Digital Exposure Essentials

Getting the exposure right is at least as important when shooting digital as when shooting film

Staff

Published April 1, 2007
Updated June 30, 2016

In order to have a proper exposure, how much light needs to hit the image sensor of your camera when you press the shutter release? This is the basic question of exposure, and two factors determine the answer: ƒ-stop and shutter speed. You can let the camera choose these for you or choose them yourself in one of your camera’s manual modes. Either way, the amount of natural light at your location must first be measured—and measured accurately.

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