rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

doclab88 Loc: Baldwin Wisconsin

God I hope nobody takes offense at this, me being a newbie and all, but isn't that WHY we need to understand exposure? I have read posts here and everyone says we need to understand exposure so we can get the shot right the first time. Thats why I stand in the same spot and shoot the same thing with different settings so I can try to learn and understand what I am doing.

gessman Loc: Colorado

I would never disparage handheld meters after using them for the past 45+ years but there is a lot cheaper way to practice with settings than buying a light meter and you see results in real time without putting any wear and tear on your camera. In my humble opinion, this is the greatest tool in understanding exposure to come along in a long time: http://camerasim.com/apps/camera-simulator/

Obviously this tool permits much more understanding than just the exposure triangle. You can work with depth of field, distance to subject, focal length, etc... Be sure and read below the simulator. There are apps for Apple and Android so this can be on your phone and in the field with you for dry runs before unpacking the camera. There are also more sophisticated versions of the simulator that I have not looked at but I would hope they would permit the input of other focal length lens greater than 55mm which is tops for the free simulator. Anyone interested might want to go to the main page and look the entire site over rather than just going to the free simulator. It is at http://camerasim.com/

tradergeorge Loc: Newport, Kentucky

Even though I have been shooting for over 50 years, I recently read Peterson's book and got quite a bit out of it. Yes, I knew all the material pretty well, having had it drummed into me at each turn over the years. I think the value in this book is that it puts a fresh twist on all our old friends, i.e. aperture, ISO, shutter speed, as well as many of the camera settings that affect output. I found his take on which ones were important and which could be safely minimized quite interesting and informative. This is NOT a book to be "thumbed through" while preoccupied with other things. It is a book to be read in detail with an open mind.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I agree with you. There is a slight nuance, however, between understanding exposure and understanding the use of exposure. Most utilize the understanding of the use exposure. The understanding of the use of exposure produces good images.
--Bob

fjrwillie Loc: MA

I purchased Understanding Exposure about a month ago. The book finally got me to enter the M (Manual Mode) on my D5100. For the $20 I learned something in the first 5 pages and had an Ah Ha moment. It was then so obvious to me.

I started the thread on "Got Stopped Last Night". It was the book Understanding Exposure that got me to go out that night to the carnival, so it is Bryan Petersons' fault. J/K of course.

You all recommended the Art of Photography. I have read about 3 chapters so far and almost decided to sell all of my equipment and find another hobby.

I have read Understanding Exposure from cover to cover and now I need to go back and re-read as I apply the techniques. I will say while I understood all of the concepts and how the triangle works, it did solidify what I have learned so far. It was money well spent

Willie

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

That is great - but one problem you might face is that if you are comparing results from changing settings, available light might have altered surprisingly quickly. The exposure triangle (shutter speed, aperture and iso) can each compensate for changes in light, so you will need to decide which of the three to adjust, and that will depend on the type of picture you are taking. I am no pundit, but when you next experiment, try taking one pic with your guestimated settings, and then immediately swap to auto and take another. When you download to your computer compare the EXIF data as well as the two pics. Others here may say I've given bad advice - hope I haven't :-)

doclab88 Loc: Baldwin Wisconsin

No, I don't think you have given bad advice. That is exactly what I started out doing! In fact I posted 2 pictures here on the forum to ask advise on this. It is only 4 clicks on my camera to change to auto, real fast. I wish that auto mode was the first click above manual instead of effects mode. Then it would be easier to switch back and forth. But, I guess when I learn better to shoot in manual it wont matter where the auto mode is as I wont really need it, right?

Rongnongno Loc: FL

I was aware of this simulator but could not find again (did not bookmark it - my mistake). Thank you.

Bram boy Loc: Vancouver Island B.C. Canada

[quote=Whuff]Ever since I joined UHH, I've seen countless recommendations of Bryan Peterson's book to newbies. I always thought I'd get around to buying it but never did and to be honest, I'm not really a book kind of guy anyway. The other day I was in a bookstore and saw it while waiting for my wife to finish up and took a look through it expecting revelation after revelation. They just weren't there. Everything in it, I've seen other places, mainly on websites I surf, and since like I said, I'm not really a book kind of guy, I found videos on one of my favorite sites that are far more entertaining to watch and that I could pause while I checked out settings on my camera that provide the same information. I realize I may receive a lot of sniping for saying so, but I was disappointed that there really wasn't info that I hadn't heard before.
quote :
your right there is not much there if you been at this long . but for people just
entering photography . where every thing is new It's worth while

canon Lee

I am dyslectic so reading is tedious to say the least. My reason for learning photography was as an advocation to my art career. I had the horror of doing my first wedding and I was surprised at how inept I was. I went to work part time for LifeTouch doing school photos. I got my first lessons/experience there, and followed it up working for a photographer in his studio. I learned the why's and how's from him. That was a decade ago. I must say that YouTube has helped fill in the specific spaces in my knowledge. Now I am not concerned with taking a PERFECT shot, as there is no such thing, but get it close and depend on post editing programs to bring it up to my clients satisfaction. I have no advice for the new bee, but to shoot a thousand pictures and then read or you tube to get specific help with the trouble spots. It is amazing how much you can learn by experimenting.

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

I learned about exposure as a kid. In fact, I did so much reading before age 18 that I became totally burned out on reading books as an adult. Now that I'm back into photography and have a variable ISO (gain) parameter added it's that much better. I still have a few decades left to fine tune my composition and read up on that - lots of good info on the internet, short videos and articles.

Ralloh Loc: Ohio

I tend to agree. It is well written and has a lot for someone just starting out, although as you said, you can find the same info if you just look for it. Personally I just didn't learn anything new from it.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

There are tons of photographers "out there" with terrific cameras and many of them are stuck in Auto and Program modes as well as JPG files and they only know how to manipulate cropping in whatever program they use. They are stuck because they just "get by" with what they consider acceptable photographs. I encourage people in conversations regarding photography to read Peterson's Understanding Exposure to help show them that there is much, much more they can do in photography. I don't tell them they are doing something wrong but I encourage them to explore new possibilities. When I see a photograph that someone has made I look for a story they are trying to convey and I enjoy seeing photographs they have made. I spend more time than I should on FaceBook and I really don't enjoy the photographs someone has re-posted made by some polished professional. I want to see something they have made.

There are many HOGs that have vast experience and knowledge equal to many of the writers producing books for the public. I enjoy learning from these HOGs. Can you remember when you knew next to nothing about photography or exposure in general? Shutter duration is a pretty easy concept to grasp. F/stop isn't easy for a new person and neither is ISO, noise, bracketing, focus stacking or panorama. Depth of field, bokah, rule of thirds, exposure value, white balance, histogram and on and on. New people or people new to photography don't know these things that many of us take for granted. When we slam a book like Peterson's they may think that it's no good so they'll continue to struggle. In my opinion, it is a starting point that opens their minds to all the wonderful possibilities that good photography has to offer.

A fellow once told me to meet people where they're at.

Whuff Loc: Marshalltown, Iowa

There has been a lot of discussion here since I was last able to log in. I won't try to respond to it all but I will respond to this one by saying NO, NO, NO! Some folks may be okay with putting their camera on auto and love it that way but I think I may have taken one shot on auto the day I unboxed it. Perhaps you may have just been trying to make a point but I would never advocate using auto mode to anyone. That simply would turn my T3i into a real nice point and shoot.

Walt