exposure

ISO in Photography: A Complete Guide

When compared to the other components of the exposure triangle (shutter speed and aperture), ISO appears to be the most intuitive on the surface. It is also the most misunderstood component, and everything from its definition to its usage has been discussed extensively.

Shutter Speed in Photography: A Complete Guide

As perhaps the most important parameter to understand in photography, shutter speed should be one of your first considerations when making a photograph. It’s one of the biggest reasons that photographers might find themselves unhappy with their shots, and having a great understanding of it is crucial to making great images.

Histograms in Photography: A Guide

If you didn’t believe your grade school math teachers when they said you’d use graphs in the real world, you’re about to. In photography, histograms can seem intimidating, but they are incredibly useful tools that are much easier to understand than they appear. Learning about histograms will help you understand exposure, post-processing, and the overall structure of a photograph.

How to Use Bulb Mode on a Camera for Long Exposure Photos

When you hear “long exposure,” you probably think of a shutter speed that’s too slow to hand-hold and produce a sharp image. It might be something like ¼”, or maybe as long as 30”, which is the most common slowest shutter speed in DSLR and mirrorless cameras. However, shutter speeds slower than 30” can be advantageous in many long-exposure scenarios.

What are Blinkies in Photography, and Do They Really Matter?

You're out in the field, having scouted out a new location to grab a landscape vista. You release the shutter button and then chimp the back of the camera to see what you've captured... the sky's blocked out, blinking back at you. You've got a dreaded case of the blinkies, but does it actually matter?

How to Shoot in Manual Mode

In a world of increasing automation, at least photography still offers the opportunity to stay alert, active, and in command. While intimidating at first, shooting in full manual mode provides creative control, proper metering in tricky light, and deeper integration into the entire process of making photos. If you give it time, manual photography can help you craft your best images.

The Sunny 16 Rule in Photography

The Sunny 16 Rule is one of the simplest rules in photography that helps you gain correct exposure. It’s a formula that will tell you what shutter speed to use on a bright sunny day when the lens’s aperture is set to f/16.

Using Water to Explain the Properties of Light and the Exposure Triangle

Photographer Robert Hall recently released a simple-yet-brilliant explainer that uses water to illustrate the properties of light and explain a few concepts that frequently confuse beginners, including: what is a "stop" of light, how do you use the exposure triangle, and how do various flashes and flash modifiers affect your image.

How to Calculate Exposure Time with a 10-Stop ND Filter

Have you ever seen long exposure images shot using 10-stop ND filters? They are visually energetic and dynamic due to the motion blur caused by the moving clouds over a long duration of exposure.

3 Often-Overlooked Tips for Perfect In-Camera Exposures

There is a lot to dive into when it comes to perfecting and understanding exposure. In this video and article (part one of a two-part series), we’ll be covering important in-camera functionalities such as using the Highlight Alert, your Histogram, how to set up Display Brightness, as well as the importance of shooting a flat Picture Style to get the right information.

#NoBudgetNoPhotos: Why Creatives are Fighting Back Against Shutterfly and Others

Photography is an art and a commercial business. As a black-owned, woman-run business, Judah Avenue is both a passion project and an entrepreneurial breakthrough for me. I quit corporate America to pursue my art. As a girl who was born and raised in Ghana, that simply wasn’t something that was ever presented as a viable path for me.

How To Bracket For Perfectly Exposed Landscape Photos

Perhaps one of the more difficult aspects of landscape photography is determining how to properly expose your scene under less-than-ideal lighting conditions. These types of situations are a common occurrence with outdoor photography as it’s often a struggle trying to properly expose an image consisting of a bright sky and a dark foreground in a single image.

This Famed LA Ice Cream Truck Has Started Charging ‘Influencers’ Double

The Instagram "influencer" problem is only getting worse. Two days ago, we shared an email exchange between a pair of wedding photographers who ran afoul of an influencer who wanted a free wedding photography package. Now, a famous LA Ice Cream truck has gotten so fed up, the owner has officially started charging so-called influencers double when they ask for free stuff.

Why Photographers Aren’t Getting Paid

Photographer Jessica Kobeissi made this 5-minute video that has hit a nerve with many of her 1.3+ million followers on YouTube. She shares thoughts on why it's difficult for photographers to get paid fairly for work these days, arguing that by undercutting each other and working for little or no money, some photographers are lowering the bar for everyone else in the industry.

Basics of the Histogram: From Foe to Friend

A long, long time ago, that is, in days of film photography, it was a rather difficult task to learn how to produce properly exposed pictures. There was no instant feedback and the only way to see how good of a job you did exposing the scene was to wait until the picture was developed.

Yes, Apple WILL Pay Photographers for Its ‘Shot on iPhone’ Contest

On Tuesday, Apple launched a new Shot on iPhone Challenge that asks photographers to submit iPhone photos for a chance to be featured in a worldwide marketing campaign. The announcement sparked concern and controversy over whether Apple was asking for photos in exchange for purely "exposure." Apple clarified things today and yes, photographers will be paid.

The Basics of Equivalent Exposure in Photography

The concept of equivalent exposure can be a tricky one to wrap your mind around when you're just getting started in photography. Photography enthusiast and animator Vincent Ledvina of Apalapse made this helpful 5.5-minute video that explains it in a simple and visual way.

Graduated ND Filters vs Multiple Exposures: Which is Best and When?

Using a graduated neutral density (GND) filter is fairly easy and doesn’t require any advanced techniques in post-production, but the easiest option isn’t always the best choice; due to the filter’s transition being horizontal, anything above the distinction will be darkened and anything below will be left alone.

How to Nail Exposure in Film Photos With and Without a Light Meter

In this article, we are going to be talking about 3 different ways you can set the right exposure for film. The biggest thing for beginning film photographers is to learn is how to meter your film properly. For our example today, I’m going to be shooting on Portra 400 and Fuji 400, and the Portra 800.