How to master the correct exposure when shooting

Exposure is a comprehensive issue, and it is not just about using a light meter to measure the brightness of a character’s face. So how do you master the correct exposure when shooting? The following is my experience sharing, let’s take a look.

1. Correct exposure should be the best exposure

In the digital age, the way to obtain correct exposure often relies on the camera’s metering system, which is now very complete and capable of almost all tasks. Complex shooting scenes. Technically speaking, the most primitive metering system will restore the brightness of the picture to 18% gray. However, because the shooting scenes are ever-changing, and the emotions that photographers want to express are also very different, therefore, the technically correct exposure is often not the same for one photo. Optimum exposure.

As a photographer, you should seek the exposure that best expresses the photo, rather than the technically correct exposure. In the digital age, in order to obtain the best exposure, in addition to the photographer's conception of the photo, you also need to be able to reasonably use other auxiliary functions on the camera, such as the LCD display on the rear of the fuselage that can preview the shooting effect, and the Histogram of correct exposure information for photos, as well as a variety of rich metering modes, exposure compensation and even exposure bracketing.

2. The correct sequence of exposure

When a photographer takes a photo, metering and correct exposure play as important a role as composition. The following is the exposure operation sequence when shooting with a digital SLR camera.

1. Select the metering mode: The metering mode is roughly divided into spot metering, center-weighted metering and evaluative metering. The photographer should choose the appropriate metering mode according to the characteristics of the subject.

2. Select the sensitivity: The photographer should set the appropriate sensitivity according to the intensity of the ambient light, combined with factors such as shooting focal length and safety shutter.

3. Set the white balance: Confirm the white balance according to the light conditions, usually you can 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 the most commonly used is the aperture priority mode.

5. Framing and composition: Complete the framing and composition according to the shooting intention.

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

3. Metering mode: evaluative metering

Evaluative metering is the most commonly used metering method. Different manufacturers give different technical names. Nikon calls it matrix metering, and Canon calls it matrix metering. It's called evaluative metering. The working principle is to obtain the light amount range by measuring the brightness of different areas of the reflector, and determine a more accurate exposure value based on the massive photo exposure value analysis data from each manufacturer.

Evaluative metering is not an average metering that simply restores the picture to 18% gray, but a metering method that can cope with various complex situations. The algorithm comprehensively considers various aspects of most areas of the picture. factors. Even so, it is not 100% accurate. When photographers need to shoot quickly or when the brightness distribution in the picture is relatively uniform, it is recommended to use the evaluative metering function.

4. Metering mode: Center-weighted average metering

Compared with evaluative metering, center-weighted average metering takes more into account the accurate exposure of the subject in the center of the screen. sex. This metering mode can be used very well in close-up or semi-close-up portrait photography, because more consideration is given to the person in the center of the picture, and the skin color of the person can often be restored correctly.

The center-weighted average metering mode is very effective when shooting scenes in the center of the composition. For example, the colorful Buddha statue in this example looks majestic and mysterious under the light. Most of the area in the center of the picture is the focus and basis of exposure. At this time, using the center-weighted metering mode is just right.

It is also recommended to use the center-weighted average metering mode in many shooting scenes in daily life, such as taking a group photo of dozens of people. Since the people are located in the center of the picture, the center-weighted average metering mode is often used. Can obtain the most accurate photometric data.

5. Metering mode: partial metering or spot metering

Under complex light conditions, partial metering and spot metering can come in handy. In the digital age, it is a metering method highly respected by experienced photographers because it relies more on technology and is more pure. When the light ratio of the scene in the picture is very large, which part to measure the light becomes a thorny issue. At this time, according to the shooting intention, the photographer can perform partial metering or spot metering on the position in the picture that needs to be emphasized and correctly restored to the exposure, so as to set the exposure value of the entire photo.

When using partial metering or spot metering, the metering area is often the visual center and focus point of the picture. In portrait photography, it is often the face of the character. In landscape photography, it is often the area that receives the light. A small scene of grace. The local metering or spot metering function allows the camera's metering system to calculate the exposure value based only on a set small area.

6. Contrast and Tolerance

In a photo, even if the subject is under average lighting, the brightness gap between the brightest part and the darkest part may be very large. .

A typical example is a character wearing a black suit and a white shirt. Under natural light, when measured with an incident light meter, the contrast can reach as many as 6 stops. Light ratio is one of the important parameters in photography, which refers to the light-receiving ratio between the dark side and the bright side of the subject under lighting environment.

When shooting elements with a large light ratio at the same time, the details are often not perfectly recorded because the camera's latitude is limited. In today's digital age, with the development of technology, the tolerance of photosensitive elements has increased, but it is still unable to compete with the light and dark details that can be observed with the naked eye.

7. Use exposure compensation flexibly

Although the metering system of digital SLR cameras can be trusted by photographers in most situations, in complex lighting situations, photographers also You can use exposure compensation, a special tool, to adjust the exposure data measured by the camera accordingly.

Faced with shooting scenes with complex lighting effects, some photographers choose to use the spot metering function, while others boldly use exposure compensation based on experience and evaluation of metering.

8. The final weapon: exposure bracketing

Exposure bracketing is the most reliable "weapon" among all exposure methods. When it is difficult to select a suitable exposure value, the photographer can take up to 7 or even 9 photos with different exposures in steps of 1/2 or 1/3 stops within a range of ±3 stops. Get the best exposure when finishing in post. More importantly, with simple settings, the exposure bracketing function can be completed automatically, which greatly reduces the photographer's workload. When taking pictures of beautiful scenery through hard work, it is most important for the photographer to obtain correctly exposed photos. Although exposure bracketing is a relatively simple method, it is the most reliable and effective.

In the digital age, even masters and masters of exposure cannot do without the exposure bracketing function. Because it also has another huge function, that is, in shooting scenes with a large light ratio, you can obtain multiple photos with different exposure values, so that they can be combined in post-processing to generate special effects such as HDR images. image.

9. Exposure method that abandons dark parts

Due to the contrast between light and dark created by light in nature and the fact that camera latitude is given priority, photographers often have difficulty in focusing on the center of the picture when exposing. All details are clearly presented. Facing shooting scenes with extreme light ratios, photographers must make corresponding choices when exposing - whether to discard the dark parts of the picture or to discard the bright parts of the picture.

Although the exposure method that abandons certain details loses some information of the shooting scene, it can often make the photo have a stronger sense of form or achieve a perfect low-key and elegant high-key effect. The choice of exposure tendency must serve the subject of the photo. In addition to using point measurement to shoot flowers and plants illuminated by light, some complex shooting scenes test the photographer's decision-making ability.

10. How to complete the exposure of the sun

Exposing the sun correctly is a difficult task. Photographers tend to avoid bringing the sun into the frame because its extremely high brightness creates insurmountable problems with the exposure of the photo. The only exception is sunrise and sunset. The sun's rays during these two periods are relatively soft, and incorporating them into the frame can often result in a relatively balanced effect on the many elements of the frame when exposed.

In fact, there are no hard and fast rules in photography, especially exposure. It's okay to include the sun in the picture during the scorching sun, but the prerequisite is that it must present a charming effect in the picture.

11. Create point light sources in the picture

In outdoor photography, in addition to the sun as a light source, photographers can also create some wonderful light sources by themselves, especially when these light sources When placed in pure nature, the combination of artificial light sources and nature can create great sparks.

12. Exposure and artistic conception - perfect stage effect

Good exposure can often bring a special artistic conception and atmosphere to photos, which is even different from shooting The author captured the actual scene seen at the scene. Due to the limitation of the camera's latitude, the photos created through correct exposure often even have a more ritualistic feel than the scene the viewer sees on site.

Extended reading: Tips on shooting angles

Direction of viewpoint

Before shooting, the photographer should walk around the subject and take a look. , to find the ideal shooting direction. During the process of observation and comparison, you will find that depending on where you are, the outline and shape of the object being photographed will change greatly, the structure of the picture will be significantly different, and the relationship between the subject, the foreground, and the background will also change. Significant changes will occur. Although the subject is the same, due to the different shooting directions, the picture will show various composition effects.

▲Aperture: F8 Exposure time: 1/1000sISO: 200 Focal length: 200mm. Usually when you encounter an object with a clear point of interest, you can shape it from different angles.

▲Aperture: F8 Exposure time: 1/1000sISO: 200 Focal length: 200mm.

▲Aperture: F11 Exposure time: 1/1000sISO: 200 Focal length: 16mm.

▲Aperture: F11 Exposure time: 1/1000sISO: 200 Focal length: 16mm. Aerial shots or upward shots can produce completely different feelings. The former shows the vastness of the ground space, while the latter shows the rhythm of the clouds in the sky.

Height of the viewpoint

When determining the scope of the picture and the shooting direction, you should also think carefully about what height should be suitable for shooting based on the characteristics of the object being photographed. If the shooting scene allows you to climb up to explore, you may wish to observe more from low to high positions in front of the subject, carefully analyze the changes in the scenery in front of you, and then choose the most ideal shooting height. As shown below, this photo of ordinary bread is a typical example of point of view selection. Ordinary photographers tend to shoot from a bird's-eye view, or take close-ups from top to bottom, but the photographer of this photo chose to shoot from an angle that is almost parallel to the bread, thus obtaining a still life picture with strong affinity and uniqueness. Fun.

▲Aperture: F5.6 Exposure time: 1/1000sISO: 200 Focal length: 50mm. Shot from a nearly parallel perspective to the bread, the picture is full of fun.

As shown in the picture below, this is also a low-angle composition picture. This kind of picture allows the red characters to be completely reflected in the blue sky, making the colors more vivid, and the low enough viewing angle also allows unnecessary debris in front of the objects to be excluded from the picture, making the entire picture more concise.

▲Aperture: F5.6 Exposure time: 1/200sISO: 400 Focal length: 35mm. Use a low angle of view to place the figure in red on the golden section line as the visual center.

The above pictures only have a slight change in the shooting height, which has such an obvious impact on the photographic composition. It changes the structure of the picture, makes the picture show different art forms, and produces different visual effects. If coupled with changes in shooting distance and shooting direction, it will have a greater impact on photographic composition. From this we can see how important the choice of viewpoint is!

▲Aperture: F5.6 Exposure time: 1/200sISO: 800 Focal length: 16mm. Low and high viewpoint shots show different points of interest.

▲Aperture: F5.6 Exposure time: 1/100sISO: 800 Focal length: 16mm.

It is necessary to keep the picture simple and clear. The most attractive still life pictures are always full of a strong sense of design in composition. Sometimes a seemingly messy shot can be eliminated by simply changing the angle.