Jmcurrysr Loc: Georgia

I realize that this might be over simplifying the exposure triangle for my students...but when teaching beginner photogs, I suggest to them to take a photo in auto, check it for their liking, pay close attention to the settings and then switch to manual and adjust settings appropriately. It helps them get a starting point. Of course, this works best in subjects that are stationary and the light isn't rapidly changing.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Have them watch JP Morgan's excellent explanation of the ins and out of the exposure 🔺.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZcQlesuj2I

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Jm, your approach makes more sense to me than the advice to randomly "play with settings" that I sometimes see mentioned How old are your students, how many have you instructed this way, and what have you found are problem areas or drawbacks to this approach?

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Based on some recent experience, I've decided that the best approach to teaching the exposure triangle is simply not to do it...at least not at first. Think back to your math classes and how much trouble most had when trying to learn how to handle two unknowns (and two equations). Then when required to handle three unknowns in three equations, things really blew up. (I don't know if it is OK to call this "blowing a head gasket" or not, but I'll do it anyway.)

My suggestion is to simply pick a convenient ISO and set it...maybe 200 outside or maybe 640 or 800 inside. On second thought...I wouldn't even say that. I'd really say pick ISO 200 and go outside. Indoor lighting is too complex and too difficult to see what is really going on. Forget ISO and worry just about aperture and shutter speed. One at a time. Fix one and set exposure using the other, then swap. Don't even mention using shutter speeds to freeze motion or apertures to control depth of field. Neither has anything to do with exposure. Let the poor struggling folks have a fair shot at managing the amount of light entering the camera without confusing them with stuff that has nothing to do with that job.

Now come inside and let everyone discover that they are having trouble taking pictures because their cameras are not sensitive enough to the light. They cannot find a reasonable combination (or even "unreasonable" available options) that will allow them to accomplish an acceptable exposure inside. Guess what? That is a perfect opportunity to discuss the camera's sensitivity. And oh, by the way, there is a little knob here (or a menu choice, or whatever), that will let me make my camera more sensitive. NOT A WORD about grain or noise. Just this little knob or this menu choice that can make my camera more sensitive to light. And guess what, there are some numbers associated with that knob or menu that be helpful in telling me about how much more sensitive I am making my camera. And WOW! When I change that, it can have some effect on what shutter speeds and apertures I might use. I wonder if there is a way to tie this all together? Eventually, you can talk about the cost of that added sensitivity. TANSTAAFL, you know. (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.)

Once aperture and shutter speed are well understood, then talk about the other things. And guess what? They will see, just like magic, that everything is related to everything else. Some of it directly, some of it more like "sort of."

As photographers, we are, I believe, guilty of forcing ourselves to try to immediately understand everything. That's not being fair to ourselves. It puts stress on us that we really shouldn't have to live with. And when we do it to others...well...it's really just cruel, if you think about it.

This is my approach. I only talk about the exposure triangle later, and only for about 5 seconds, and only so they will recognize what they are seeing if they run across it later. But they don't really need it, because they understand the parameters and the interactions much more deeply than just looking at a picture.

Now I know...we are old. We are set in our ways. If we learned something in a particular way, then the next person must learn it the same way, because there is no reason that they should escape the pain that we went through. This is really a pretty smart group here. I'd like to see us break the cycle (or the chain, or whatever it is).

BebuLamar

You can teach the exposure triangle and in fully manual as the first class. Just don't use the term triangle. Don't bother with exposure comp or metering technique for the first class.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

I agree with Larry, don't teach 'exposure' at all to a beginner, just auto everything, including AUTO-ISO. The camera knows how to do exposure. Teach them instead how to hold the camera and how / where to focus. If they need to turn a dial, teach them how to find the scene settings and some comparative examples of how the scenes help the camera adjust the images better than full auto. A beginner needs to learn more how to compose and move / frame an image, certainly they should be encouraged to create images different than eye-level from a distance. Worrying about exposure has nothing to do with encouraging this skill / technique.

Photography is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do.

Jmcurrysr Loc: Georgia

Actually exposure is not taught for some time. One of the first things we teach is the history of photography and the history of the camera. We also look at the masters of paint and how they conquered light.

I basically use my curriculum from My time at University of Michigan and Bob Jones University.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

I think it would be more effective to have the students shoot in one of the priority modes (with fixed ISO). That way they can better observe the relationship between shutter speed and aperture - how the change of one effects the other. In auto, it would be much harder to demonstrate the relationship. After some time, have the students make adjustments to the ISO as well.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Tell them about the Professional Mode ...

usnret Loc: Woodhull Il

Could not agree more! No camera in the world can move the big green dumpster in the background out of the picture.

usnret Loc: Woodhull Il

Like your new avatar picture Linda! Both the old and the new highlight your intelligent deep blue eyes.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Jmcurrysr excellent approach you are using. You are letting the little orientals in the camera to do a lot of preliminary teaching... they are smart cookies.

Trick is suppressing the background behind a flower by using a flash... the daylight just does not have time to properly expose the sensor so the flash is the main light. The rule of square of distance is demonstrated by using a projector and a white "screen" and projecting a square... very small and very bright close and very large and dim at a distance.

IQ is not the critical thing; the student with a low-cost camera can do wonders if the "composition" and subject matter is done well. A great free online book combines art and psychology.
Photographic Psychology: Image and Psyche
http://truecenterpublishing.com/photopsy/article_index.htm

Demonstrate how cropping can narrow the "story"

When you teach you learn... do enjoy.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

When I taught beginning photography I spent 1/2 the class on composition and seeing a good image, and what made a good image. When giving any assignments I allowed them to use what ever exposure principals we covered.
My emphasis was always seeing the final image before shooting.

Tomfl101 Loc: Mount Airy, MD

When it comes time to to teach ISO you might try explaining it as though ISO is like the volume dial on a radio. Where as shutter and aperture are mechanical mechanisms that let more or less light strike the sensor, ISO just lightens or darkens electronically. And similar to a microphone set too far away from a voice, if you turn up the volume to compensate you get more and more noise as volume is raised.

UTEP65 Loc: Lake Royale, NC

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