Digital Photography Tip
Camera basics and a Digital Photography Tip
General Composition
Cameras are becoming increasingly sophisticated with their built-in exposure metering
systems, and it would seem to follow that the photographer have more time to concentrate
on areas such as composition. However, this is often not the case. Unwanted intrusions
confuse and distract the eye; back-grounds that are irrelevant or dominating overpower
the foreground, and foregrounds that should lead the eye into the picture either
occupy too great an area or appear merely because of incorrect framing. All these
faults can be corrected with very little effort and only minimal preparation.
Getting the right exposure
Most cameras today have built-in exposure metering systems. These should enable
the photographer to get the correct exposure every time. However, in many situations
the metering system is led astray by the general level of light, so that the subject
of the photograph is over- or under exposed. This is because many systems take an
average reading of the illumination over the whole frame. If you are photographing
a person against a white wall, or if there is a lot of sky the frame, these big
light areas will have the greatest influence on the meter. Unless you compensate
for this the person will come out underexposed, in extreme cases reduced to a silhouette.
Conversely, if you place a person against a dark background the metering system
will read mainly for this area, and if you do not make an adjustment the person
will come out overexposed.
The automatic exposure lock
This problem can be resolved on digital cameras by using the camera’s automatic
exposure lock. This sets itself when the shutter release is lightly pressed. It
holds the current exposure setting until the release is pressed to fire the shutter,
or until the button is released altogether. So you can go up close to your subject,
take accurate reading from their flesh tones, hold down the shutter release and
go back to your chosen viewpoint for the composition. If you want to take several
shots you will have to follow the same procedure for each one. This is a great Digital
Photography Tip.
Spot Metering
If your camera has a variable metering system, you can use spot metering in such
cases. This restricts the meter to measuring the light falling on a small spot in
the centre of the viewfinder.
Using a hand-held meter
There are two main ways of takings reading with a hand-held meter:
• For a reflected light reading, point the meter at the subject and take a reading
of the light reflected from it.
• For an incident light reading, place a small white disc, or invercone, over the
meter cell. Some meters have a white blind which can be slid over the cell. Hold
the meter against the subject and point it back towards the camera. This gives a
more accurate reading of the light falling on the subject.
Bracketing
Another way of getting the correct exposure is to bracket. For example, imagine
that the metering system is giving a reading of 125 at f/8. If you take one shot
at this setting, one slightly over it and one slightly under, when the film is processed
you can judge which exposure has worked best and make a print from that negative.
Here at Digital Photography Tip we hope you’ve enjoyed this article on digital photography
basics. Why not try one of our other Photography Tips article. Check the menu down
the left of this page.