control exposure in your photo is the amount of light that’s available in your environment. This can be in the form of natural light, indoor lighting, and even studio lights you’ve set up for your photoshoot. Whether there’s a lot of light or barely any at all, it’s going to affect how your pictures are exposed since light is vital to the exposure process.

Stop and think about exactly how you want the end result to turn out and how much light is available in your scene. This will inform you as to whether you need to adjust your settings before you start taking pictures. You can then take this information and consider it along with the effects you want to achieve, letting you plan out your actual adjustments before you start shooting.

Choosing Exposure Settings

As you become more adept at adjusting your exposure settings it becomes easier to determine the settings you need for any given shot. 

This method can take some trial and error at first, which is why planning out your shots in advance can help. Bright environments where you want to control the amount of light typically require you to adjust settings down, while you’ll find that increasing settings is best for darker areas. Given each exposure setting has a different effect on your final picture, though, being able to master knowing which settings are best to adjust for each situation can take some time.

Consider the amount of available light, how much potential blur you want in the photo, and whether you want to create any depth of field effects. If you have time to take multiple shots and adjust your settings in between, try making small adjustments and viewing the end result to see how much you like them. 

Try to avoid starting with extremes, even if the environment seems very bright or very dark. Remember, small adjustments in either direction are a better way to learn. You can more easily recognize that you’ve gone too far. Just step your changes back one or two settings.

Correcting Exposure

You can create a wide range of effects once you start gaining better control over your exposure settings. 

This doesn’t mean that you have to rely solely on these settings to capture the shots that you want, however. One of the things that you will discover is that editing is an important part of learning how to take professional photos. There are a number of tools that allow you to correct for imperfect exposure or add exposure effects after your picture is already taken. While each of these tools comes with its own learning curve, the time that you spend learning how to properly edit and adjust your photos will make it that much easier for you to create the photos you want to take.

Even when you’re generally satisfied with the pictures you’re taking, there may be small adjustments or edits to your exposure that can take a good photo and turn it into a great one. Some photographers even purposefully set their exposure slightly off to practice their editing skills. 

As you become more comfortable with your editing tools, it will take a lot of the fear out of overexposed and underexposed photos and may even help you on your way to becoming a more confident photographer overall.

The post Our Primer for Mastering Exposure in Photography appeared first on The Motif Blog.

There’s a good chance that you have spent a lot of time trying to avoid shadows in your photography. 

Unwanted shadows can ruin a shot, making it hard to see your subject or create distractions in the background. Not all shadows are unwanted, however; you can play with shadows as an artistic tactic to add contrast to your pictures. By taking advantage of intentional shadows in photography, you can create more eye-catching photos.

Using Light and Shadow

There is a lot more to using shadows in photography than just letting some parts of your photos be dark. 

If you want pictures that stand out, you can use the light and shadows available in your setting to create high contrast photos. The eye will naturally distinguish these lighter and darker areas, perceiving an image to be much more dynamic and alive. Of course, this isn’t always simple to achieve.

The challenge comes with figuring out exactly how to combine the light and dark within the location of your shot. This can require some control over framing and lighting, but the end result is worth it. The extra work that you put in to find a complementing balance of contrast will create photos that seem to have a life of their own.

Shaping Your Target

One of the ways that you can use light and shadow in your photography is by studying how light and shadows shape your subject. 

Highlights of light can help define some aspects of your focus, while shadows obscure or border other details. The effective use of lighting will determine how shadows cast on and around your point of focus, so you have complete control over how those lights and shadows inform the shapes in your picture.

The creative use of shadow can add notable details to your pictures. Having objects blocking part of the light outside of the focus of the camera can project shadows onto your scene that add dramatic flare. Smaller objects within the scene can also cast long shadows or otherwise leave a mark on the scene as well. The more creative you get with shadows, the more control you have over setting the tone of the entire scene.

Shadows in the Dark

Though the approach may sound a bit tricky, you can make effective use of shadows in pictures taken in low lighting. 

These pictures generally appear darker and have a lot of shadow in them already, but through purposeful positioning of lights, you can create additional striking shadow effects. In fact, some of your favorite low-light photos are likely to demonstrate this technique.

The key to using shadows with low-light photography is to make use of light that is available without trying to add extra sources of bright light such as a flash. Not only can this introduce red eyes and other unwanted details, but it is likely to ruin any shadows that you worked hard to create. You’re much better off using low-light settings on your camera to compensate.

Black and White Photos

The contrast created by shadows in your pictures can be distinguishably seen if you’re shooting in black and white. 

Deep shadows will appear very dark in your pictures, letting you guide the eye to certain sections of the photo if that is your artistic intention through careful application. Lighter shadows will appear more soft in black and white photos since there is a smaller range of shades to play with and therefore create a dynamic range of contrast.

For added effect, a pop of color can be added to these photos for playful effect. Using a bright color typically works best, though subtle shades can also go well with some photos. The mix of light and shadows creates a good contrast for color to stand out, especially if you colorize a part of the picture that is bordered by both light areas and shadow.

Shadows in the Streets

The effective use of shadow can also have a big impact on outdoor photos. 

This is highly effective if taking photos in the streets or other urban settings where there are a number of right angles blocked out by buildings. Shadows shaped by the outdoors can make a statement about locations, the time of day and other aspects of the photos that would otherwise be lost without the shadows as indicators.

Controlling Shadows in Photography

When it comes to photography, the shadows you cast are only as good as your light. 

This doesn’t mean that you have to use intense lighting for your pictures, though it can be helpful if you want to cast hard shadows. Instead, it means that you need to know exactly how to control your lighting to create the types of shadows that you want. With proper lighting, you can create both intense and subtle effects that will help you deliver just the look that you want to create.

Light Quality

Just as good lighting control is essential for controlling shadows in photography, the quality of your lighting is another factor to consider. 

The higher your quality of light, the more precise your shadow control will be. In some cases, lower-quality light can be used to create soft shadows while a stronger and powerful light can provide defined and deep shadows. Mixed qualities of light can create other effects as well, letting details gradually fade in or out based on where your lights are positioned.

The post Create Contrast Using Shadows in Photography appeared first on The Motif Blog.

At its most basic, photography is light captured by a sensor or on film to produce an image that can be replicated. That’s it. But the end results are hardly that humdrum.

The images conjured by that light can inspire and excite us. They can make us pensive or talkative. They can remind us of happy memories or show us terrifying truths or allow us to experience the otherworldly. They can change lives and show us lives long gone.

If every art has a language, then light is the language of photography. Without it, the medium doesn’t exist. Learning photography requires us to study this language. And with the photography basics below, you can begin becoming more fluent.

Color temperature

You can spend a lot of time with color temperature, diving into the physics, mechanics, and applications. But the short and sweet of it is that color temperature describes a light’s hue.

When color temperature is balanced in a photo, whites will appear as a true white. That is, the colors are neutral. As you change the color temperature—which is measured in a unit called Kelvin (or simply K)—that neutrality shifts, and the whites will no longer be so pristine.

Increase the color temperature, and the photo’s colors become cooler. In other words, the whites will take on a blue hue, while blues grow deeper. Decrease the color temperature, and the photo’s oranges and reds will become predominant. This makes the image feel warmer.

Balancing the whites in your camera settings, or through post-process editing, will offer that neutral palate, but that’s not necessarily the best way to present every image. To elicit certain moods or atmospheres, you may want to make your compositions either cooler or warmer.

Hard vs. soft lighting

Color isn’t the only property of light that can drastically alter your photo. You’ll need to be mindful of whether the light is hard or soft, as well.

Hard light hits directly. That is, it travels from its source to your subject without being filtered. The resulting effect highlights texture and creates deep, strong shadows.

Use your camera flash for a selfie, and you’ve just smacked yourself with insta-hard light. A more thespian example is film noir. Those knife-edged shadows cast across the actors’ faces—such as the classic venetian blinds setup—come courtesy of hard light.

Conversely, soft light originates from a broad source and is diffused through an intermediary. Think light flowing through a window. It results in softened shadows and more even complexions. This makes soft light easier to work with and more complementary to people’s features when taking family photos. (Though hard light has its uses. See below.)

Remember: It’s not necessarily the source that makes a light hard or soft light. It’s about how that light reaches and wraps around your subject. A good way to remember this fact is the sun. At noon on a clear day, the sun shines brightly and casts strong shadows. But filter that same light through an overcast sky and it softens.

Inside lighting

Inside lighting can be tricky. Indoor light sources tend to be harsh, natural light can be minimal, and your choices may be limited to what your tools can compensate for.

The interior surroundings will also affect color. Dark walls will bounce off a darker hue of light, which will be reflected in your photo. But bright, white walls will bounce a nice even color of light.

Inside photography can have its perks, though. Since you aren’t at the mercy of the elements, you can more easily use lenses and artificial light sources to manipulate the composition. For example, bouncing a flash off a white wall can evenly light a scene, and soft boxes allow you to pack up and take that hazy glow anywhere.

Don’t have a soft box? Sunlight streaming through a window proffers a soft light that compliments most any portrait. It’s basically a makeshift soft box.

Outside lighting

Outside lighting is generally favored by photographers. Unless you’re shooting at night, you’ll have plenty of good, natural light to brighten your set. All of it free, thanks to the sun.

But the sun illuminates the outdoors differently at different times. To reiterate: A clear sky, especially during midday, provides a hard light, while clouds diffuse soft light naturally. Therefore, most photographers prefer to shoot on bright, overcast days.

You should consider the time of day, too. The best light tends to be in the hours before sunset or after sunrise. This is known as the golden hour. Because the sun’s light travels through more atmosphere at this time of day, it becomes very soft and very warm. It’s a tone that enhances most any subject.

Another photographic favorite is the blue hour. It takes place roughly a half hour before sunrise or after sunset. Like the golden hour, the sun’s angle changes the way light filters through the atmosphere, but this lower angle adds a much cooler nuance, bathing the world in blues and purples.

Positioning: Front lighting

Front lighting occurs when the light source is positioned in front of your subject. It’s that simple.

If you’re just learning photography, front lighting is the easiest light to work with. Because it shines directly on your subject, it reduces the number of shadows, brings out detail, and minimizes texture. It’s the you-get-what-you-see position for light.

Although easy to use, front lighting does have some downsides. Images using front light feel flat because they lack texture and shadow, robbing them of a sense of depth. It’s also the least dramatic of the lightings, though it can still be used to great artistic effect.

Positioning: Side lighting

If you want to add some flair to your composition, try side lighting. Side lighting occurs when a light source hits at about 90 degrees so one side of your subject is in light, the other side in shadow.

A quick note on shadows: Shadows add layers and shape light within the frame. This creates dimension and volume, which can reinforce the drama of an image or redirect the viewer’s focus. But shadows can also obscure important details, so they can be tricky to get right. They are a practice-makes-perfect type situation.

Side lighting plays with this contrast between light and shadow to evoke the texture and dimension that front lighting striped away. When done right, its visual impact makes your subject pop in the frame.

Positioning: Backlighting

Speaking of shadows, backlighting.

Backlighting occurs when the light source comes from behind the subject. With all that light flooding into your camera’s sensor, the subject becomes cast in deep shadow, and details become muted.

Does this ruin a photograph? Sometimes, but when used intentionally, it creates a layer of spectacle and awe. Picture a city skyline with the sunset bursting from behind, and you’ll get the drift.

As with side lighting, backlighting can be difficult to get right. Silhouettes are never pure. Light will almost certainly be falling on the subject from some side- or front-light source. The trick is to darken just the right amount of detail to draw the eye, but keep enough so that the composition’s subject isn’t unclear.

Photography basics are the first step

When it comes to photography basics, lighting may be the most fundamental but there are several others to consider. Composition. Familiarity with your gear. The exposure triangle. Editing software. And, of course, practice!

As you continue your photographic journey, be sure to create a photo book portfolio of your work. Select your favorite shots, your most adventurous experiments, and the compositions that surprised you. Chronicle them in a photo book dedicated to your photographic journey, showing your progress year after year.

Remember, it’s not just about the next shot, but the journey that got you there.

The post Go Back to Photography Basics with Photo Lighting appeared first on The Motif Blog.