The Digital Photography Companion

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PROGRAMMED AUTOEXPOSURE

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you will like and others you will never use. But by knowing the results they produce,

you’re more likely to take advantage of them in real-world shooting situations. A

setting such as Darker Skin can very much improve a portrait and save you postpro-

duction time later on the computer.

Programmed Autoexposure

e most common method for setting the aperture and shutter speed for digital camer-

as is programmed autoexposure. On some basic models, this is the only exposure mode

offered.

When using programmed autoexposure, all you have to do is point and shoot. e cam-

era’s light meter reads the scene and compares the information gathered to data stored

in the camera’s electronics. e camera then selects the aperture/shutter speed combi-

nation that best matches the information recorded by the light meter.

e caveat is that the camera’s electronics can be fooled, resulting in a less-than-perfect

picture. See Exposure Compensation earlier in this chapter for more information on how

to adjust programmed autoexposure to handle tricky lighting situations.

e bottom line is that programmed autoexposure is a reliable tool for capturing good

pictures most of the time. You can increase your odds by learning a few of the override

controls, such as exposure compensation, spot metering, and exposure lock.

I recommend that you use programmed au ...