The internal meter in your camera is always trying to balance your settings to create what it thinks is a proper exposure. In the “mind” of the camera meter, it thinks that everything is balanced if it is gray.
For most subjects, such as light skin tone and green grass, the meter is going to create an accurate exposure. But what happens when you are photographing something very dark? That’s when you need to intervene.
How in-camera metering works
If you have your camera set to Aperture Priority, then the camera is choosing the shutter speed based on what setting will balance the exposure in the scene. This works the same (but in reverse) for Shutter Priority. And, if you are shooting in Manual mode, then you choose both settings with the goal of moving that dial to the center of the meter.
Underexposing … for the perfect exposure
My preference for much of my photography, especially when hand-holding my camera, is to set it to aperture priority mode and set the ISO to “auto.” Most of the time the shutter speed is not as important (so long as it is fast enough to handhold the camera), and I’m not overly concerned with the ISO when I have enough light. Instead, it is the aperture that is the creative and intentional choice in my images.
So when I photographed a pile of blackberries at the farmers market, my camera decided that the scene was too dark and needed to be balanced to get closer to that gray tone that it loves so dearly.
To compensate for this and balance the exposure, I needed to underexpose the scene. So I moved the exposure compensation dial to -1 and photographed it again. This time, the camera adjusted the ISO automatically (it reduced it from 2000 to 1000), and the exposure was spot-on and balanced.
You can even see the change in exposure on the histogram. In the second (properly exposed but darker) image, the histogram is pushing more to the left. Because the subject is dark, then this histogram is appropriate for this scene.
If you are photographing in Manual mode, instead of changing the exposure compensation, you would just change either your shutter speed, ISO or aperture to push the meter’s dial toward the left.
The opposite is true where a large bright white area might be involved. You’ll have to over expose for the white to look white.
Thank you, I didn’t know what aperture mode meant. I love taking photos.
Great little blog Nicole! I have an X-T1 and amazingly, I have not touched the expresser compensation. You explained it very well !
Always handy when photographing backlit subjects. Your camera reads the dark shadows of the backlit subject, exposes too high and blows the sky out to white. A little underexposure cures the problem. It’s always good to look at the histogram when in doubt, and/or to look for the blinking parts of your image on the back of the camera to see what, if anything, was overexposed.
Super helpful article! I’ve had my DSLR for a year now but just recently started photographing in non-auto mode. I’ve experimented with overexposure to create that bright and airy look – great to see how to use underexposure as well.
This article contains great advice. I have an X-T1 with an XF 50-200mm zoom lens which has been mal-functioning. In fact, I have shipped it off to Fuji for repair or replacement. The aperture mechanism was sticking, often causing over-exposures in either auto or manual mode. Only manually shifting the shutter speed dial or the exposure compensation dial enabled me to use the lens. These experiences deal with similar exposure issues you describe, but in a different way and for a different purpose. Don’t you love the easy way you can adjust shutter speed or exposure compensation on the X-T1.… Read more »
Nice and true!!
I’m confused, I don’t understand why there should be a difference between the two photos. If you set -1 exposure compensation and the ISO drops from 2000 to 1000 then the drop in ISO surely cancels out the exposure compensation adjustment meaning the two photos ought to look the same, if the ISO was not on Auto but at a fixed 2000 then setting -1 exposure would render a darker image. Please tell me I’m not going mad!!!!!!!!
There is a difference between using the EV compensation and just making an adjustment to a normal setting (ISO/Aperture/Shutter speed). By changing the EV, I am telling the camera that I want all of the other settings to ensure that the image is either UNDEREXPOSING or OVEREXPOSING the scene. Yes, your other settings will change (such as the ISO) when you do this, but that is to compensate for the underexposure/overexposure. For example, if I have my camera set to: 1/125 sec, f/2, ISO 800 If I move the EV compensation to -1, the exposure changes to: 1/250 sec, f/2,… Read more »
thanks for sharing.
This article contains great advice. I have an X-T1 with an XF 50-200mm zoom lens which has been mal-functioning. In fact, I have shipped it off to Fuji for repair or replacement. The aperture mechanism was sticking, often causing over-exposures in either auto or manual mode. Only manually shifting the shutter speed dial or the exposure compensation dial enabled me to use the lens. These experiences deal with similar exposure issues you describe, but in a different way and for a different purpose. Don’t you love the easy way you can adjust shutter speed or exposure compensation on the X-T1.… Read more »
Great little blog Nicole! I have an X-T1 and amazingly, I have not touched the expresser compensation. You explained it very well !
The opposite is true where a large bright white area might be involved. You’ll have to over expose for the white to look white.
Thank you, I didn’t know what aperture mode meant. I love taking photos.
Super helpful article! I’ve had my DSLR for a year now but just recently started photographing in non-auto mode. I’ve experimented with overexposure to create that bright and airy look – great to see how to use underexposure as well.
Always handy when photographing backlit subjects. Your camera reads the dark shadows of the backlit subject, exposes too high and blows the sky out to white. A little underexposure cures the problem. It’s always good to look at the histogram when in doubt, and/or to look for the blinking parts of your image on the back of the camera to see what, if anything, was overexposed.
Nice and true!!
thanks for sharing.
I’m confused, I don’t understand why there should be a difference between the two photos. If you set -1 exposure compensation and the ISO drops from 2000 to 1000 then the drop in ISO surely cancels out the exposure compensation adjustment meaning the two photos ought to look the same, if the ISO was not on Auto but at a fixed 2000 then setting -1 exposure would render a darker image. Please tell me I’m not going mad!!!!!!!!
There is a difference between using the EV compensation and just making an adjustment to a normal setting (ISO/Aperture/Shutter speed). By changing the EV, I am telling the camera that I want all of the other settings to ensure that the image is either UNDEREXPOSING or OVEREXPOSING the scene. Yes, your other settings will change (such as the ISO) when you do this, but that is to compensate for the underexposure/overexposure. For example, if I have my camera set to: 1/125 sec, f/2, ISO 800 If I move the EV compensation to -1, the exposure changes to: 1/250 sec, f/2,… Read more »