I've been struggling with getting proper exposure in my photos, especially when the lighting changes throughout the day. Sometimes my shots come out too dark, other times they're completely blown out. I know there are photography exposure tips that can help, but I'm not sure where to start.
I understand the basics of shutter speed, aperture, and ISO, but putting them together in real situations is challenging. Like when I'm shooting indoors with mixed lighting, or during golden hour when the light changes so quickly.
What are your go to photography exposure tips for handling tricky lighting? Do you use exposure compensation a lot? How do you decide when to prioritize shutter speed over aperture?
For tricky lighting situations, one of my favorite photography exposure tips is to use spot metering instead of evaluative/matrix metering. Spot metering lets you meter specifically for your subject, which is especially helpful when there's a big difference between subject brightness and background brightness.
Also, don't be afraid to use exposure compensation constantly. I have my camera set up so I can adjust it quickly with my thumb. If your subject is backlit, you might need +1 or +2 stops. If you're shooting snow or a bright beach, you might need -1 stop to prevent blowing out highlights.
When I'm dealing with mixed lighting, I find that prioritizing shutter speed is usually best if there's any movement involved. A slightly noisy photo is better than a blurry one. But if everything is still, then I'll prioritize aperture for depth of field control.
One photography exposure tip that helped me a lot: learn to read histograms. Don't just look at the image on the back of your camera - check the histogram to see if you're clipping highlights or shadows. The LCD screen can be misleading, especially in bright sunlight.
For golden hour when light changes quickly, I use auto ISO with minimum shutter speed limits. This way, the camera adjusts ISO automatically while I control aperture and shutter speed. Set your minimum shutter speed based on your focal length (like 1/125s for a 50mm lens) to avoid camera shake.
Another photography exposure tip: bracket your exposures in high contrast scenes. Take one shot exposed for highlights, one for shadows, and one in the middle. You can blend them later or just have options. Modern cameras make this easy with auto bracketing features.
I shoot a lot of indoor events, and my go to photography exposure tip for mixed lighting is to find a consistent white balance source. Sometimes I'll use a gray card or even just find something neutral in the scene to white balance off of.
Also, don't forget about using flash creatively to balance exposure. Even a little fill flash can help when your subject is in shadow but the background is bright. Just dial it down to -1 or -2 stops so it looks natural.
One photography exposure tip that transformed my landscape work: expose for the highlights in high contrast scenes. It's usually easier to recover shadows in post than to bring back blown highlights. Use your histogram to make sure you're not clipping the right side.
Also, learn the sunny 16 rule as a starting point. On a sunny day at f/16, your shutter speed should be 1/ISO. So at ISO 100, shutter speed 1/100. This gives you a baseline to work from even if you're not shooting at f/16.