Understanding Exposure and the Ways to Control It

Exposure can mean an enormous number of things in myriad contexts, by in the world of photography, it only means one thing: the amount of light being used for creating the photograph.

The exposure is so potent that it can change the whole essence of the photograph. Proper use reveals even the most intricate details of the subject. Whereas improper use can darken or brighten the subject to an extent that makes it difficult to fathom the inter-relation among the elements of the photograph.

Belling the exposure cat

So, if exposure is so crucial to a photograph, it is definitely essential to know how it can be controlled. Exposure can be controlled mainly by four factors:

1. Aperture Setting
2. Shutter Speed Setting
3. ISO Setting
4. Exposure Compensation (ev)

Controllers of Exposure

Damage control for wrong exposure

You may not always get the exposure code cracked correctly. And if you are down this path, you will discover the following:

An over-exposed image:

Here, the amount of light used to create the photograph is more than what was required for it. This kind of image will contain blown-out areas or the highlighted portions which have lost the details that it was actually meant to contain.

Under-exposed image:

Here, the amount of light used to create the photograph is less than what was required for it. This kind of image will contain dark or black sections which have lost the details it was actually meant to contain.

However, there is hope still. This silver lining comes in the wake of photo editing softwares. Once taken, the photograph can be subjected to some manipulation before printing. This helps restore the details to some extent. The best option however, is to control the exposure during a take.

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