Practical Artistry: Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers

30 Understanding Exposure

Working with Exposure Modes

Working with Exposure Modes

Sure, you can sometimes get perfectly good results us-

ing your camera set on automatic exposure mode. But,

of course, using auto exposure substitutes a calculation

made by the processor inside your camera for your own

creative judgement. Sometimes there’s no substitute for

manually choosing your exposure components.

Purists will say that if you want to take those great pho-

tos you see in your mind’s eye, you’ve got to get your

camera off automatic exposure. In part, this is because

getting your camera off auto does mean understand

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in

g exposure. Great photos start with good exposures

(even if these exposures are later enhanced in the digi-

t

al darkroom). These purists (and I) do wa

nt you to

understand exposure.

Even the purists know that it sometimes makes sense

to use one of the semi-automatic exposure modes that

I’ve already mentioned in passing.

As opposed to a fully automatic exposure mode, in a

semi-automatic mode you choose one of the compo-

n

ents of the exposure equation (such as shutter speed or

aperture), and the camera makes the rest of the settings.

If you understand how the different exposure modes

work, along with the basics of exposures themselves,

you’ll know when you can effectively use automatic

exposure or a semi-automatic exposure mode. All rea

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onably sophisticated ...