Exposure 5: Putting it all together

[RichardTaylor]

Putting it all together

The first I set is the ISO, usually to the lowest I think I will need for the available lighting conditions.

This tute, on this site will give you an idea of what to think about.

How to Choose the Right ISO for your Digital Photography

What ISO do I want?
(1) If I am using a tripod I can keep the ISO as low as possible.
(2) If Hand holding I will take in to consideration what lens I am using (so I can shoot at high enough shutter speed to prevent camera shake) and my lenses maximum aperture.

A guide is the old "Sunny 16" rule which states, when shooting on a bright sunny say, Exposure = 1/ISO @ F16
So if shooting at ISO 100 that will give me a choice of;
1/50 @ F22
1/100 @ F16 ********* Sunny 16
1/200 @ F11
1/400 @ F8
1/800 @ F5.6
1/1600 @ F4
1/3200 @ F2.8
1/6400 @ F2

(3) What are the lighting/weather conditions like.
In the shade or overcast I will be thinking at least ISO 400
In heavy rain or very late afternoon it will be 800 +
And available light indoor and of an evening it will be 1600(+)

(#1) Indoor and available light - Shooting hand held with an Image stabilised lens. I selected ISO 3200

Camera Canon EOS 5D
Exposure 0.05 sec (1/20)
Aperture f/5.0
Focal Length 24 mm
ISO Speed 3200
Exposure Bias -2/3 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

(4) What shutter speed and aperture do I want and what ISO will give it to me?
In poor light, and lens dependant you may need to make compromises.

What shooting mode

If shutter speed is important, either to prevent problems with camera or subject movement, freeze action, or for creative use like panning then I will use shutter priority and an ISO to give me an aperture of around F8-F11 at the shutter speed I want to use.

(#2) Here I was using a 100-400mm lens, on a mono pod, in relatively low light. From experience a shutter speed of around 1/300 will freeze a car but the wheels will still be blurred.


Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture f/10.0
Focal Length 400 mm
ISO Speed 250
Exposure Bias -2/3 EV

If aperture is important, to control depth of field (DOF) then I will use aperture priority and select an ISO that will give me a shutter speed where camera shake or subject movement wouldn't be a problem.
I mostly use it for shallow DOF pics to isolate subjects from backgrounds.

(#3) This was an historical fashion parade, in a city street and I wanted to isolate the model from the messy background so I used an aperture of F2 on a 135mm lens.

Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1600)
Aperture f/2.0
Focal Length 135 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias -2/3 EV

In poor light I will be in aperture priority mode and at or near maximum ISO and take what ever shutter speed I can get.
(#4) Shortly after sunset

Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture f/5.6 (Wide open)
Focal Length 260 mm
ISO Speed 3200
Exposure Bias -2/3 EV

Finally if I want total control I will be shooting manual.
I mainly use it for night shots, macro's, & difficult lighting conditions

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The main thing to remember it is a "balancing act".

ISO, shutter speed and aperture all work together and normally if you change one you change the other.

This excellent interactive exposure triangle (in this forum) will help you to understand the relationship between ISO, Aperture, & Shutter speed.
Interactive Exposure Triangle

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This series

#1 Introduction to exposure
Exposure (1) A balancing act

#2 ISO and introduction to aperture.
Exposure (2) ISO + Intro to Aperture

#3 Aperture
Exposure (3): Aperture

#4 Shutter speed
Exposure 4: Shutter speed.

#5 Putting it all together

Future posts in this series will include more detail on;
White balance
Exposure compensation
Focussing

Thanks for looking.
Feel free to ask questions and feedback would be appreciated.

Richard

[Kungpao]

Thanks for doing all this work! I've shared your links with some of my family whom I was trying to explain some of this stuff to. They just kept looking at me like I had three heads. Great job!

[RichardTaylor]

Thanks very much. Glad to help out.

[maulin]

very important information indeed....

thanks
maulin

[RichardTaylor]

Thank you.

[FlyingKiwiGirl]

No matter how many times I read your tutorials Richard I learn something new or refresh something I'd forgotten about, thanks so much. Did you do a "white balance" one in the end?

[RichardTaylor]

I havn't ..... I always shoot RAW and tweak it , if needed, when PPing..
However that gives me a good reason to do some shooting for it.

Keep an eye open over the next week or two..

[FlyingKiwiGirl]

Originally Posted by RichardTaylor

I havn't ..... I always shoot RAW and tweak it , if needed, when PPing..
However that gives me a good reason to do some shooting for it.

Keep an eye open over the next week or two..

Thanks, will look forward to that. I know "we" should be shooting in RAW but I'm sure there are a lot of hobby photographers out there(like myself) that only shoot in JPEG because a)they haven't learnt the ins and outs of RAW and/or have no PP programme to process them or b) have decided JPEG is just fine and won't ever move into RAW, so learning about white balance will help.

[bdbolin]

I thought I would drop in and say that I loved the post, and awesome example images you put in.

[RichardTaylor]

Thanks very much.