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| Home > The Over and Under on Exposure |
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How does your camera know what the correct exposure is? Your camera's
exposure system evaluates light reflecting from your subject and
selects an aperture value and shutter speed combination that will
represent your subject in an approximate average tone (not too bright
and not too dark). Pros refer to this as “18% gray.” This
works well for almost all your shooting situations except when your
subject happens to be darker or lighter than an average tone. This is
where it is helpful to apply the following rule of thumb: (-) exposure
compensation darkens the image; (+) exposure compensation brightens the
image. Exposure Compensation:  
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| EV Step located within your camera's customization menu permits you to set the interval to either 1/3, 1/2, or 1 full stop increments. |  |
Overexpose for lightly toned objects or subjects that dominate the scene: Apply exposure compensation on the (over) plus (+) side. |
| Camera's Exposure | Image with +1 Exposure Compensation |
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Underexpose for darker toned objects or subjects that dominate the scene: Apply exposure compensation on the (under) minus (-) side. |
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| Camera's Exposure | Image with -1 Exposure Compensation |
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Although we are using white or black objects in the above examples, the same principle can be applied towards colored subjects. For example, you may need to underexpose to show the true deep blue of an afternoon sky. |
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| Camera's Exposure | Image with -1 Exposure Compensation |
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If you are unsure whether to apply -1, -2, etc., take a few shots and
download them to a computer to evaluate which gave you the best
image. |
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