Every good photo begins with the right exposure. Even if you catch a great subject at the perfect moment with strong framing, everything is lost if you blow the exposure.
If you only shoot in automatic mode, you’re accustomed to the camera taking care of all the settings. But, as adept as modern cameras have become, they aren’t perfect, and they’re not good at making artistic decisions.
Elevating your picture-taking from good to great requires a general understanding of the three elements of exposure: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Understand the interplay between these three elements, and you will be able to anticipate great photographs, rather than wait for happy accidents.
Photography 101
- Shoot better photos at the golden hour
- How to use a histogram to expose photos
- How to master exposure compensation
- The rule of thirds and how to use it
- How to take great actions shots
When you have a basic understanding of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO – which are also the basics of photography, in general – you’re well on your way to mastering your camera, even if you never open the user manual.
What is aperture?
The aperture is simply the opening within the lens that limits the amount of light that can pass through it. By changing the aperture value, you increase or decrease the size of that opening, thereby allowing more or less light into the camera.
Aperture is measured in f-stops, such as f/16 and f/4, but here’s the thing: The smaller the f-stop number, the larger the opening, and vice versa. So, when you are adjusting the settings, think of the opposite: If you want less light to enter (small aperture), go for a larger f-stop. How large your lens’ aperture can open will depend on your lens. (Hint: A lens’ maximum aperture will be part of its model name, like a 50mm f/1.8 or a 24-120mm f/4.)
Beyond controlling the amount of light, aperture determines an image’s depth of field (DOF). Simply put, DOF is how much depth will be in focus within the image. An image with a large DOF will have sharp focus from foreground to background, while a small, or shallow, DOF sees the focus concentrated on one particular plane, with foreground and background elements blurred away.
When thinking about the f-stop, choose a smaller number (larger aperture) to achieve a shallower DOF, or a larger number (smaller aperture) to increase DOF.
When would you want to control aperture? Almost always. The most common examples are portraits and landscapes. Portraits often look more appealing when the subject is separated from the background, which a shallow DOF will achieve.
On the other hand, for landscapes we typically want everything to be in sharp focus, from the foliage in the foreground the distant mountains. If you’re not sure how much depth of field you need, the beauty of digital photography is the ability to “guess and check.” Simply take a photo, check it out on the camera’s LCD screen, and either increase or decrease the size of the aperture to get the desired DOF.
What is shutter speed?
Just like the shutters on a window, a camera’s shutter opens to allow light in. The shutter lives just in front of the imaging sensor, and the shutter speed is the amount of time it stays open, like 1/60 second.
Aperture and shutter speed work together. Whereas the aperture determines the amount of light that’s coming through the lens, the shutter determines the length of time the sensor will be exposed to that light. When you set the shutter speed – usually measured in fractions of a second (e.g. 1/30, 1/1,000) – you are telling the camera how quickly or slowly to open and close the shutter. A shutter speed of 1/4,000 second is very fast and will let in very little light, while a shutter speed of 1/2 second will let in a lot of light.
In addition to its role in exposure, shutter speed controls how motion is captured by the camera. A fast shutter speed will freeze moving objects in their track, while a slow shutter speed will record the movement, allowing objects to blur. While a certain shutter speed is required to take a steady picture without a tripod, blur isn’t necessarily bad and sharpness isn’t necessarily good. There are many situations when the choice between the two is a creative one, rather than a technical one.
For example, imagine a race car: Some may want a blurry effect to illustrate its motion around the track, while others may want to freeze it to show a specific moment, such as when it crossed the finish line. In the former example, you’ll want to try a slower shutter speed, like 1/60, while the latter example would require a speed of 1/1,000 or more.
Even slower shutter speeds lead to what’s called long-exposure photography. This is how you can blur things like waterfalls or create star trails in the night sky.
There are a few things to keep in mind. If you are using a very slow shutter speed, make sure your camera is stabilized on a tripod or other steady surface to prevent camera shake. When hand holding your camera, the slowest shutter speed you can shoot without introducing shake depends on many factors, including the focal length of your lens and whether or not it (or your camera) has image stabilization. Generally speaking, shutter speeds between 1/60 and 1/125 second (or faster) are safe for handheld shots.
What is ISO?
ISO is the short name given to the International Organization for Standardization, but its meaning in photography is unique. Also known as “film speed,” it is a rating carried over from the film days, but means the same thing on digital cameras. ISO controls how the sensor responds to the light it receives from the shutter and aperture. A high ISO leads to a brighter image, whereas a low ISO will be darker.
Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO all affect exposure in similar ways, but whereas the first two have creative side effects (DOF, motion blur), ISO isn’t so lucky. Generally speaking, you’ll want to keep ISO as low as possible while still achieving the correct exposure, as increasing the ISO also increases noise. When you hear someone describe a photo as being “too noisy,” ISO is likely to blame. Noise is rarely a creative effect we’re after, and if we are, it’s usually best to add it in post.
Sensors also perform better at low ISO settings, recording better color depth and dynamic range. (In the film days, high ISO films were “grainier.” You can think of “grain” and “noise” as being effectively the same thing.)
In daylight or well lit scenes, the ISO can be set low, usually around 100 to 400. In such cases, you can typically rely on just your aperture and shutter speed to dial in a proper exposure. However, in dim lighting, there may be no other option than to increase ISO. Furthermore, if you want both a fast shutter speed and deep depth of field (small aperture), then raising the ISO might be necessary.
ISO is reflected by a number that, unlike shutter speed, does not reflect any sort of real-world measurement. Most cameras start at ISO 100 or 200, and can be set up to 12,800 or higher. The math is, fortunately, simple: Double the ISO, and you double the brightness, so ISO 800 is twice as bright as 400, which is twice as bright as 200, etc.
Many cameras advertise insanely high maximum ISOs, but don’t always believe the marketing hype. Just because a camera can shoot at ISO 102,400 doesn’t mean you should use it.
Is there a way to shoot in dark settings without raising the ISO? Well, there’s always flash – but in general, on-camera flash produces unflattering results. Whether you prefer the look of flash or the look of noise is a choice you may have to make.
You can also place the camera on a tripod to allow the use of a slower shutter speed, thereby keeping ISO low. However, if you’re trying to shoot people other other subjects that aren’t perfectly still, this may not be an option. Finally, investing in a lens with a wider maximum aperture might be a good idea, as the kit lenses included with most interchangeable lens cameras have relatively small maximum apertures. But, as evidenced in the photo above, sometimes even an f/1.4 lens isn’t enough to keep the ISO down.
How do aperture, shutter speed, and ISO work together?
As you’ve probably concluded, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO work together to properly expose an image. A change to one will impact the other two. For example, increasing the shutter speed will need to be matched by an increase in ISO or aperture size to maintain the same exposure value. Likewise, decreasing the size of the aperture (selecting a larger f-number) will require a faster shutter speed or lower ISO.
In other words, selecting an exposure will always require a degree of compromise. You’ll be able to choose the exact settings you want in many cases, but finding a balance of settings that offers the DOF, sharpness, and noise levels you want may be a challenge in tricky lighting setups.
If this is all a little too complicated, you might consider trying a compromise between full automatic or full manual exposure modes. This middle ground method streamlines and simplifies the exposure process while still giving you a level of control. You can set the aperture using Aperture Priority (A) or Aperture Value (Av) mode to control the depth-of-field, but you don’t have to worry about configuring the shutter speed – the camera automatically handles it for you. On the flip side, you can manually select a shutter speed with Shutter Priority or Time Value (S or Tv), and the camera controls the aperture. Auto ISO usually turns on or off independently of exposure mode. Turning it on might lead to more noise, but it will simplify the process even further.
All this can seem like a lot if you’re new to it, but remember that there’s no magic formula for finding the best exposure. Even professional photographers continually change their settings during shoots to find the perfect image composition, so don’t take it personally if you have to, too. The main thing is to experiment and have fun.
Key takeaways
- Mastering aperture can be tricky, but remember that a small f-stop number means a larger aperture setting and higher f-stop results in a smaller aperture.
- You can get a blurry background effect for a portrait by selecting a large aperture or small f-stop number. If you choose a large f-stop number or small aperture, the focus will extend to the entire composition.
- If you’re photographing objects in motion, use a fast shutter speed. Using a slow shutter speed will result in blurring, which can give a nice artistic effect.
- Using a tripod will help you experiment with slow shutter speeds because you don’t have to worry about your hands shaking and making the picture extra blurry.
- To reduce noise, try to keep ISO as low as possible — but know you may have to raise it in low light settings.
- Many settings are linked and you must adjust them in conjunction with one another. For example, if you reduce the shutter speed, you will have to switch to a smaller aperture to compensate.
- If you don’t mind handing over some control to the camera, choose Aperture Priority mode to only control depth of field or Shutter Priority mode for motion capture.
- There are no rules in art. Have fun experimenting with different settings to find a style that works best for your style.
