FIRST THINGS FIRST: EXPOSURE

Exposure: What photography is all about. This a term that you will benefit from becoming acquainted with. Exposure is the amount of light that your image has. It is a visual and technical term. When we look at a picture, we are able to see it because of Exposure. Exposure is what makes the picture look the way it does. It showcases the subject. When we capture something in an image we capture light. With our cameras, we can manipulate the amount of light that the camera captures, or the exposure.

We will first use this photo as an example. If you are beginning with a new digital camera on manual settings, this what you will most likely get on a bright and sunny day at the park. This will happen because the sun is very visible and high in the sky. Your camera is receiving a lot of light so the picture looks very bright and lit.

But if we adjust those settings we can achieve a different look. Look below at the 2nd image. Manipulating the settings on the camera is nothing more than manipulating the light. That is the science and part of the art behind photography. We have the same subjects at the same location at the same time, but we come out with starkly different images.

In posts to come I will teach you about the Exposure Triangle, which is the set of options that we have to manipulate the lighting of the image we want to take. Knowing about the Exposure Triangle will be key and beneficial to achieving customized and unique images and growing as a photographer. Can't wait to share more with you.