Photography For Dummies : The Exposure Triangle

On the new year eve,I manage to somehow confuse a new photographer by explaining to him from a-z about the exposure triangle,on how it relates to each other but seriously by the end of that conversation I can hear cricket sound coming from him..hahaha..Ok here how it goes, Aperture,Shutter Speed and ISO are the three main elements that need to be considered when playing around with exposure and its known as ‘The Exposure Triangle’..

Each of the three aspects of the triangle relate to light and how it enters and interacts with the camera.


The three elements are:

ISO – the measure of a digital camera sensor’s sensitivity to light
Aperture – the size of the opening in the lens when a picture is taken
Shutter Speed – the amount of time that the shutter is open

It is at the intersection of these three elements that an image’s exposure is worked out.
Most importantly – a change in one of the elements will impact the others. This means that you can never really isolate just one of the elements alone but always need to have the others in the back of your mind because as I said earlier it relate to each other..

The Exposure Triangle

Methapor to help you digest The Exposure Triangle..

There are many methapors out there to summarize the exposure triangle but honestly this one that I read last time when I first started shooting is always in my mind.


The Window

Imagine your camera is like a window with shutters that open and close.

Aperture is the size of the window.If it’s bigger more light gets through and the room is brighter.

Shutter Speed is the amount of time that the shutters of the window are open.The longer you leave them open the more that comes in.

Now imagine that you’re inside the room and are wearing sunglasses.Your eyes become desensitized to the light that comes in (it’s like a low ISO).

There are a number of ways of increasing the amount of light in the room (or at least how much it seems that there is. You could increase the time that the shutters are open (decrease shutter speed), you could increase the size of the window (increase aperture) or you could take off your sunglasses (make the ISO larger).

Ok – it’s not the perfect illustration – but you get the idea.


Controlling The Exposure Triangle...


Mastering the art of exposure is something that takes a lot of practice. In many ways it’s a juggling act and even the most experienced photographers experiment and tweak their settings as they go(test shot). Keep in mind that changing each element not only impacts the exposure of the image but each one also has an impact upon other aspects of it (ie changing aperture changes depth of field, changing ISO changes the graininess of a shot and changing shutter speed impacts how motion is captured).
The great thing about digital cameras is that they are the ideal testing bed for learning about exposure. You can take as many shots as you like at no cost and they not only allow you to shoot in Auto mode and Manual mode – but also generally have semi-automatic modes like aperture priority and shutter priority modes which allow you to make decisions about one or two elements of the triangle and let the camera handle the other elements.

Well,trust me.Only time and experience will make you master the art of exposure,even myself is still learning.I'm going to upload few post later on so keep following the blog..

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Photography For Dummies : The Exposure Triangle