David Busch's Nikon Z5 Guide to Digital Photography

Nailing the Right Exposure

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If you consider the qualities that constitute the most important tools for creating an outstanding image, an appropriate exposure is easily in the top three, along with picture sharpness/focus, and framing/composition. Within this triumvirate, exposure potentially involves the largest number of variables and can improve (or hinder) the impact of your image in a variety of ways. That’s particularly true because how you achieve a particular exposure setting can have as much impact as what settings you select.

Think about it. Incorrect exposure can affect the tonal values in your image in a detrimental way, obscuring detail in shadows or washing out the highlights. But even exposure that’s theoretically satisfactory ...