The Exposure Triangle: Complete Guide For Beginners
This article is all about understanding the exposure triangle, one of the main foundations of all photography.
Having started my photography journey only a few years ago, I remember all too well the frustration of trying to take stunning photos with my fancy camera.
I thought all I had to do was press the button and voila! Perfect photos.
How wrong I was. Photography, as I’ve learned, is not as simple as it first seemed.
Apologies to all professional photographers out there.
For new photographers, regardless of what you like to photograph, it’s essential to first master the basics of exposure.
Understanding exposure: ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed, and how they work together is crucial to producing a well exposed image. It’s the basis of all photography and this article breaks it down so you understand exposure and create better images.
This is something I figured out the hard way and I want to save you the hassle by sharing this information with you.
Before we get started, I wanted to share my FREE Landscape Photography Toolkit with you.
It’s packed with practical tips and checklists to help you capture beautiful scenes with more confidence, starting NOW!
What Is Exposure
Exposure refers to the amount of light that reaches the camera sensor, which in turn affects the brightness and overall look of a photo.
Correct exposure means getting the desired brightness and darkness in your photo. If it’s too bright, it’s overexposed, and if it’s too dark, it’s underexposed. Adjusting your camera settings can help you achieve the correct exposure.
There are three main elements that are the fundamentals of all photography: ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed. A common tool that shows how these three elements work together is known as The Exposure Triangle. More on that shortly.
Understanding how these elements work together, and learning how (and what) to adjust for different situations and lighting is the basis of improving your photography.
Let’s take a closer look at each element, and then put it all together.
ISO
Let’s start with the first crucial element of understanding the exposure triangle: ISO.
As a new landscape photographer, one of the things you need to know about your camera is ISO. It measures how sensitive your camera’s image sensor is to light.
If you set your ISO to a lower number, your camera becomes less sensitive to light. This means your resulting image will be darker. But if you set your ISO to a higher number, your camera becomes more sensitive to light, making your image brighter.
However, there’s a catch! As you increase your ISO, you may start to notice some “noise” or “grain” in your photos. This can make your photos look less sharp and less clear. That’s why it’s generally best to use the lowest ISO possible when taking photos.
So, in summary, ISO is a way to control how sensitive your camera is to light. By using the lowest ISO possible, you’ll get the clearest, sharpest photos with the least amount of noise.
Aperture
The next element when it comes to understanding the exposure triangle is the aperture. This refers to how wide you open up the diaphragm in your lens, which controls how much light enters your camera’s sensor.
Aperture is measured in “f stops”, which can range from large to small. A large or open aperture, such as f/1.4, lets in a lot of light to the sensor, while a small or closed aperture, like f/22, doesn’t let in very much light at all.
But aperture does more than just control the amount of light. It also determines how much of your landscape will be in focus in your shot. With an open aperture, only a small area will be in focus, while a closed aperture will keep more of your landscape in focus, from the foreground to the background of your photo.
So, to sum up, aperture controls the amount of light and the depth of field in your photos. It’s measured in f-stops and a larger f-stop (smaller aperture) will give you more depth of field while a smaller f-stop (larger aperture) will give you a shallower depth of field.
Shutter Speed
The final element in understanding the exposure triangle is shutter speed. It’s a mechanism that controls how long light is allowed to pass through the sensor. When you press the shutter button, it opens, light hits the sensor, and then it closes again.
Shutter speed refers to how long you leave the shutter open for. This determines how much light enters your camera’s sensor. The longer you leave the shutter open, the more light will be allowed in. For example, a fast shutter speed like 1/1000th of a second won’t let in much light at all. But a slow shutter speed like 2 seconds will let in a lot more light.
Understanding shutter speed is important because it can affect the look of your photos.
With a fast shutter speed, you can freeze action and capture sharp photos even when there’s movement.
With a slow shutter speed, you can create a sense of motion and blur, which can add a creative effect to your photos.
To summarise, the shutter controls how long light is allowed to pass through the sensor, and shutter speed determines how much light enters the camera. A faster shutter speed will freeze action, while a slower speed will create a sense of motion.
My Tip: I have to say that this is the element that I adjust the most. Yes, you need to have an aperture where you get as much in focus as possible for landscape photos. But, it is the shutter speed that shows the motion in your images.
Understanding The Exposure Triangle: Shutter Speed + Aperture + ISO = Exposure Triangle
To create the perfect exposure for your landscape photos, you need to balance ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. This is key to understanding the exposure triangle.
The three elements that make up the Exposure Triangle work together to determine the amount of light that enters the camera. By adjusting them, you can control the exposure and achieve the look you are aiming for in your photos.
To achieve a sharp landscape photo, you would typically want to keep your ISO as low as possible, which may require you to use a slower shutter speed. If you do use a slower shutter speed, however, it’s important to use a tripod to avoid camera shake and blur.
For example, if you’re shooting a landscape in bright daylight, you may want to set your ISO to the lowest possible (usually 100 or 200), your aperture to a mid-range value (such as f/8 or f/11) to ensure a good depth of field, and your shutter speed to around 1/250th of a second to capture the scene without motion blur.
In low-light conditions, such as during sunset, you may need to adjust your settings to let in more light. You can increase your ISO to 400 or 800, use a wider aperture (like f/2.8 or f/4) to create a shallow depth of field and blur the background, and set a slower shutter speed (like 1/60th of a second) to capture more light and achieve the desired exposure.
It’s important to note that these settings will depend on the specific lighting and conditions of the scene you are shooting.
For a sharp image front to back, you would typically want an aperture between f/8 and f/16.
This will ensure that the entire image is in focus, from the foreground to the background. Experimenting with different combinations of ISO, aperture, and shutter speed will help you achieve the desired exposure and create stunning landscape photos.
Remember that these settings are not fixed and will depend on the specific lighting and conditions of the scene you are shooting. Therefore, it’s important to experiment with different combinations of settings and practice until you get the hang of it.
Ultimately, mastering ISO, aperture, and shutter speed will allow you to create stunning landscape photos that capture the beauty and atmosphere of the scene.
So, that’s the theory, let’s get to putting this into practice when you’re out in the field.
Now that you understand the exposure triangle in theory, you need to learn how to combine them to achieve the photo you’re aiming for.
Each situation will be different, but utilising the following tools in your camera you’ll be well on your way to capture the images you’re looking for.
To get started you will need to check the lighting conditions and know if there are dark shadows or bright highlights to manage. This will impact where you start from.
We will use the example of a seascape at sunrise to demonstrate how you would create an evenly exposed image.
Let’s begin with our starting camera settings that I use as a base of all my landscape images:
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/11
Shutter speed: Varies.
This is what will be adjusted to achieve your ‘correct’ exposure.
For a full rundown of all my recommended camera settings, check out this complete guide:
So, how do you know which shutter speed is the one you need?
There are three main ways to gauge this. These are your LCD Screen, the Exposure Meter, and the Histogram.
LCD Screen
While your LCD Screen gives you a real-time ‘picture’ of what your photo could look like, it is the least accurate.
This can be the result of having your screen set too bright or dark. It can also be because the screen itself is backlit. This means that it can look brighter than it really is, particularly in low light.
Exposure Meter
If you look on the back of your camera (and you are in manual mode of course), you should be able to see a graph at the bottom that looks something like this:
This is your exposure meter and shows one way that your camera works to capture what it thinks is the perfect shot. Your camera will try and set its meter so your photo comes out ‘medium grey’ or average. As noted by the centre or ‘0’ in the graphic above.
Think of it this way – if black is totally dark and white is super bright, then medium grey is right in the middle.
So, when your camera is looking at a scene, it’s trying to help you get the right exposure that’s not too bright or too dark, but just right in the middle.
But the camera doesn’t always get it right!
For example, if you take a picture of a bright, sunny beach scene, your camera might think the picture is too bright and try to make it darker by decreasing the exposure. But in doing so, it might make the photo look too dark and lose some detail in the shadows.
Similarly, if you take a picture of a dark, dimly lit forest, your camera might think the picture is too dark and try to make it brighter by increasing the exposure. But this could make the photo look too bright and washed out, losing detail in the highlights.
This is where your histogram comes in.
Histogram
A histogram is a visual representation of the tonal values in your image.
At a glance, it enables you to see the amount of dark, light and midtones present in an image.
You can use it to tell if an image is well exposed. This is more accurate than your camera’s screen as it doesn’t change based on the screen brightness, or the conditions you are viewing it in.
Basically, you check the histogram to check that your image contains values from the shadows right through to the highlights.
Ideally, you don’t want the graph pushed right over to either the right or left side.
Spikes to the left show that these parts of your image have no detail left in the blacks. Spikes to the right show that those parts of your image have no details left in the whites.
This means that there is a loss of details in those areas of your image. You are trying to achieve an exposure where there are no spikes on either edge of your histogram.
If you see your histogram spiking to the left, you should try increasing your exposure. You will do this by either using a longer shutter speed, reducing your aperture number, or increasing your ISO.
Alternatively, if you see your histogram spiking to the right you need to reduce your exposure. To do this you will either shorten your shutter speed, increase your aperture number, or decrease your ISO.
Creative Exposure
Exposure is not just a technical aspect that needs to be set correctly; it’s also a creative tool that can significantly enhance the overall impact of your images. When it comes to photography, getting the right exposure can make a big difference in the final result, especially when photographing moving subjects like water or clouds.
Adjusting your camera’s shutter speed is one way to control the amount of motion blur in your photos. Slow speeds create a blurred effect, while fast speeds give you a sharper image.
You can achieve a longer exposure by using a Neutral Density Filter, or shorten in by increasing your ISO.
But exposure can be much more than just getting the right settings. It can also be a creative tool that allows you to convey your vision and mood. For instance, using a longer exposure time can create a sense of calmness or a dreamy effect, while a shorter exposure time can create a more dynamic and energetic feel.
Before you start taking photos, it’s essential to have a clear idea of what you want your images to look like.
Having a vision in mind can help you achieve the desired results and make your photos look even better during post-processing.
With practice, you can master the technical aspects of exposure and use it creatively to create stunning photos that showcase your unique perspective. So, don’t be afraid to experiment with different exposure settings and filters to get the perfect shot.
Conclusion
This article has been all about understanding the exposure triangle. Now it’s time to put your knowledge into practice and experiment with different settings to capture stunning landscape photos.
Remember, getting the right exposure isn’t just a technical aspect of photography – it’s also a creative tool that can enhance the overall impact of your images.
By mastering the art of exposure, you can capture breathtaking backlit scenes, dramatic silhouettes, high-key effects, and more.
So, go out and explore the beautiful landscapes around you, and don’t be afraid to play around with your camera’s settings to achieve the perfect exposure.
I hope you found this guide helpful in understanding the fundamentals of exposure in landscape photography.
