Videos

Good photographs begin by understanding the principles of light, and knowing how to manipulate camera settings to arrive at a correct exposure. In the video below, you’ll learn how to set shutter speed, aperture, and ISO properly to achieve exactly the result you want.

This tutorial is Part 2 is in a series of lighting lessons by Christian Tudor of the Academy of Photography. In this episode, Tudor uses simple illustrations to explain the relationship between how a camera works and the basics of exposure control. While Tudor’s tips are intended for beginners, even the best of us can use a quick refresher on occasion.

Tudor begins by explaining similarities between the functioning of a camera sensor and the human eye, using an example of rain falling into a series of small containers—with each image pixel corresponding to a single container filled with light. He then illustrates how lens aperture, shutter speed, and ISO interact to create the final exposure.

Tudor notes that while a camera’s Auto exposure mode often works fine, it’s sometimes necessary to take control of exposure settings yourself if you want optimum results. And this tutorial shows you how.

You can find more interesting tips on the Academy of Photography YouTube channel. And be sure look at another photo primer we posted recently, explaining how white balance settings affect the quality of photographs.