Digital Cameras and Lenses

As most beginners and amateurs will discover, there are some curious frustrations that come along. Of these, the most common are taking a photo on a bright day of something such as snow only to have it turn out too dark or taking a picture at night and having it turn out to bright. So, why does this occur?

Well, first of all it is important to note that because a lot of the time cameras reproduce more or less what we see with our eyes, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we can just put the camera in fully automatic mode, point, shoot, and get a photo that looks just like what we saw. But this is not always possible, and it is because of the way your camera makes decisions when you press the button.

When you take a picture, unless you are using a fully manual mode, your camera must decide how much light should be allowed to hit the sensor. Too little, and the subjects of the photo might not be properly visible (this is called underexposed); too much, and areas of the photo might just be rendered completely white, with no detail at all (this is called overexposed).

Basically, your camera makes this decision based on the fact that most scenes, most of the time, are a mixture of light and dark tones that average out about the same. This average is called 18% grey. It uses this rule of thumb to work out what combination of shutter speed and aperture to use. However, this breaks down in some situations.

To better explain, let’s look at a common example: taking a photo of a polar bear in the snow on a bright sunny day. You are seeking the ability to reproduce the bright scene you viewed with your own eyes. However, most likely the bear and the snow will appear to be a dirty grey. The reason for this result is that your camera is utilizing its rule of thumb to determine shutter speed and aperture.

The other situation is when you take a photo in dark conditions, perhaps a street at night lit by some streetlamps. Here you want most of the photo to be dark, with perhaps some lighter areas that were illuminated by the streetlights. Instead what you may get is dark areas that are dull brown rather than black, and lighter areas that are overexposed. Again, your camera has assumed this scene, like others, is 18% grey, and has exposed it accordingly.

To capture photos as you see them, you will need to take control of the camera and no longer allow it to make its own decisions. The most common way to do this is to dial the ‘exposure compensation’ setting on your camera. Add one stop for light conditions and decrease one stop for darker situations. In addition, you can try putting your camera in manual mode and trying different settings. This allows you the opportunity to experiment while using your LCD screen until you find the exposure you desire.

Tobias Sterling is a keen photography enthusiast who loves to write and share his photography knowledge online. He does so by contributing his articles including Photography Creative Blur Examples and Photogrpahy Aperture Guide to Clivir.com.

Related posts:

1. Digital Photography Basics You've at last bought your first digital camera. At this...
2. Basic Things You Need To Know About Portrait Photography A portrait, also known as a portraiture, is a photo...
3. Food Photography Top Tips We are surrounded by food photos everyday but we stop...
4. Some Points For Successful Portrait Photos From time to time, people have been the theme of...
5. How To Shop For Shades When choosing the shades that best fit you, three factors...