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Introduction
WHY DOES EXPOSURE MATTER?
In photography, creativity and technical

of light makes exposure challenging. No two

skill are both essential. A wonderful eye and

situations are the same, so there can be no

imagination might help you find fantastic

exact formula for getting the right exposure.

compositions that nobody else would see,

but if the images are three stops overexposed,

On the other hand, exposure doesnt need

and unintentionally blurred, no one will be

to be overly complicated. The fundamental

able to appreciate your geniustheyll just

controlsshutter speed, aperture, ISO, light

see washed-out, fuzzy photographs. Good

metersare easy to understand. And digital

technique can amplify a photographs mes-

cameras have eliminated a lot of the guesswork.

sage, and bad technique can detract from it.

We can use the cameras LCD screen, andeven

betterthe histogram to evaluate the exposure.

The most essential technical skill a photographer must master is exposure. On the surface,

Well start with these fundamentals, and then Ill

exposure seems easy. Its simply a matter of

show you ten practical, real-life examples where

making the image bright enoughnot too

Ive used these principles to control the exposure,

dark, and not too light. But the endless variety

the sharpness, and the photographs message.

Understanding the fundamentals can help you quickly find the

right exposure to capture a fleeting moment like this.

The Exposure Triangle

The exposure for any given image is determined by four things: the light, shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. You cant control the light unless youre in a studio. The other threeshutter speed,
aperture, and ISOyou can control, and these are known as the Exposure Triangle.

SHUTTER SPEED

Shutter speeds are usually brief, mere fractions of

ting the second symbol (") after the number.

a second: 1/60 of a second, 1/125 of a second, etc.

So 1" is one second; 2" is two seconds, etc.

But on most cameras all you see is that second

number: 60, 125, 250, and so on. The first part of

But unless you see that second (") symbol,

the fraction, the numerator (1/), is omittedyou

youre looking at a fraction, and the higher

just have to assume its there. So if you see the

the number, the shorter the shutter speed. The

number 30, that means 1/30 of a second. If you

shorter the shutter speed, the less light reaches

see the number 60, that means 1/60 of a second.

the sensor, and the darker the photograph.

Shutter speed also affects movement, both of

the camera and subject. A faster shutter speed
A typical viewfinder exposure scale in manual
mode, showing the shutter speed (250, or 1/250

ing you to handhold the camera without blur,

of a second) and aperture (5.6, or f/5.6).

and get sharp images of moving subjects. A slow

A relatively fast shutter speed of 1/250 of a second froze the motion of

Nevada Falls in Yosemite, capturing the texture of the spray.

(higher number) will freeze motion, allow-

shutter speed, on the other hand, may require

Theres an exception, of course, just to make

using a tripod to avoid camera shake, and will

things more complicated. When shutter speeds

blur moving subjects. For more about shutter

Shutter speed is the length of time the cameras shutter is open. The shorter the du-

get really slowone second or longerwere

speeds and movement, see case studies 4 and 5.

ration, the less light reaches the sensor, and the darker the photograph. The longer

not talking about fractions any more. When

the time, the more light reaches the sensor, and the brighter the photograph.

this happens, most cameras indicate this by put-

The Exposure Triangle

APERTURE
Every lens has a diaphragm that expands and

smaller the fraction. (And if you really must

contractslike the pupil in your eye. The

know, the ratio is aperture to focal length.)

size of this opening is the aperture. The bigger the aperture, the more light reaches the

But these details arent important. Just remember

sensor, and the brighter the photograph. The

that with apertures and f-stops the numbers

smaller the aperture, the less light reaches the

are inverted: a bigger number means a smaller

sensor, and the darker the photograph.

opening, and less light, while a smaller number

means a bigger opening, and more light.

The numbers describing the size of this opening are called f-stops, and, unfortunately, they

Aperture also affects more than just exposure.

can be a bit confusing. With aperture, the bigger

The larger the aperture (lower number), the less

the number, the smaller the size of the open-

depth of field, while the smaller the aperture

ing. So f/2.8 is a large aperture (a large open-

(higher number), the more depth of field. Or

ing, letting in more light), while f/22 is a small

to look at it another way: bigger number, big-

aperture (a small opening, letting in less light).

ger depth of field, smaller number, smaller

depth of field. For more about aperture and

If you must know, f-stop numbers are actually

depth of field, see case studies 2 and 3.

ratios, or fractions. f/4 is 1:4, or 1/4. f/16 is 1:16,

or 1/16. So the bigger the f-stop numbers, the
A small aperture (f/22) kept both foreground and background
in focus in this photograph from Death Valley.

The Exposure Triangle

STOPS
Understanding this basic photographic terma stop (or f/stop)is essential
to understanding exposure. Any time you double or halve the amount of light
reaching the sensor, youve altered the exposure by one stop, or a full stop.

ISO

Any time you double or halve the length of time the shutter is open, you
double or halve the amount of light reaching the sensor, and therefore change
the exposure by one full stop. A shutter speed of 1/125 of a second is twice as

While shutter speed and aperture determine how

create other artifacts, like posterization, where

long as 1/250 of a second, and will allow twice the amount of light to reach

much light reaches the sensor, ISO describes

smooth areas like sky or water become blotchy.

the sensoror, in other words, it will increase the exposure by one stop. A
shutter speed of 1/500 of a second is half the duration of 1/250 of a second,

how the sensor reacts to that light. The higher

the ISO number, the more sensitivity, and the

So like many things in photographyand in life

greater the sensors light-gathering capacity.

raising the ISO is a trade-off. A high ISO setting

That extra sensitivity means that less light has to

can give you the convenience of hand-holding, or

reach the sensor to create the desired exposure.

allow you to freeze subject motion in dim light,

and will allow half the amount of light to reach the sensordecreasing the
exposure by one stop.

With the aperture the numbers get a little more complicated. A full-stop
sequence goes like this: f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, f/32. So
doubling or halving the number is actually a two-stop change.

but the image quality will suffer. In most situations

you should use the cameras native ISO (usually

For example, by using a higher ISO, and gain-

100, but with most Nikon DSLRs the native ISO is

ing a faster shutter speed, you might be able

200) to get the best image quality. But if you need

shutter speed dial the numbers go from 30 to 40 to 50 to 60 to 80 to 100 to

to hand-hold the camera in dim light where

that extra sensitivity, use itits better to have

125a third of a stop for each click. With the aperture, you might go from 4 to

you might otherwise need a tripod. Or, you

a grainy but sharp image than a blurred one.

could also freeze a subjects motion indoors,

at dusk, or in other low-light situations.

Most cameras today have the shutter speed and aperture dials set to one-third

This extra sensitivity has some big advantages.

stop increments. So rather than seeing the shutter speed jump from 30 to
60 to 125 (1/30 to 1/60 to 1/125 of a second)full stopswhen you turn the

4.5 to 5 to 5.6 to 6.3 to 7.1 to 8again, a third of a stop with each click.

Now I dont know about you, but all these numbers are starting to make my

One more thing: avoid using the automatic ISO

head hurtand I do this stuff for a living. But all you have to remember is that

setting, as this can override your choices. If you set

each click of the dial changes the shutter speed or aperture by one-third of a

But this greater sensitivity comes at a price.

a faster shutter speed to darken the exposure, for

The higher the ISO, the more noise youll get.

example, the camera may boost the ISO to try and

Noise is like film graina distracting dot pat-

lighten the photograph back up! So you must turn

tern across the photograph. High ISOs can also

off automatic ISO to have any control over exposure.

stop, and you need to move the dial three clicks to make a full stop changeto
double or halve the amount of light reaching the sensor.

ISO also usually changes in one-third stop increments: 100, 125, 160, 200, 250,
320, 400, etc. With ISO, doubling or halving the number doubles or halves the
sensitivity of the sensora one stop change.

Increasing the ISO to 1600 allowed me to use a fast shutter speed (1/250 of a second) to freeze the motion of these Ross geese in dim, pre-dawn light.

Metering Modes
Every modern camera comes with a built-in

Which mode should you use? Spot meters are

light meter to measure the light reaching the

tricky, and can throw your exposures way off if

sensor. Most DSLRs have three or four metering

you dont know what youre doingwhich means

modes. The default is usually a smart mode,

understanding the Zone System. I talk about the

which uses software algorithms to evaluate

Zone System in case study number 9, but in the

the light and dark areas within the viewfinder

mean time, choose either centre-weighted or one

and guess the right exposure. Nikon calls this

of the smart modes. The choice doesnt really

Matrix metering; Canon calls it Evaluative.

matter, since, despite the manufacturers claims,

the readings from centre-weighted metering are

Most DSLRs also have centre-weighted meter-

usually within a third of a stop of the smart modes.

ing, which measures the entire scene within the

viewfinder, but with more emphasis on the centre.
Many higher-end cameras also have a spot meter
mode, which measures only the light from a small
circle in the centre of the frame, or in an area
that corresponds with your chosen focus point.

Any light meter will struggle with high-contrast scenes like this one of Yosemites Horsetail Fall.
While meters are good starting points, histograms provide a more precise way of judging exposure.

Exposure Modes
Most DSLRs these days come with at least four

Which mode should you use? All have their advan-

exposure modes: program, aperture-priority, shutter-

tages and disadvantages, but if you really want to

priority, and manual. Some also have modes for

understand exposure you should learn to use manual

specific situationslandscapes, portraits, action, etc.

mode. When you set both the shutter speed and

aperture yourself youll gain a better understanding

What do these terms mean? Its actually pretty simple.

of how these fundamental photographic tools work.

In program mode, the camera takes the light meter

Youll begin to take control of your photographs rather

reading and automatically chooses both the aperture

than letting the camera make decisions for you.

and shutter speed. In landscape, portrait, or action modes the camera also chooses both shutter

Once you have a solid understanding of manual

speed and aperture, but in an action mode it will fa-

exposure you can use shutter-priority or aperture-

vour a faster shutter speed, while in landscape mode it

priority modes more effectively, because youll

will choose smaller apertures for greater depth of field.

know whats happening under the hood.

In shutter-priority mode, you pick the shutter speed,

Because I think this is the best way to understand

and the camera automatically selects the aperture

exposure, all the examples and exercises in this

based on the light-meter reading. In aperture-priority

book will be geared to using manual mode. If

mode, you pick the aperture, and the camera au-

youve never used manual exposure before, this

tomatically selects the shutter speed, again based

might seem daunting, but trust me, its not that

on the light-meter reading. In manual mode,

difficult, and youll thank me for it later.

you choose both the aperture and shutter speed,

while the cameras light meter serves as a guide.

Learning to use manual mode will deepen your understanding of

exposure and its fundamental components, allowing you to make good,
quick decisions when trying to capture photographs like this.

Reading Histograms
With film, exposure always involves some guesswork. But with

A histogram is a pixel map. It shows how dark and light

parts of the image are underexposedblack. Most cameras

digital cameras you can tell immediately whether the right

pixels are distributed within your photographlight

also have an overexposure warningcommonly called the

amount of light reached the sensor by looking at a histogram.

pixels are on the right, dark pixels on the left. The shape

blinkieswhere overexposed parts of the photograph

This ability to instantly evaluate exposure is a game changer

of the histogram doesnt matter. In other words, dont

flash or blink. Some cameras also have an underexposure

the single biggest advantage of digital photography over film.

worry if parts of the histogram shoot off the top, or

warning, which shows underexposed, black shadows.

whether theres a spike somewhere in the middle. The

But many photographers are still guessing about exposure

only sections that matter are the right and left edges.

because theyre unable to decipher the histograms cryptic messages. Instead, they judge exposure by how bright
the image looks on their cameras LCD screen. But while
those little screens are extremely useful for many things,
evaluating exposure isnt one of them. There are too many
variables: screen quality (usually bad), the LCD brightness
setting in the camera, and the amount of ambient light.

A histogram is a much better way to judge exposureif

you know how to read it. If you havent figured out

The most important parts of a histogram are

A properly-exposed medium-contrast scene,

the right and left edges. This histogram shows

with nothing pushed up against either end of

pixels pushed up against both edges, indicating

the histogram.

overexposed highlights and underexposed shadows.

how to display a histogram on the back of your cam-

era, youll have to spend some quality time with that

If any pixels are pushed up against the right edge, that

fascinating book, your cameras manual. Once you

means parts of the image are overexposedwashed out. If

know how to view a histogram, what does it mean?

any pixels are pushed up against the left edge, that means

Handling High-Contrast Scenes

In most scenes, you should be able to get detail in both

So if you cant have both, 90 percent of the time you

highlights and shadows. That is, the histogram shouldnt

should sacrifice the shadows and keep the highlights. In

touch either the right or left edge if you make the right

most photographs, the lightest pixels should be close to

exposure. But in some situations the contrast is too great

the right edge of the histogram, but not touching it.

for the cameras sensor to handle, so its impossible to avoid

either washed-out highlights (a spike at the right edge of
the histogram), black shadows (a spike at the left edge of
the histogram), or both. In these cases, its usually better to
retain detail in the highlights and sacrifice shadow detail.

Histogram for a high-contrast scene with a spike at

When looking at the histogram, its better to have pixels

the right edge, indicating overexposed highlights.

pushed up against the left edge than the right edge.

Why are highlights usually more important than shadows? First, our eyes are drawn to bright areas, so viewers immediately notice if theyre overexposed. Second,

Histogram for a high-contrast scene with pixels pushed up

in real life we can always see detail in bright spots, but

against the left edge, indicating underexposed shadows, but

we cant always see detail in shadows. It seems unnatural to find washed-out highlights in a photograph,
yet it feels perfectly normal to see regions of pure black.

10

properly exposed highlights. In most cases this is preferableif

you cant get both, its better retain detail in the highlights and
let the shadows go black.

The Short Answer

Underexposed
the brightest pixels
arent close to

This bears repeating: most of the time, the lightest pixels should be close to the right edge of the histogram,
but not touching it. If theres a large gap between the lightest pixels and the right edge of the histogram,

the right edge of

the histogram.

the photograph is underexposed. If any pixels touch that right edge, the photograph is probably overexposed. For most images, just make sure the lightest pixels dont touch the right edge, but are near it.

There are two main exceptions to this. First,

In these cases you still want to capture one image

when the photograph includes the sun itself, or

with the lightest pixels near, but not touching,

the sky next to the sun, its okay for these areas

the right edge of the histogrambut then also

to be overexposed. Theyre too bright to see

make one or more lighter exposures, including

a spike at the

in real life, so its okay if such areas lack detail

one with nothing pushed up against the left edge

right edge of

in photographsit looks natural. The blink-

of the histogram. This ensures that you have

ies come in handy here: while the histogram

shadow detail as well, and all the image informa-

tells you that something is overexposed, the

tion you need to blend these exposures together in

blinkies show which parts of the image are

software. For more about this, see case study 10.

Overexposed

the histogram.

washed out, and how large those areas are.

So now that you understand the basicsshutSecond, with digital photography its possible to

ter speed, aperture, ISO, histogramsits

blend two or more exposures together with Pho-

time to look at some examples and apply

toshop or HDR software to capture both highlight

this knowledge to real-life situations.

and shadow detail, even in high-contrast scenes.

Proper exposure
the brightest
pixels near, but
not touching, the
right edge of
the histogram.

11

Case Study 1: Sierra Aspens

USING THE HISTOGRAM TO FIND THE RIGHT EXPOSURE

Case Study 1: Sierra Aspens

USING THE HISTOGRAM TO FIND THE RIGHT EXPOSURE

Backlight made these aspen leaves glow, but

Now I suppose some people might prefer the

the sun was sinking behind a ridge, and I knew

lighter version. Exposure, like everything in

I had just minutes to capture this scene. With

photography, is subjective. Theres really no

a still subject, and the camera on a tripod, the

such thing as the correct exposuretheres

shutter speed didnt matter. The scene had

only the exposure that works best for you, and

moderate depth, so I started by setting a mid-

captures the scene the way you visualize it.

dle aperture of f/11. With that f-stop, centreweighted metering, in manual exposure mode

What caught my eye here was the contrast

at 100 ISO, the meter indicated a shutter speed

between the sunlit aspens and the shaded

of 1/60 of a second. But when I took the photo

background. I wanted that background to be

the aspens looked washed out on the cameras

dark so the yellow leaves would stand out

LCD screen, the histogram showed a spike

clearly. And I certainly didnt want those

at the right edge, and there were small areas

leaves to look faded and washed out, since

of blinkies in the brightest leaves, indicating

theyre the focal point of the image. So an

that parts of the image were overexposed (A).

exposure one stop darker than the meter

reading gave me what I was looking for.

I quickly turned the shutter speed dial three

Since meters are calibrated to middle grey

what parts of the scene are important to you.

theyre easily fooled by anything that isnt a

clicks to the right to 1/125 of a second, one

Now why did the meter get this one wrong

stop faster (and darker) than 1/60and pressed

(for me at least) in the first place? Because

the shutter button again. Much better! The

light meters are dumb, of course! With centre-

Also, meters dont know whether theyre

meter to try to lighten dark objects and darken

histogram showed pixels near, but not touch-

weighted or smart modes, the meter is

pointed at something white, or black, or in-

light objectsto make them middle grey.

ing, the right edge, while the aspens had

simply measuring the amount of light reflect-

betweenthey just measure the amount of

better colour, and stood out dramatically from

ing back at the camera, and averaging the

light reflected back at them. Naturally, white

the darker background (BFollowing page).

13

light and dark tones together. It doesnt know

medium tone or colour. The tendency is for the

objects reflect more light than black objects.

Case Study 1: Sierra Aspens

14

USING THE HISTOGRAM TO FIND THE RIGHT EXPOSURE

B

In this scene, when averaging everything

exposure compensation), would have chosen

together, the meter gave more weight to the

the same shutter speed: 1/60 of a second. After

shaded areas and tried to lighten them to

looking at the histogram I could have used

a middle tone. Unfortunately that pushed

the exposure-compensation dial to darken the

the most important part of the scenethe

image by one stop. In aperture-priority mode

treestoo high, and they became washed

the f-stop would have stayed the samef/11

out. So I had to deviate from the meter read-

but the camera would have chosen a faster

ing and set an exposure one stop darker. The

shutter speed: 1/125 of a second. Which is

meter got me closejust not close enough.

exactly what I ended up with in manual mode.

In this case I used a faster shutter speed

See how understanding manual exposure

to darken the exposure. I could have used

will allow you to use automatic modes more

a smaller aperture (bigger f-stop number)

intelligently? When you adjust the exposure-

instead, and here either would have worked.

compensation dial in aperture-priority mode,

But when using a tripod with a stationary

what youre really doing is changing the

subject I usually set the aperture first to get

shutter speed. When you turn the dial to -1.0,

the desired depth of field, and then adjust

youre telling the camera to use a faster shutter

to camera shake. So if you use any automatic

can see a histogram. Using a histogram

the shutter speed to get the right exposure.

speed to darken the exposure. When you set

exposure mode, you need to pay attention

in live view, I could have ignored the

the compensation to +1.0, youre telling the

to what its doing. Better yet, use manual

cameras meter and dialed in the right

I could also have done the exact same thing

camera to use a slower shutter speed to let in

mode so youre conscious of all the settings.

shutter speed before taking the picture.

in aperture-priority automatic mode. At f/11,

more light and increase the exposure. If youre

100 ISO, in aperture-priority mode, the camera,

hand-holding, a faster shutter speed would

By the way, live view can be a great as-

guided by the same light meter (and with no

be fine, but a slower shutter speed might lead

set for finding the right exposureif you

Case Study 1: Sierra Aspens

EXERCISE

PHOTOGRAPH BOTH LOW AND HIGH-CONTRAST SCENES

PHOTOGRAPH TWO DIFFERENT SUBJECTS: ONE HIGH-CONTRAST SCENE WITH A MIXTURE OF SUN AND SHADE, AND ONE
LOW-CONTRAST SCENE WHERE EVERYTHING IS IN THE SAME LIGHT. USE MANUAL MODE, AND FOLLOW THESE STEPS:
1) First, use a tripod so you dont have to worry about

3) Then take a photo and check the histogram. If it looks

If you dont have a tripod, start by setting a reasonably

camera shake. Then set the aperture. Pick a middle f-stop

okayif the brightest pixels are near, but not touching, the

fast shutter speed, like 1/125 of a second, then adjust the

like f/8 or f/11 if depth of field is not an issue. Pick a small

right edge, and you dont see any blinkiesthen youre

aperture until the exposure indicator lines up with zero. If

aperture like f/16 or f/22 if you have both near and distant

done. If not, adjust the shutter speed. If you see a spike

the initial histogram is off, keep adjusting the aperture to

objects in the frame (more about depth of field in the

at the right edge of the histogram, or you see blinkies,

change the exposure until you get it right.

next example).

that means the image is too light, so use a faster shutter

speed to darken the exposure. If the histogram is pushed

With the high-contrast scene, when you get the histogram

2) Use centre-weighted or smart metering to set the

to the left, and theres a large gap between the brightest

into the right spotnear, but not touching, the right

shutter speed. Most cameras show an exposure scale in

pixels and that right edge, then use a slower shutter

edgethe photo might look too dark on your cameras

manual mode. Simply turn the shutter speed dial until the

speed to lighten the exposure. Then take another photo,

LCD screen. Thats okay; exposure for high-contrast

exposure indicator lines up with zero.

and if necessary, keep adjusting until the image and the

scenes is often a compromise, and youll probably like the

histogram look right.

seemingly too-dark exposure better when you see it on

your computer screen. But just in case, it wouldnt hurt to

Remember that on most cameras, each click of the

shutter speed dial changes the exposure by only a third
of a stop, which is hardly noticeable. To see a significant
difference, click the dial three times to change the
exposure by one full stop. And once youve made the first
exposure, ignore the meter and use the histogram to guide
your adjustments.

15

take a lighter one!

Case Study 2: Three Brothers

GETTING EVERYTHING IN FOCUS

Case Study 2: Three Brothers

GETTING EVERYTHING IN FOCUS

Now that you have a better understanding of how to

number, the smaller the depth of field. So a large num-

read a histogram and adjust the exposure manually, its

ber, like f/16 or f/22, means great depth of field; a small

time to take a closer look at one of the fundamental

number, like f/4 or f/5.6, means shallow depth of field.

exposure controls: the aperture. In addition to altering

exposure by controlling how much light passes through

Wide-angle lenses have inherently greater depth of field,

the lens, the aperture also affects depth of field.

and I wanted the near-far perspective they create, so I

chose a 24mm focal length. With the camera on a tripod,

What is depth of field? Its how much of the im-

and the subject sitting still, I didnt need to worry about

age is in focus from front to back. You can have

using a slow shutter speed, so I started by setting my lens

one thing in focus, while everything in front of or

to its smallest aperture: f/22 (big number, big depth of

behind that object is out of focus. Or you can try

field). Then I focused manually using the procedure in

to make every part of the photograph sharp.

the sidebar Focusing for Maximum Depth of Field.

With most landscape images, I want everything to be in

Next, as in the last example, I set the shutter speed to

focus. But in this scene of Three Brothers in Yosemite the

the light meters recommendation: 1/30 of a second (at

depth of field was extremethe snow mounds at the bot-

100 ISO). This turned out to be just rightthe histogram

tom of the frame were only two or three feet from the cam-

looked perfect. Although this scene had a lot of contrast,

era, while the background peaks were at least a mile away.

apparently the light and dark areas balanced out.

I knew this photograph would require a small aperture

To get great depth of field, use a wide-angle lens,

the smaller the aperture, the more depth of field. Is f/22

focus carefully, and set a small aperture like

a small aperture or a large one? What about f/4? Heres

f/16 or f/22. A tripod helps, as the small aper-

an easy way to remember: the greater the f-stop number,

ture usually requires a slow shutter speed.

the greater the depth of field; the smaller the f-stop

17

Case Study 2: Three Brothers

FOCUSING FOR MAXIMUM DEPTH OF FIELD

FOCUSING IS CRITICAL WHEN TRYING TO GET MAXIMUM DEPTH OF FIELD. FOCUS ON THE FOREGROUND AND THE BACKGROUND WILL
LOOK SOFT. FOCUS ON THE BACKGROUND AND THE FOREGROUND WILL BE BLURRED. THE OPTIMUM FOCUSING POINT (HYPERFOCAL
DISTANCE) IS SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN. TO FIND IT, FOLLOW THESE STEPS:

18

a) Use manual focus, then first focus on the object closest to

b) Next, focus on the farthest thing from the camera, and

c) Set your focus halfway between these two spots on your

the camera, and note the distance on your focusing ring. In this

once again check that distance on your focusing ring.

focusing ring.

illustration, its three feet away.

Here its at infinity.

Case Study 3: Coneflowers

USING SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD

Case Study 3: Coneflowers

Standing among these tall coneflower stalks, I looked for a way to simplify
the scene. The obvious solution was to make a portrait of one flower,
while using a wide aperture to throw the background out of focus.

I knew that the more distant the background, the more out of focus
it would be, so I looked for an angle where the background flowers were several feet away from my main subject. I also knew that
the inherently shallow depth of field of a telephoto lens would help
throw the background out of focus, so I used a 200mm lens.

With this lens set to its widest aperture, f/4 (small number, small
depth of field), the background looked nice and soft, but some
of the petals on the main flower were out of focus. I tried stopping down the aperture to f/8, but when I pressed my depth-of-field
preview button the background flowers started to come into focus, and became too distracting. So I kept the aperture at f/4.

With images like this at least one important visual focal point needs
to be sharp, so I focused manually on the green button at the top
of the flower. The contrast was low, making this an easy exposure. I
manually set the shutter speed to the meters recommendation, 1/15
of a second (at 100 ISO), and this turned out to be just right.

20

USING SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD

Case Study 1: Sierra Aspens

DEPTH-OF-FIELD PREVIEW
When you look through the viewfinder of an SLR camera,

can actually see whats in focus through the viewfinder at

youre not always getting an accurate view of whats in

that f-stop.

focus. Even though you may have the aperture set to f/16,
the diaphragm in the lens stays wide open at f/2.8 or f/4 (or

Of course because youve closed down the aperture, less

whatever the lowest f-stop number is on your lens) until you

light is coming through the lens, so the viewfinder gets

press the shutter. Then the mirror flips up, the diaphragm

really dark! Nevertheless, it can still help you determine

closes down to f/16 (or whatever aperture youve set), and

whether youve really got everything in focus in landscape

the shutter opens.

photographs, or whether background elements have become

too distracting with close-ups or portraits.

This design allows plenty of light to come through the lens,

and makes the viewfinder nice and bright when youre trying

In this first shooting-star photograph (A), I kept the aperture

to compose and focus. But you dont see an accurate view of

nearly wide-open at f/5.6. The background was nice and soft,

the depth of field unless youre using the widest apertureor

but some of the flowers were out of focus. In the second

you use the depth-of-field preview.

example I stopped the aperture down to f/16 (B). With the

depth-of-field preview I could see that most of the flowers

The depth-of-field preview is a button somewhere on the

were in focus, but some background leaves had become

camera (usually near the lens mount) that doesnt seem

visible. Which is better? Thats always subjective, of course.

to do anything except make the viewfinder go dark. But it

In this case it bothers me that some flowers are out of focus

does have a function: pressing the button closes down the

at f/5.6, so I probably prefer the greater depth of field at

aperture to f/11, or f/16, or whatever its set to, so that you

f/16, even though the background is more distracting.

EXERCISE

CONTROLLING DEPTH OF FIELD

Make two different photographs, one with shallow depth of field to isolate the subject, and one with

For the photograph with great depth of field, use a wide-angle lens and make sure everything is

great depth of field where everything is in focus from near to far.

sharp. You should have an object very close to the camerano more than 5 feet awayplus something
distantat infinityand use a small aperture like f/16 or f/22 to get everything in focus. Use the

For the shallow depth-of-field image, use a telephoto lens (the longer the better), make sure at least
one thing is sharp, and use a wide aperture like f/2.8 or f/4 to throw the background out of focus.

focusing technique I describe in Focusing for Maximum Depth of Field, page 18.

Case Study 4: Upper Yosemite Fall

FREEZING MOTION

Case Study 4: Upper Yosemite Fall

FREEZING MOTION

Both shutter speed and aperture control the

The camera was on a tripod, but I needed a fast

exposurehow bright the image is. Aperture,

shutter speed to freeze the waters motion and

as weve seen, also affects depth of field. Shut-

show its texture. How fast? The answer depends

ter speed, on the other hand, affects move-

on how quickly the subject is moving across

mentboth camera movement and subject

the picture. A relatively slow shutter speed

movement. Faster shutter speeds freeze motion,

can freeze something moving toward you or

while slower shutter speeds blur motion.

away from you, but the same object moving

across the frame may need a much faster shut-

For getting sharp hand-held photos, the shut-

ter speed. Experience is the best teacher, but a

ter speed should be equal to or greater than the

zoomed-in look at your LCD screen can help.

length of the lens. So if youre using a 20mm lens,

the shutter speed should be 1/20 of a second or

This scene had little depth, but shutter speed

faster. If youre using a 100mm lens, the shutter

was obviously important, so I set that first. Previ-

speed should be at least 1/100 of a second. With

ous experience told me that 1/125 of a second

image stabilization, you may be able to get away

would be fast enough to freeze the waters mo-

with slower shutter speeds than this, but you

tion. Then, with the ISO at 100, I adjusted the

can get sharp photos at any shutter speed with

f-stop until the meter indicated I had the correct

a sturdy tripodunless the subject is moving.

exposure (which happened to be at f/8). But

the meter was apparently fooled by all the dark

Photographing Upper Yosemite Fall one spring

shadows, and the resulting histogram had a spike

afternoon, I was struck by the patterns and

on the right edge, while the waterfall looked

textures of the water. Gusts of wind would

washed out and showed lots of blinkies (A).

blow the fall almost sideways, causing arrows of spray to shoot out underneath.

23

Case Study 4: Upper Yosemite Fall

RECIPROCITY
Shutter speed and aperture have a reciprocal relationship. If you reduce the amount of
light coming through the lens (aperture) by one stop, but increase the time the shutter

Since shutter speed was the primary consideration I left that alone, and turned the aperture

is open by one stop, the same amount of light will reach the sensor. This means you
can use several different combinations of shutter speed and aperture to get the same

dial three clicks to the right (one full stop) to f/11. (On most cameras, turning either the

exposure. All of the following combinations will allow an equal amount of light to reach

shutter speed or aperture dial to the right darkens the photo, while turning them to the

the sensor:

left lightens it.) I made another test shot, and this time the histogram looked perfect.
Then I just had to wait for the right moment (B).

1/250 at f/2.8
1/125 at f/4
1/60 at f/5.6

Of course, fast shutter speeds can freeze the motion of many subjects: flying birds, people
in action, cars, planes, etc. To freeze movement, start by selecting a fast shutter speed
usually 1/125 of a second or fasterthen use the aperture to adjust the exposure.

1/30 at f/8
1/15 at f/11
1/8 at f/16
1/4 at f/22

Which combination you choose depends on whether you want more depth of field or

less, a faster shutter speed or a slower one.

Usually you should start with the most important setting. If depth of field is more critical
than motion, set the aperture first, then use whatever shutter speed will give you the
right exposure. If either camera or subject movement is a concern, set the shutter speed
first, then dial in the aperture that gives you the exposure you want.

If, however you want the fastest shutter speed possible for the available light, start by
setting the lowest f-stop number on your lens. This wide aperture will pass more light
through the lens, and allow you to use a shorter shutter speed. If you want the slowest
shutter speed possible for the available light, start by setting your highest f-stop number
(and lowest ISO). This small aperture will minimize the light reaching the sensor, and
require a long shutter speed to get the right exposure.

If neither shutter speed nor aperture mattersif the camera is on a tripod, the subject
isnt moving, and the scene has little depthstart by setting a middle f-stop like f/8 or
f/11, as most lenses are sharpest at medium apertures.

24

Case Study 5: Wildcat Fall

BLURRING MOTION

Case Study 5: Wildcat Fall

BLURRING MOTION

While a fast shutter speed can emphasize the texture

the longer the shutter speed has to be to give you the

and power of large waterfalls, a slow shutter speed

right exposure. (Adding a polarizing filter or neutral-

often works better for small cascades. Photographing

density filter can slow the shutter speed even more if

this scene in Yosemite, I wanted to blur the motion

necessary, as when trying to blur motion in direct sun.)

of the water to give it an ethereal look and create

contrast between smooth water and rough rocks.

How slow a shutter speed do you need to blur motion?

That depends on how fast the subject is moving across

After finding a nice balanced composition, I put

the frame. For flowing water, 1/2 a second or slower

the camera on a tripod (I wanted the water to be

will usually give the water that soft, silky appearance.

blurred, not the rocks), then added a polarizing

But sometimes a slightly faster shutter speed, like 1/4 or

filter to cut reflections on the wet rocks and make

1/8, looks better, giving the water a bit more texture.

the white water stand out. Next I selected the

smallest aperture on my 1740mm zoom: f/22.

For this scene, at f/22 with 100 ISO, the meter indicated
a shutter speed of 1.3 seconds, which seemed perfect

If I wanted to blur the water, why did I set the aperture

nice and slow. I made a test exposure, and the histogram

first, rather than the shutter speed? First, there was a

looked good: near, but not touching, the right edge.

lot of depth herethe rock in the lower-left corner was

EXERCISE

FREEZE AND BLUR MOTION

Photograph two different moving subjects, one using a fast shutter speed to

only a few feet from the cameraso I needed a small

The world is in constant motion, and many situa-

aperture to get everything in focus. But even if depth

tions can lend themselves to slow shutter speeds.

wasnt an issue, when blurring motion I routinely start

Ive blurred wind-blown moonlit clouds during

with my lowest ISO and smallest aperture, as this will

a six-minute exposure, and panned with flying

give me the slowest shutter speed possible for the light-

birds at 1/15th of a second. Use your imagina-

follow the subject with your camera while blurring the background behind

ing conditions. The less light coming through the lens,

tion, and dont be afraid to experiment.

it. Either way, try different shutter speedsevery situation is unique, and

freeze motion, the other with a slow shutter speed to blur the movement.

Its easier to freeze motion in bright light, and easier to blur motion in low
light like shade or dusk. To blur motion, either set the camera on a tripod
and let the subject move through the frame, or try panning, where you

often one speed will be just right.

26

Case Study 6: Stormy Afternoon at Mono Lake

PUSHING THE ISO

Case Study 6: Stormy Afternoon at Mono Lake

PUSHING THE ISO

In some photographs, shutter speed is the most impor-

sensor, the better it handles noise. And noise-reduction

to 400 gained another stop, for a total of two stops. That

tant consideration. In other cases, aperture and depth

software has improved immenselyIve made virtually

allowed me to shorten the shutter speed from 1/30 of a

of field are the biggest concerns. But what if both are

noise-free images with this camera at 1600 ISO.

second to 1/125 of a second, a two-stop difference.

In this wide-angle composition I figured that f/16 would give me

But you dont have to calculate this stuffjust do what I did:

enough depth of field to keep the foreground waves and distant

set the shutter speed and aperture you want, then increase the

By raising the ISO you amplify the light signal reaching the

tufa towers in focus. At 100 ISO the meter indicated 1/30 of a

ISO until you get the right exposure. Youll get more noise,

sensor, allowing you to use a faster shutter speed, smaller

second, which was too slowthe waves would be blurred. So I

but Id rather have a little noise than a blurry photograph.

aperture, or both. This can be extremely valuable when try-

set the shutter speed to 1/125 of a second,

ing to handhold the camera or freeze motion in low light.

figuring that would be the minimum speed neces-

But like many things in photography, and in life, theres a

sary to freeze the motion. Then I simply pushed

trade-off: the higher the ISO, the more noise youll get.

up the ISO until the meter indicated I had the cor-

important? What if you need a fast shutter speed and

great depth of field? Then its time to push the ISO.

rect exposure (which happened to be at 400 ISO).

However, every year cameras and noise-reduction soft-

28

ware get better, and its sometimes possible to get amaz-

A test exposure showed a perfect histogram, with

ing results at high ISOs. To test your cameras limitations,

the brightest pixels near, but not touching, the

try shooting with high ISO settings and take a zoomed-in

right edge, and no blinkies. That meant I could

look at the images on your computer. Better yet, make

leave the settings alone and concentrate on try-

some large prints and see how apparent the noise is.

ing to catch the waves in the right position.

I made this image of Mono Lake with a Canon 1Ds Mark

With ISO, doubling the number increases

II, which, as I write this, is a seven-year-old modelan-

the exposure one stop. So increasing the

cient technology by todays standards. But it has a

ISO from 100 to 200 gained one stop of

full-frame sensor, which helps; in general, the larger the

extra light sensitivity; pushing the ISO further

Case Study 7: Grey Pines after a Snowstorm

HIGHLIGHT RECOVERY, AND EXPOSING TO THE RIGHT

Case Study 7: Grey Pines after a Snowstorm

Usually you want the brightest pixels to be

trast. But that ability to recover overexposed

near, but not touching, the right edge of

highlights does give you a bit more latitude,

the histogram. This is called exposing to

and, at least with some cameras, allows you to

the right (ETTR for short), as youre trying

be less concerned about small areas of blinkies.

to push the histogram as far to the right as

possible without losing highlight detail.

Photographing these grey pines in the Sierra

Nevada foothills, with my 70200mm zoom

By making the photograph as light as possible,

lens on a tripod, and the ISO set to 100, I di-

but not washed out, you get the maximum pos-

aled in an aperture of f/22 (my sharpest f-stop

sible shadow detail. Also, in a digital file theres

for that lens), and used the shutter speed the

actually less information in lower values, making

light meter recommended: 1/20 of a second.

those low valuesthe shadowsmore prone to

noise and posterization. So the lighter you make

I took one frame, then checked the imageand

those shadows, the less noise youre likely to see.

saw some blinkies, and a small spike at the right

edge of the histogram (A). I quickly dialed in a

With raw files its often possible to recover seem-

faster shutter speed1/30 of a secondand kept

ingly overexposed highlights in software. Because

shooting, but the mist had already shifted, and

of that, some ETTR devotees actually suggest

it turned out that this first frame was the best.

deliberately overexposing your photographs. I

dont recommend that, because even if you can
recover those highlights its sometimes impossible
to make that overexposed image look rightto
give it the appropriate tones, colour, and con-

30

HIGHLIGHT RECOVERY, AND EXPOSING TO THE RIGHT

Case Study 7: Grey Pines after a Snowstorm

Fortunately it was easy to bring back detail in those washed-out high-

lights with Lightrooms Recovery tool. The zoomed-in view shows

an area of overexposed mist in the upper-right portion of the image
(B). After pushing the Recovery slider to the right (to +17), you can
see detail in this formerly blank area (C). The final image has good
overall contrast, and detail in both highlights and shadows (D) .

With my camera (Canon 1Ds Mark II), I dont worry about

small areas blinking on my LCD screen, as I know these can
be recovered later. But keep in mind that this only works
with raw files, and not with every camera. Try the exercise
on the next page to see if it works with your model.

31

HIGHLIGHT RECOVERY, AND EXPOSING TO THE RIGHT

C

Case Study 7: Grey Pines after a Snowstorm

EXERCISE

TEST THE LIMITS OF HIGHLIGHT RECOVERY

Find a scene with some white or near-white areas,

speed. Repeat that five more timesin other

overexposed when you view it on your computer,

as much as a stop overexposedperhaps even

like clouds, snow, a white building, or a person

words, increase the exposure by one-third stop

or vice-versa. Knowing these differences can help

more. But with some cameras the limits may

with a white shirt. Make sure that white object is

increments six times total, until youve gone

you make adjustments in the field.

be less. Or you might find that you can recover

the brightest thing in the frame (i.e., you dont

two full stops brighter than the theoretically-

want your white subject to be in the shade, while

correct exposure.

other areas of the photo are in the sun).

detail, but you see abrupt transitionsthat

Next, try using the Recovery or Highlight

blotchy look I mentioned.

Recovery tool in your software on some of the

Download the images and look at them in your

overexposed images. Zoom in on the

Armed with this new knowledge you may become

Its best to do this exercise on a tripod, with a still

favourite raw-processing software. (It really

washed-out areas and see if youre actually

less concerned about small, overexposed areas

subject, so that motion isnt an issue. With the

helps to be using a good, calibrated monitor!)

recovering detail and texture, or just making

in your photographsor you could realize that

camera set to raw mode, find the theoretically

First, compare the histograms and highlight

these areas look grey. Also, look for uneven,

you have to be really careful to not overexpose

correct exposure, with the brightest pixels near,

alerts (blinkies) of the images on your camera

blotchy tones in the highlights.

anything. But either way, youll know.

but not touching, the right edge of the histogram,

to the ones on your monitor. You may find some

and no blinkies. Then make an exposure one-third

differences: an image with a good-looking

With most modern DSLRs youll probably find

of a stop brighter by setting a slower shutter

histogram on the camera may turn out to be

that you can recover detail in highlights that are

RGB HISTOGRAMS

An RGB histogram showing an

So far Ive just talked about the overall histogramthe

Overexposing one channel could make some colourful

overexposed red channel, with

luminance histogram. But most cameras also have the

highlights look blotchy, or lack detail. With raw files

a spike at the right edge.

ability to display histograms for the red, green, and

you may be able to recover this detail, but you may

blue colour channels separately.

notit depends on the camera, and how overexposed

that channel is. So when photographing colourful

Do you need this? In most cases, no. But sometimes,

subjects, its a good idea to look at the RGB histogram,

when photographing a sunset sky, red or yellow

and if one of the channels shows a spike on the right

flowers, or any highly-saturated colours, one of the

side, make a darker exposure.

colour channels will be overexposed, and you wont

see that in the luminance histogram, nor will the
blinkies warn you about it.

Case Study 8: Oaks and Mist, Autumn

INCLUDING THE SUN IN THE FRAME

Case Study 8: Oaks and Mist, Autumn

I usually dont want any part of a photograph to be overexposed.
We never see washed-out highlights in real life, and it looks unnatural to see them in a photograph. But theres one major exception:
you cant see detail in the sun itself, because its too bright. In fact,
if you stare at it too long youll damage your eyes! So when you
include the sun in a photograph, or sunlight reflecting off water
or glass, it seems perfectly normal for these areas to lack detail.

The sun shining through the mist from behind these oak
trees was beautiful, but the contrast was extreme, and I
had to avoid lens flarethe distracting coloured spots
created when the sun hits the front of your lens.

In situations like this I try to get just the edge of the sun poking
out from behind a branch or trunk. This makes the bright sun a
focal point, but blocks the flare. So I positioned my camera (on a
tripod of course) so that the sun was hidden behind a tree branch,
figuring that the sun would edge into view by the time I was ready.

I set the aperture to f/16, which seemed sufficient to get both

the yellow foreground plants and trees in focus. Small apertures
also create a starburst effect when you include the sun in the
frame. At 100 ISO I dialed my shutter speed to the meters recommendation, 1/60 of a second, and made a test exposure.

34

INCLUDING THE SUN IN THE FRAME

Case Study 8: Oaks and Mist, Autumn

Unfortunately the histogram didnt help much, since theres
bound to be a spike at the right edge from the sun and adjacent
areas. In these situations I judge the exposure by the amount
of blinkies. A small amount of blinkies in and around the sun
is fine. More than that, and the image is probably overexposed.
If just the sun itself is blinking, its probably underexposed.

My test exposure showed a small amount of blinkies around the sun, so this seemed right. But to hedge
my bets I set the camera to auto bracket three exposures:
the middle, or base exposure (1/60 of a second), plus one
stop lighter and one stop darker (1/30 and 1/125).

Now I almost hesitate to mention bracketing, as some people

will take this as a license to be sloppy with their exposures
and just bracket the heck out of every scene. But wild bracketing doesnt work with moving subjectsyou have to get the
exposure right at the instant the subject is in the perfect position. And even with static subjects, mindless bracketing may
not be enough: you could bracket one stop lighter and one
stop darker than the meter recommends, when the right exposure is actually three stops darker than the meter suggests.

35

INCLUDING THE SUN IN THE FRAME

Case Study 8: Oaks and Mist, Autumn

But in difficult situations, intelligent bracketing can help.
By intelligent I mean that you use the histogram and blinkies to help you make the best exposure you can, but hedge
your bets by making lighter and darker exposures as well.

With this scene I knew that my test exposure (1/60 at f/16) was
close, and by making exposures one stop light and darker I would
be sure to get it right. When the sun edged out from the behind
the branch I bracketed three quick exposuresclick click click.

The middle exposure turned out to be the best (A Page

34). Small areas in and around the sun are washed out, but
that seems normal and natural, and the rest of the tones
in the photograph look about right. Most importantly, the
sunbeams cutting through the fog stand out clearly.

The lighter exposure looks washed out (B Previous

Page), while the darker one seems murky (C). The blinkies cover too large an area in the lighter version, and are
barely visible in the darker one. Again, the middle exposure, with some blinkies, but not too many, seems best.

So when the sun is in the frame, its okay to see some

washed-out areasas long as theyre not too big.

36

INCLUDING THE SUN IN THE FRAME

Case Study 9: Unicorn Peak

SPOT METERING AND THE ZONE SYSTEM

Case Study 9: Unicorn Peak

SPOT METERING AND THE ZONE SYSTEM

With film, the Zone System is the best way

With practice you should get it right on your

First, while Ansel Adams and Fred Archers

Zones 3 and 7 are important because they

to get accurate exposures in a wide variety of

first try at least 90 percent of the time.

original Zone System had eleven zones, zero

represent the limits of most digital cameras.

through ten, were going to concentrate on

Zone 2 is too dark to show detailessentially

situations. With a digital camera, where you

can check the exposure with the histogram,

Volumes have been written about the Zone

just the middle ones, three through seven.

black. Zone 8 is too light to show good de-

the Zone System is less essential. But the ex-

System, but Im going to describe a simple

Zone 5 represents a mid-tone in the scene.

tailwashed out. So Zones 3 and 7 are the

posure methods Ive described so far involve

method of applying the Zone System to

Anything one stop darker is zone 4, two stops

lower and upper limits for retaining detail

some trial and error; the Zone System will

digital capture in just a couple of pages.

darker zone 3, and so on. Anything one stop

and texture (though cameras vary, and some

lighter is zone 6, two stops lighter zone 7, etc.

high-end models may go beyond this).

lead you to the perfect exposure more quickly.

Zone 2

Zone 3

Zone 4

Zone 5

Zone 6

Zone 7

Zone 8

A hint of detail.

Dark, with good detail.

Dark tone or colour.

Middle tone,

Light tone or

Light, with texture.

A hint of detail,

medium colour.

pastel colour.

but essentially
washed out.

38

Case Study 9: Unicorn Peak

SPOT METERING AND THE ZONE SYSTEM

Okay, enough backgroundhow do you use it? The

ter speed as slow as possible), the spot-meter read-

simplest approach to the Zone System concentrates

ing from the cloud indicated 1/30 of a second.

on highlights and ignores shadows. Start by picking

the most important highlight. Whats important? Not

If you remember, back in the beginning of this eBook

a tiny spot, and not something that lacks detail, like

I said that all light meters are calibrated to a middle

a blank sky. Pick the brightest significant part of the

tone, or middle grey. If I took this photo at the meter

photograph that needs to have detail and texture.

reading (1/30 at f/22) the cloud would look grey, not

white. This is why spot meters are tricky. You cant

In this scene from Yosemites high country, the

just point the meter at something and trust your read-

brightest significant highlights were the cloud at

ing. You have to know whether the spot is pointed at

the top of the frame and the patch of white wa-

a middle tone, or something lighter or darker. In this

ter near the lower-left corner. I thought the cloud

case I metered a highlight, so it shouldnt be zone

was slightly brighter, so I spot-metered that.

5, a middle toneit should be lighter than that.

When using the Zone System, make sure the whole

So, with my spot meter still pointed at the cloud, I ad-

spot is filled with a consistent toneyou dont

justed the shutter speed until my exposure scale showed

want a mixture of light and dark areas. A narrow-

that the cloud was two stops overexposed: +2 on the

angle spot meter is invaluable. In this case, I pushed

scale (A). This placed the cloud on zone 7. Zone 8

my 70200mm zoom out to 200mm and pointed

would be washed out, so zone 7, two stops lighter than

the central spot at the brightest part of the cloud.

a middle tone, was as light as this cloud could get without losing detail. The resulting shutter speed was 1/8

39

At 50 ISO, with my aperture set to f/22 (I used my

of a second, two stops slower (and therefore brighter)

lowest ISO and smallest aperture to make the shut-

than the initial meter reading of 1/30 of a second.

Case Study 9: Unicorn Peak

SPOT METERING AND THE ZONE SYSTEM

next step was very importantI didnt touch

that highlight has saturated coloursa sunset cloud,

anything! Id already set the exposure, so I left the

for example, or maybe yellow autumn leaves.

shutter speed and aperture alone, zoomed out to

70mm, re-composed, and took the picture. The

One more thing: why didnt I just spot-meter a mid-

histogram looked just right, with the brightest pix-

dle tone, like the rocks? That might work, but what if

els near, but not touching, the right edge (B).

the cloud was three or four stops brighter than those

rocks? Then the cloud would be zone 8 or 9, and washed

For most photographs you can do exactly the same

out. By metering the brightest important highlight

thing: spot-meter the brightest important highlight in

Im going directly to the most vital area of the pho-

the scene, then overexpose that area by two stops to

tograph and adjusting that to the desired exposure.

place it on zone 7. This will push the brightest pixels

in the image near, but not touching, the right edge
of the histogram. (Of course you should always check
the histogram and adjust the exposure if necessary.)

This procedure might seem complicated, but it

only took me about five seconds. I just pointed
my spot meter at the cloud, turned the shutter speed dial until the exposure scale indicated
+2, then recomposed and took the picture.

Sometimes you may not want the brightest important highlight to be at zone 7, or +2 on the exposure
scale. Zone 6 or 6 1/2 (+1 or +1.5) might be better if

40

Case Study 10: Sun Breaking Through Mist, Tuolumne Meadows

HDR AND EXPOSURE BLENDING

Case Study 10: Sun Breaking

Through Mist, Tuolumne Meadows
Every digital camera has a fixed dynamic range. If a
scenes contrast exceeds that range, then no matter
how you expose the photograph youll end up with
black shadows, washed-out highlights, or both.

That is, unless you combine two or more exposures.

With HDR, or high-dynamic range photography,
you can capture several different exposures of the
same scene, then blend these images together in
software, retaining both highlight and shadow
detail even in scenes with extreme contrast.

These exposures can be combined manually in

Photoshop, with HDR software like Photomatix Pro
or Nik HDR Efex, or with other exposure-blending
software, like my current favourite, LR/Enfuse.

A tutorial on using these applications is beyond

the scope of this book. But before you can attempt to blend exposures in software, you need to
capture the necessary information in the field.

42

HDR AND EXPOSURE BLENDING

Case Study 10: Sun Breaking

Through Mist, Tuolumne Meadows
Photographing the sun breaking through morning mist in Tuolumne Meadows, in Yosemites high
country, I could see that the contrast was extreme,
and I knew the only way to capture this scene was
to blend several different exposures together.

I started the way I always do, by finding the right exposure for the highlights, with the brightest pixels near,
but not touching, the right edge of the histogram. In
this case, I figured that blinkies in the sun itself would
be okay, but I didnt want the clouds next to the sun to
be overexposed. At f/22, 100 ISO, the best exposure for
the highlights turned out to be 1/250 of a second (this
was actually two stops darker than the meter reading).

But at this setting the shadows looked inky, and there

was a large spike at the left edge of the histogram, indicating black, detail-less shadows. I guessed that two more
exposuresone a stop lighter, another two stops lighterwould give me enough shadow detail, and the information I needed to blend these images together later.

43

HDR AND EXPOSURE BLENDING

Case Study 10: Sun Breaking

Through Mist, Tuolumne Meadows
I could have simply moved my shutter speed dial three clicks
to the left (to 1/125 of a second) and made a second exposure,
then turned the dial three more clicks to the left (to 1/60 of
a second) and made the third exposure. But the clouds were
moving, and any movement between frames would make it
difficult to blend the images together later. So I set my camera
to auto bracket three exposures at one-stop increments. Then
I moved my shutter-speed dial to the middle exposure, 1/125
of a second, and fired off three quick imagesclick click click.

Like most cameras, mine auto brackets on either side of

the exposure Ive set. So by starting at the middle exposure of 1/125 of a second, it made another exposure at
1/250 (perfect for the highlights), then a third at 1/60
(good for shadow detail)exactly what I wanted.

The darkest image (1/250) showed the brightest pixels

near, but not touching, the right edge of the histogram,
and only small blinkies in the sun itself, but the shadows, as expected, were black (A page 44). The middle
exposure showed a spike at the right edge, but nothing
pushed up against the left edgein other words, it had
shadow detail, at least theoretically (B previous page).

44

HDR AND EXPOSURE BLENDING

Case Study 10: Sun Breaking

Through Mist, Tuolumne Meadows
The lightest exposure showed a big spike at the right edge,

HDR AND EXPOSURE BLENDING

but a nice gap between the darkest pixels and the left edge,
ensuring that I had noise-free shadows (C previous page). So
I had one image with good highlight detail, one image with
good shadow detail, and one in betweenjust what I wanted.

I blended the three images together with LR/Enfuse, which

usually creates more natural-looking results than true HDR
software like Photomatix. Then I applied finishing touches
in Photoshop (D). This final version has good shadow and
highlight detail, and renders the scene as I visualized it.

To recap: when youre trying to capture a series of exposures,

with the intention of blending them together later, start by
finding the right exposure for the highlights (with pixels near,
but not touching, the right edge of the histogram). Then make
an exposure one stop lighter, then one stop lighter again, and
so on until you see a gap between the darkest pixels and the

Next, move your shutter-speed dial three clicks, to the mid-

between exposures, making it harder to combine the images

left edge of the histogram, showing that you have shadow detail.

dle exposure of the sequence, and fire off three frames.

later. With raw mode, automatic white balance is fine, as you

can sync the colour temperature between the images in software.

45

If the scene contains clouds or other moving objects, first,

Use a tripod to ensure that the images line up properly. If youre

again, find the right exposure for the highlights. Then set your

using JPEG mode, set the white balance manually; with the

camera to auto bracket three exposures at one-stop intervals.

camera set to automatic white balance the colour could change

Conclusion:
TECHNIQUE AND VISION

Conclusion:
TECHNIQUE AND VISION
I hope the preceding pages have helped you gain a better

situation. If the exposure helps you say what youre try-

understanding of exposure and the fundamental photo-

ing to say, then its correct enough. If it detracts from

graphic toolsshutter speed and aperture. But getting good

your message, then it isnt correctat least for you,

exposures is not an end in itself, but rather a means to an

in that instance. Exposure must always serve your vi-

enda way of helping you make better photographs.

sionnot someone elses, nor some arbitrary ideal.

What defines a good photograph for one person might

These last four photographs deviate from the accepted

be different than for another. We could talk about light,

standards for proper exposure and sharp detail. Instead,

composition, or technical proficiency, but I think that if we

I made choices that, to me, conveyed a feeling or mood

dig down, what most of us are trying to do is communicate

that fit the subject. A lighter exposure communicates a

something about the place or subject were photographing.

different mood than a darker one. Sharpness conveys

Were trying to capture a mood or a feelingto express

a different feeling than deliberate blurring. So use your

ourselves in some way, and evoke a reaction in the viewer.

tools well. Rather than striving for technical perfection, use technique to make more expressive images.

Exposure, then, is just a tool for communication.

Theres no such thing as a correct exposure for any

(Left) To capture the soft, delicate quality of this iris, I overexposed the image slightly, and used a wide-open
aperture to throw most of the flower out of focus and create washes of colour.
(Previous page) Here I went in the other direction and deliberately underexposed this photograph of Half Dome,
creating large areas of pure black, and enhancing the stormy mood.

47

48

This photograph of a Jeffrey pine was deliberately and drastically overexposed to let the highlights wash out to create a delicate, high-key look.

49

To convey the beauty and coordinated motion of these snow geese, I used a slow shutter speed (1/15th of a second) while panning as they took flight.

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