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Back to Basics - Exposure

Fri, 2007-08-24 13:10 udijw Image Sensor Sockets
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This is the first article of the Back to Basics series which tells allabout the basics of photography, and it deals with Exposure. Do you know that click sound that cameras make? It originates from a "flip" of a mirror that allow light to fall on the camera's sensor (or for the old skool photographer - to fall on the film). The effect of light falling on a sensor is called Exposure. That is because the sensor is exposed to light. (OK, great, so exposure happens when something is exposed. Big deal! no wait there's more...) When the sensor is exposed, it gathers the light and depending on how much light is gathered it creates an image. Exposure is relative and is comparable by something called stops. (or F stops). The main trick for understanding exposure is that "opening" or "closing" a stop, doubles or halfs the amount of light that falls on the sensor. Lets have a closer look. There are three main controls that you can use when deciding on the exposure setting: shutter speed, aperture and sensitivity (or ISO) Each will affect a different aspect of your final picture. The three elements are tied together in a rule called The Reciprocity Rule. Big name. All it means is that to keep an exposure unchanged - if you bump up one of the three elements, you need to move one of the other two down. For example - if you move from low ISO to high ISO, you will need to close the aperture or reduce the shutter speed to have the same exposure. The nice thing about exposure is that it moves in doubles of two for any of the three controls. so If you move the ISO from 100 to 200, you need to cut the shutter speed from 1 second to half a second to retain the exposure. You can look on exposure as a big pipe. Imagine light a pipe hitting the sensor filling a pool. The size or diameter of the pipe is the aperture - the bigger the hole the more water can come in. Shutter speed can be imagined as the time you keep the water running. If you cut the time by half, the pool will be only half as filled.

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Back to Basics - Exposure | DIYPhotography.net

http://www.diyphotography.net/exposure

Lastly, ISO or sensitivity can be compared to the pressure (or speed) of water going through the pipe. more ISO pressure means more light water. OK, now for some math - if you want to keep the amount of water going into the pool, you need to keep the "sum" of all three factors the same. Lets take a closer look on each of the three exposure controls: Aperture (pipe size): Aperture controls the amount of light hitting the sensor in a given amount of time. It also affects the depth of field, and overall sharpness of the picture. Shutter speed (time faucet is open): Shutter speed controls the time that the light will be accumulated on the sensor. It also affects other aspects of the image like smear and for long focal lengths also sharpness. ISO (water pressure): ISO will affect on how receptive the sensor will be to light. ISO will also control the granularity and noise of the picture. Image by Brad Overcash make money by selling your photos

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Comments
Basic Photography
excellent article about basic photography. excellent site. reply
Sat, 2007-08-25 22:59 xpherion (not verified)

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Back to Basics - Exposure | DIYPhotography.net

http://www.diyphotography.net/exposure

Exposure: aperture

Thu, 2007-09-13 15:32 Alessandro (not verified)

When I first came in touch with the concept of aperture one of the first things that buzzed me was what the relationship between the numbers was. It took a little thinking but then...If we want to cut in half the intensity of light falling onto the film (or CCD) we must reduce the round aperture's surface by half, that is we have reduce the diameter by the square root of two (i.e. 1.41 circa). So, 5.6 *1.41 = 8 circa , 8*1.41 = 11 circa, 11*1.41 = 16 etc. I like your site very much, a great roundup of hints and how-tos : Bookmarked ! Thank you and ciao reply

AWESOME ARTICLE!
The mere fact of the "pipe" analogy is all I needed to REMEMBER all of this .. thanks!! reply

Thu, 2008-03-06 23:09 Lori (not verified)

I have been reading all sorts of online photography sites, trying to grasp the basics. No where have I come across anything that made more sense than this article!

Great approach to photography

Wed, 2008-05-21 20:27 eddiefloydjr (not verified)

I'm a newbie to this site. However, I too have read many other online sites on the subject of photography. Though, I've only scratched the surface of DIY I want you welcome me a part of your family:) I love the approach to diving into a very complex interest of photography. You've made it simple yet exciting. Thanks again DIY. I will certainly recommend this site to my friends. reply

Photography and DIY

Thanks Eddie,

Thu, 2008-05-22 07:46 udijw

The world of DIY is great. Some of the hot shot equipment can be made for only a few bux. I suggest to check out the studio section of DIYP.

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Back to Basics - Exposure | DIYPhotography.net

http://www.diyphotography.net/exposure

reply

Basics
about a hobby that I really enjoy! Thanks. reply

Wed, 2008-07-30 01:32 Beverly Laverty (not verified)

I'm 67 and love to take photos, but ISO, Aperture and shutter speed have always been greek to me. Reading your article suggests that even I can learn a little more

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Back to Basics - Exposure | DIYPhotography.net

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