How to master the correct exposure in shooting

Exposure is a comprehensive problem, not simply measuring the brightness of a person's face with an exposure meter. How to master the correct exposure in shooting? The following is my experience sharing, let's have a look.

First of all, the correct exposure should be the best exposure.

In the digital age, the way to get the correct exposure often depends on the camera's metering system. Now the metering system is very complete and can be competent for almost all complex shooting scenes. Technically, the most primitive metering system will restore the brightness of the picture to 18% gray level, but due to the ever-changing shooting scene and the different emotions that photographers want to express, the technically correct exposure is often not the best exposure for a photo.

As photographers, we should seek exposure as the best performance of photos, rather than technically correct exposure. In the digital age, in order to get the best exposure, in addition to the photographer's conception of photos, other auxiliary functions of the camera should be reasonably used, such as the LCD screen on the back of the fuselage, the histogram of the correct exposure information displayed by the camera, and various metering modes, exposure compensation and even peripheral exposure.

Second, the correct exposure sequence.

In the process of taking a photo, photometry and correct exposure are as important as composition. Let's take a look at the sequence of exposure operations when shooting with a digital SLR camera.

1. Select metering mode: metering modes can be roughly divided into spot metering, central focusing metering and evaluation metering. Photographers should choose the appropriate metering mode according to the characteristics of the subject.

2. Choose the sensitivity: The photographer should set the appropriate sensitivity according to the intensity of the ambient light, combining the shooting focal length and the safety shutter.

3. Set the white balance: confirm the white balance according to the light conditions, and usually choose the automatic white balance mode.

4. Determine the exposure mode: choose from several exposure modes, such as aperture priority, shutter priority, program automatic exposure and manual exposure, among which aperture priority mode is the most commonly used.

5. framing composition: complete framing composition according to the shooting intention.

6. Consider whether to use exposure compensation: If the photographer needs to fine-tune the exposure, this step can use the exposure compensation function; Seventh, press the shutter to finish shooting.

Third, the measurement mode: evaluation measurement

Evaluation photometry is the most commonly used photometry method, and different manufacturers give different technical names. Nikon is called matrix photometry and Canon is called evaluation photometry. The working principle is to get the light range by measuring the brightness of different areas of the mirror, and to determine the more accurate exposure value according to the massive photo exposure value analysis data of various manufacturers.

Evaluation photometry is not a simple average photometry that restores the picture to 18% gray level, but a photometry method that can cope with various complicated situations. The algorithm comprehensively considers various factors in most areas of the picture. Even so, it is not 100% accurate. When the photographer needs to shoot quickly or the brightness distribution in the picture is relatively uniform, it is recommended to use the evaluation metering function.

Fourth, the measurement mode: the central key average measurement

Compared with evaluation photometry, center-focused average photometry takes more account of the exposure accuracy of the subject in the center area of the picture. This metering mode can play a very good role in close-range or semi-close-range portrait photography, because more people in the center of the picture can often correctly restore the skin color of the characters.

The central focus average metering mode is ideal for shooting scenes with central composition. For example, the colored Buddha statue in this case is majestic and mysterious under the illumination of light, and most of the central area of the picture is the focus and basis of exposure. At this time, the central focus metering mode is just right.

In many shooting scenes in daily life, it is also recommended to use the central key average metering mode, such as taking a group photo of dozens of people. Because the person is located in the center of the picture, the center key average metering mode can often obtain the most accurate metering data.

V. Measurement method: partial measurement or point measurement.

In complex lighting conditions, partial metering and spot metering will be of great use. In the digital age, it is a kind of photometric method highly praised by experienced photographers, because it relies more on technology and is more pure. When the illumination ratio of the scene in the picture is large, it becomes a difficult problem to measure the light according to which part. At this time, the photographer can partial metering or spot-measure the positions that need to be emphasized and restored correctly according to the shooting intention, so as to set the exposure value of the whole photo.

When using partial metering or spot metering, the metering area is often the visual center and the focus of the picture. In portrait photography, it is often a person's face, while in landscape photography, it is often a small scene that is favored by light. The partial metering or spot metering function enables the camera's metering system to calculate the exposure value only according to a set small area.

Comparison and tolerance of intransitive verbs

In a photo, even if the subject is under average illumination, the brightness difference between the brightest part and the darkest part may be very large. A typical example is a man in a black suit and a white shirt. For natural light, the contrast can reach six levels by measuring the light with an incident exposure meter. Light ratio is one of the important parameters in photography, which refers to the light reception ratio between the dark side and the bright side of the subject under the illumination environment.

When shooting elements with large light ratio at the same time, it is often impossible to record details perfectly because of the limited tolerance of the camera. In today's digital age, with the development of technology, the tolerance of photosensitive elements has improved, but it is still not as good as the light and dark details that can be observed by the naked eye.

Seven, flexible use of exposure compensation

Although the metering system of digital SLR cameras can be trusted by photographers in most cases, photographers can also use the special tool of exposure compensation to adjust the exposure data measured by cameras under complex lighting conditions.

In the face of complex lighting scenes, some photographers choose to use spot metering function, while others boldly use exposure compensation on the basis of evaluating metering by experience.

Eight, the last weapon: surround exposure

Peripheral exposure is the most reliable "weapon" among all exposure methods. When it is difficult to choose a suitable exposure value, the photographer can take as many as seven or even nine photos with different exposures at the exposure of 1/2 or 1/3 within the range of +3, so as to obtain the best exposure for post-finishing. More importantly, as long as you make simple settings, you can automatically complete the surround exposure function, which greatly reduces the workload of photographers. When a photographer shoots beautiful scenery, it is most important to get the correct exposure photos. Although bracketing exposure is a relatively simple method, it is the most reliable and effective.

In the digital age, even exposure masters and masters can't do without the function of surround exposure. Because it has another huge function, that is, in the shooting scene with large light ratio, you can get many photos of different exposure value, so as to synthesize the special effects images to generate HDR images in post-processing.

Nine, abandon the dark exposure method

Because of the contrast between light and shade caused by light in nature and the fact that camera tolerance takes precedence, it is often difficult for photographers to clearly show all the details in the picture when they are exposed. In the face of extreme light ratio shooting scenes, photographers must make corresponding choices when exposing-whether to abandon the dark part of the picture or the bright part of the picture.

Although the exposure method of giving up some details loses some information of the shooting scene, it can often make the photos have a stronger sense of form or obtain a perfect low-key, elegant and high-profile effect. In the choice of exposure tendency, we must serve the theme of the photo. In addition to shooting flowers and plants under the light, some complicated shooting scenes test the photographer's determination.

X. how to complete the exposure to the sun

It is an arduous task to expose the sun correctly. Photographers often avoid putting the sun in the picture, because its extremely high brightness will bring insurmountable problems to the exposure of photos. The only exceptions are sunrise and sunset, when the sunlight is relatively soft, so many elements in the picture can be relatively balanced when exposed.

In fact, there are no fixed rules for photography, especially exposure. Capturing the sun in the scorching sun is not bad, but only if it is attractive on the screen.

Eleven, establish a point light source in the picture.

In outdoor photography, besides the sun, photographers can also create some wonderful light sources, especially when these light sources are placed in pure nature, and the combination of artificial light sources and nature can spark a lot.

Twelve. Exposure and Artistic Conception-Perfect Stage Effect

Good exposure can often bring a special artistic conception and atmosphere to photos, even different from the real scene seen by photographers at the shooting scene. Due to the limitation of camera tolerance, photos born through correct exposure are often more ceremonial than what viewers see on the spot.