ImageCreator Loc: Northern California

For several months I've been trying to master manual exposure. My initial challenge is "what exposure " to start with.I'm getting closer to getting it right the first time. Usually, I still need to fine tune the image. What I really like about shooting manually is the control over the image. Admittedly, I am slow at the manual exposure process, but hey, what's the hurry?

Does anyone have any wise insight to shooting manually?

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Use a lightmeter to get you in the ball park. Even better, if your camera has a live histogram use that for exposures that are not using a flash gun.
Be aware of how lightmeters work (ie: is it an"average" scene?) and evaluate the scene when making your decisions.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

Yep, I tend to keep my camera is Program mode for quick and total control over the image. But I shoot a fair amount of older manual glass and in that case I usually switch to Aperture priority obviously.

Full manual is needed if using external flash, but if you're going to use the meter/exposure aids in the camera then manual doesn't typically provide control over the camera settings that isn't otherwise available using the semi-auto modes. The only thing I can think of would be if you had to work very quickly in changing light and wanted to make sure you had a fixed exposure regardless.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

I look at the subject and decide what aperture I want to use, sometimes that's a function of the lens already mounted, but usually I already selected the lens for the aperture and focal length I plan to use for the subject / situations.

Say I want to use f/5 for a given situation, I'd also like to stay at the lowest ISO possible. So, I adjust the shutterspeed to obtain a sharp image or raise the ISO to get the shutterspeed needed for the composition.

Finally, as mentioned on your question about metering mode, I also want the meter to read +0.7 to +1 in most every situation. So, the f/5 with ISO-100 may not matter whether I'm at 1/500 or 1/320, except the slower speed serves to push the meter to the right.

I don't 'judge the light' deciding what exposure is needed. Rather, I decide my artistic intent via the aperture and focal length of the lens. I adjust the shutterspeed and ISO to use that pre-selected aperture.

For some people it seems shutterspeed is their primary driver, others it seems to be shoot at ISO-100 or don't shoot at all. The aperture is the driver for me, whether in manual or aperture priority or even with a manual aperture lens on a mirrorless where I always set the aperture first and adjust from there.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Practice. Don’t give up.

I would recommend fixing ISO to eliminate one variable. Outdoors in daylight 200 is good.

With ISO set to 200. SUNNY 16 rule says f16 1/200. If cloudy use f8 1/200. You can start there.

flip1948 Loc: Hamden, CT

Doesn't anyone use the sunny 16 rule anymore? I used to use it all the time when shooting slide film.

It worked best if the sun was behind you fully illuminating your subject. Then you started with a shutter speed equal to 1/ISO at f/16 and adjusted from there. Using ISO 100 Fujichrome it would be:

1/100 (1/125) at f/16
1/250 at f/11
1/500 at f/8
1/1000 at f5.6
1/2000 at f/4 etc.

If I was using my Sigma 600mm f/8 mirror lens to shoot shore and wading birds I could automatically use 1/500 shutter speed. 1/2000 if I were using ISO 400.

If it was overcast I would use my hand-held incident light meter. I used that to also verify the sunny 16 a couple of times and it was in full agreement.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Ha ha read my post directly above yours. LOL.

AJFRED Loc: Alabama

Just keep doing it. Pretty soon it will be nearly second nature.

pauldh Loc: Melbourne, Australia

One suggestion I've read, if you have time, take a shot in Auto and read the exif data to get your settings in manual and go from there.

Quixdraw Loc: x

Hey, maybe you can find a crank mechanism to replace the starter motor on your car. Everyone shot manual for a long time because that is what there was. Interesting to me is that the same gurus who help market the highest tech cameras frequently advocate stepping back to a simpler time. Obviously there is learning to be had by shooting manual if you haven't grown up with it over decades, but other than in very rare situations, the technology will successfully smooth your path.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I think you would do well by focusing on one subject, perhaps a shirt or piece of cloth. Place that in the sunlight and take several test exposures. Keep your ISO at a fixed value and only change aperture or shutter speed. Make notes as to what you did and were thinking. Then process the images and see which works for you.

Just going out and banging away at random subjects won't really accomplish much, as a more disciplined approach to testing is needed.
--Bob

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

This is a reasonable way to start to learn how / what the camera does when picking the exposure. Note using Program is somewhat to exactly the same, depending on whether you have the ISO in AUTO (the camera's AUTO) or the ISO fixed.

Alphabravo2020

This advice will set you free.

Why should there be a correct ISO? Do you want your subject to be a moody profile against an amazing background? Do you want the background blown out and your subject properly exposed? If your subject is very dark naturally or has both very dark and very light areas, then you get to decide if you want to crush the blacks or blow out the highlights.

I mostly use spot metering and just place it on whatever part of the subject I want to use to set exposure and then crank the ISO dial to suit. For me this is particularly important if the model has dark skin. The camera will almost never get it right if I use some kind of AI metering and the poor subject will suffer.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

If you are shooting in broad daylight Sunny 16 (1/ISO seconds at f/16) works fine. It almost guarantees that you won't blow the brightest highlight in a cloud, white bird, white cloth, white flower, etc. See Cloud show yesterday morning.

You will probably want to open up a stop or more to avoid diffraction or get to your lens's sweet spot and that means increasing the shutter speed accordingly - f/11 @ 1/800s ISO 400 works equally well for digital and film.

Manual exposure mode in broad daylight has never failed for me. I usually use about 0.3 stops less exposure - f/11 @ 1/1000 ISO 400 - even if there are no clouds or other white stuff in the scene.

When the sun is not shining directly on some part of the scene I might add some exposure based on Expsure Value in the "Tabulated exposure values" section.

I don't Intentionally expose to the right (ETTR) because in broad daylight there is no benefit - the shadows are not noisy at low ISO (unless you pixel peep).

In more unusual lighting situations highlight warnings are more reliable than the camera's meter. With most cameras you have to chimp to see them but some Sony models can display Zebra warnings before you trip the shutter. You just need to know how close you are to blowing the raw highlights when the warnings begin. I used Sony's Zebra warnings to figure out the exposure for After Sunset because the camera's meter would have screwed it up.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

I use one "rule" that works for every image. Never overexpose any important highlights. I am not talking about rim light when you are shooting a subject that is backlit, or specular highlight reflections on water. But if you are shooting a bride in a white dress, next to a white wedding cake and the groom dressed in a black tux, make sure you expose the cake and the dress correctly.

Your camera's meter is immensely helpful, especially if you use it's spot meter function.

In the above example, I would point the spot meter at the white dress, and use a camera setting that adds 2 stops (or more if your camera has more highlight "headroom") more exposure. This would allow the most amount of exposure without losing the details/texture in the dress and the cake.

This would be the opposite of what I would do with a hand held spot meter used with negative black and white film. I would find the darkest feature that I wanted to retain detail in, and adjust the meter's suggested exposure settings for two to three stops less light. This would ensure that my shadows would not be completely black. Manipulating developer temperature, concentration and "time in the soup" would help reveal the shadows (thin areas on the negative), while suppressing the development of the highlights, for a more balanced negative.

This works for any scenario. Post processing can always reveal shadows, but overexposed highlights are typically unrecoverable.

In addition to the spot meter, you have two more tools - the overexposed highlight indicator, or "blinkies" which will reveal areas that are overexposed as blinking, and the image's histogram. Keep in mind that if you are recording images as raw files (highly recommended for maximizing the dynamic range of an image) these two tools use the camera-generated preview, which is based on a jpeg version of the image, and will have narrower dynamic range. When you look at the histogram of the image in your processing program, if you maximized your exposure based on the in camera histogram/blinkies you'll find that you might have been able to use a little more exposure without risking overexposed highlights.

Hope this helps.