Expose Yourself

Exposure in this context is all about how much light you let into the lens. In almost all cases you want a light setting that will create the most natural looking shot possible. It is possible to retrieve an under-exposed shot in editing, but get it over-exposed and it’s on the floor. Exposure is measured with the “F” settings on the camera, the lower the number the more light is allowed into the aperture. So a frame taken in F1.8 is going to be much brighter than one taken in F11.

Exposing manually involves zooming in to the subject until it fills the frame. Then turning on the auto-exposure feature on the camera, the switching back to manual. Then zoom out and reframe the shot as you like. This allows the camera and you to gauge the amount of light that looks natural on the subject.

Keeping the exposure setting on manual once you have completed the process will give you full control, unless you’re in a situation where it may be difficult to adjust. If filming outside, be aware of the weather, and any changes to it as you film. If the sun comes out you are going to have to quickly adjust the exposure to maintain the quality. The picture quality can be improved somewhat in editing, but you should plan on getting it right on the day.

Auto exposure is okay indoors as it calculates the average brightness and works best in places where the picture has low contrast and average tones. Brightly colored surroundings can excite the auto exposure a little much, but most places are fine with it.

Auto isn’t so good in a changeable light situation. Outside especially, especially if it’s a bright day with a few clouds for example. If the sun suddenly appears from behind a cloud, auto-exposure can sometimes have trouble adjusting for it. This is why it is better to manually adjust in these situations.

The eye is a good judge of exposure. As described above you can use auto-exposure to get a reading on what to use, but then check the viewfinder and check if the setting works well on the eye.

A good checklist to have when sorting your camera settings is to start the camera with auto-exposure turned on. Then set gain to zero and shutter speed to at least fifty. Add neutral density in bright light or no neutral density in low light conditions. Follow any prompts the camera gives, then check manually with the eye and adjust as necessary. Cameras are clever, very clever but as the eye will be watching, the eye should decide.

In a low contrast scene the determining factor is the skin tone of a human subject or surface tone if an object. In a high contract scene the job is a bit harder because some of the picture will be light, and other parts dark. This can be avoided either by avoiding those kinds of scenes or by changing the contrast setting, then the exposure.