EXPOSURE & CAMERA SETTINGS CHEAT SHEET
WATCH YOUR LIGHT METER
Most often, you will play with your settings until you see your light meter reading 0. However, there are some little tricks that can give you more creative control.
• When my subject is in the shade and the background is bright (sunny), I like to focus on my subject and let my light meter read +1. This lets the skin tone be captured better (not grey or dull). • When my subject is in full sun, I like to underexpose and let my light meter read -1 to make sure skin tone is not lost (white) CAMERA SETTINGS CHEAT SHEET
SHUTTER SPEED • Fast shutter speed will freeze action and will also let LESS light in • Slow shutter speed (longer exposure) will let MORE light in, but also can cause blurry photos from camera shake (YOUR movement) or subject movement. • 1/8000 – you can freeze a bullet • 1/2000 – you can freeze fast subjects, such as birds or running children • 1/250 – about as low as you can go to freeze action • 1/125 – you can freeze SLOW motion (not always) • 1/50 or lower, your own movement will cause blur • 1/15 moving objects will blur • ½ you should be able to blur water (show its motion)
APERTURE • AKA Depth of Field or F Stop • It’s like the pupil of the eye – the wider it is, the more light comes in • Measured by F Stop f/1.2, f/2.8, f/16 • The lower the number (f/1.2) the MORE light comes in and the more blur your photo will have • The higher the number (f/16) the LESS light comes in and the more of your scene will be in focus • If you are close to your subject at f/1.4, likely you’ll find their ears to be blurry. The solution? Turn the up the f stop to something like f/2.8 • When you are photographing multiple people, use the rule of thumb to be 1 f stop higher than there are number of people. Ex. 3 people = f/4 or f/4.5 to ensure they are all in focus
ISO • Your camera’s ISO setting is its sensitivity to light • Measured like ISO 100, 200, 400, 2000, 6400 • Its sole purpose is steady light • If your image is looking dark, only increase the ISO when you are unable (or really don’t want) to adjust the aperture or shutter speed • The higher the ISO, the more noise will be in your photo • Outdoors, bright or cloudy day - you are likely able to stay between 100-400 ISO. You’ll have little to no noise • In Low Light or indoors, you’ll likely be over 1000 and will start to see noise • On my entry level DSLR, I would start to see lots of noise at ISO1600 or higher • 100 Intense Light (sun), No Cover (shade) • 400 Bright day, less intense (light may be diffused or shade) • 800 Near dusk or near a bright window indoors – you may start to experience noise at this setting or higher de- pending on your camera & lens used • 1000 Inside in a fairly lit room (naturally or indoor lighting) • 1600 Inside a darker room that still has some light (lamps, tv light, etc.) • 2000+ Dark rooms, near a campfire