Understanding Exposure Exercises

I’m not sure if it’s fair to say that having kids turned my brain to mush, however I can tell you before having kids I used to read 5-8 books a week, usually two or three at a time. Now I’m really lucky if I read 5-8 books a year.

Understanding Exposure

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I’ve made no secret of the fact that for nearly two years, I’ve been slowly dog-earing my progress in Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. It’s the first book I picked up when I committed to learning my dSLR and it’s been a great friend to me throughout my never-ending journey to become a better photographer. Peterson is enthusiastic about photography, which motivates me and he writes in a conversational tone, taking the technical out of photography.

Instead of a typical book review, below you’ll find the book’s exercises written in my own words along with the photos I took prompted by the book. I’m also including the chapter and page number for which the full exercise details can be found. The page number may be slightly off from your copy, depending on its revision.

Setting and Using Your Camera on Manual

If you have manual controls, it pays to know how to use them, even if you prefer to shoot in an Auto or Priority mode. Learning to shoot manually is super simple! Just check your camera’s instructions to find out how to set your ISO, aperture and shutter speed in manual mode.

(Chapter: Defining Exposure. Page 15.)

• Ask someone to model for you in open shade or under overcast skies.
• Make sure your camera is in Manual (M) mode.
• Set aperture to f/.6.
• Focus on your subject and adjust shutter speed until a correct exposure is indicated.

My Early Manual Results:

SOOC: f/4.5 – ISO 1600 – 1/320s. 50mm lens.

This isn’t my first manual exposure, but it was one of my first at the beginning of 2010′s Project 365. I metered on the sunny part of the pillow to adjust my exposure. I’m not sure why I choose ISO 1600. If I could do it again, I’d try at ISO 400 with a wide open aperture. Still, I think the exposure came out great.

Written by my former self when the shot was taken:

Another experiment with manual exposure. This was a really challenging shot actually. Her body’s very dark; not sure what could be done about that other than cheating with the shadowed areas in photoshop.

I have to laugh at this comment. My former self thought 100% of the cat should be lit instead of appreciating the shadows and the dynamic that creates. I am glad I left the shot straight out of the camera; I shudder to think what dodged shadows would look like in this photo!

The Effect of ISO on Exposure

ISO determines how much light the film or image sensor will record. Kimberly’s explanation of ISO as flashlight lovers is a great parallel to the worker be analogy Peterson uses in the book. This experiment demonstrates how the aperture and/or shutter speed must change to accommodate changes in ISO as well as the visual differences in varying ISOs. Higher ISO captures more light, but also more noise.

(Chapter: Defining Exposure. Page 20.)

• Choose any stationary subject.
• Start with ISO 200, f/8
• Adjust the shutter speed to indicate a proper exposure, then shoot.
• Repeat with ISO 400 and 800. Notice the change in shutter speed needed with each advance.

Seeing the Creatively Correct Exposure

This experiment demonstrates it’s not just about getting the correct exposure, it’s about utilizing ISO, aperture and shutter speed creatively to get the desired results. This can be done on manual mode or in Aperture or Shutter Priority mode. The goal is to see the difference in exposures by changing the aperture and shutter speed.

(Chapter: Defining Exposure. Page 30.)

• Choose both a stationary and a moving subject.
• For each, start with the widest aperture (lowest number) and adjust the shutter speed for a correct exposure.
• Up the aperture one stop and adjust the shutter speed one stop to indicate a correct exposure.
• Repeat until you have 6 “correct” exposures for each subject. Which is “creatively correct”?

Mastering the Button

This exercise is for people who have a depth-of-preview button on their camera which allows you to see how aperture is applied to the shot.

(Chapter: Aperture. Page 50.)

Top: f/8 – Bottom: f/1.8

• Set aperture wide open (lowest aperture value). Focus on a close object, leaving room in-frame for the background.
• Depress the depth-of-field preview while looking through the viewfinder and observe the results.
• Change from wide open to f/8 or f/11 then depress the depth-of-field preview and observe the results.
• At a higher aperture value, pressing the depth-of-field preview button will dim the view through the viewfinder, but the background also becomes much more defined.

If you don’t have a depth-of-field preview button, you can force your camera to behave this way by rotating the lens off by a quarter turn.

I don’t have a depth-of-preview button and personally don’t really feel one is needed. Certainly not enough to unhinge my lens mid-shoot! I just remember that lower numbers = blurry backgrounds and beautiful bokeh while higher numbers mean more of everything is in focus.

Christmas Lights: Not Just for the Holidays

Have you ever wondered how to create beautiful bokeh images? The process is terribly easy when you shoot in Manual or Aperture Priority mode! This exercise walks you through creating circular and hexagonal bokeh.

(Chapter: Aperture. Page 68.)

• Grab a string of lights and find an outlet in a dark room to plug them into.
• Use the widest aperture possible (lowest aperture value).
• Place your hand in front of the lights to focus, then leave on manual focus.
• Photograph the lights! The results will be soft bokeh circles!
• For hexagonal bokeh, do the same thing except set the aperture to f/8 or f/11.

Motion with a Stationary Camera

Too frequently we get caught up in getting a crisply sharp image of a single moment captured in time, however shutter speed is one of the most effective creative tools a photographer can use to bring their photographs alive.

Try this exercise in an amusement park or a playground in Manual or Shutter Priority mode.

(Chapter: Shutter Speed. Page 86.)

• Set the shutter speed to 1/30s.
• Sit on a swing and focus on your outstretched legs. (If shooting manual, adjust the aperture until a correct exposure is indicated.)
• Start swinging! Once good motion is established, start clicking. Take several exposures.
• Instead of a swing, try on any moving equipment while focusing on something that is moving with the camera.

Growth as a Photographer

I strongly feel my work’s improved over the past two years. I’ve learned a thing or two and this book helped to lay a solid foundation. These are all the labeled exercises in the book, but through Peterson’s examples and detailed explanations of each shot, you’ll get dozens of other ideas to go out and shoot.

I’m sad to be leaving this book behind, but I have three more Bryan Peterson books on my shelf I’m eagerly awaiting digging into!

If you don’t already own a copy of Understanding Exposure, consider buying one today!

If you do own a copy, go through and complete the exercises if you haven’t already. I’d love to see links to other posts with some or all of these exercises in them!