How to choose the appropriate exposure parameter settings for photos?

One of the most important skills a photographer should have is the ability to expose correctly. Various combinations of aperture and shutter speed provide a lot of room for creativity. In portrait photography, you need to know some basic rules to get the correct exposure. Before you begin to understand exposure and any other complicated issues, please be familiar with your camera, its internal structure and settings. Once you study the camera settings and understand its structure, you will soon master the basic knowledge of ideal portrait exposure.

1. Set the large aperture.

For photos with shallow depth of field, set a sufficiently wide aperture, such as f/2.8 or f/4. Use a large aperture and 50 mm

The lens (very suitable for taking portraits) will blur the background and make the subject stand out. This also means that only a small part of the photo will be focused, so the focus should be very careful, and it is best to aim at the eyes of the subject. To blur the background, just set the shooting mode to aperture priority, set a large aperture, and then let the camera choose the correct shutter speed for exposure.

2. The portrait is slightly compensated by exposure.

The camera's exposure meter may try to expose the subject's skin to moderate tones, resulting in a darker face than it really is. By slightly overexposing your portrait, you can get more natural colors and smooth skin tone.

To do this, please use exposure compensation and set the exposure value to +0.5 or+1, which will make the face skin brighter. But be careful not to overdo the exposure correction, or you will lose the details in the highlights.

Use spot metering

Spot metering provides the most accurate exposure, because metering is carried out in the designated area of the photo. Photos can have a very bright or dark background, which will definitely affect the exposure, but not in the case of spot metering, in which case only the center of the picture acts on the exposure instrument.

To use spot metering, set a large aperture in aperture priority mode, and then select the required spot metering mode in the settings, and ensure that the subject's face is in the center of the screen. If you are not satisfied with the result, please use the exposure compensation function we talked about in the last paragraph.

4. Set camera parameters in advance

Many people don't like to pose and feel uncomfortable in front of the camera. It takes a long time to adjust the camera when shooting, and you will make the model feel worse. For example, for outdoor portraits with insufficient light, set the shutter priority mode to

1/250 seconds and ISO 400, so you don't have to worry about the image blur caused by camera shake, and always get the maximum aperture.