Do the same with a dark faced animal (is where I first noticed the power of exposure compensation) but this time turn the exposure down 1/3rd, 2/3rds and 1 stop. Actually shooting and reviewing results is where you learns what works for you. Exposure compensation is used to alter the exposure value selected by the camera in situations where the camera’s metering will be fooled by conditions. Exposure compensation is used to alter exposure from the value suggested by the camera, making pictures brighter or darker. Manual mode doesn’t allow for exposure compensation, because you adjust aperture, shutter speed, and ISO independently; Auto mode doesn’t allow for exposure compensation because it does everything for you. On the other hand, if we dial +1 EV, we will end up with a brighter image and the shutter speed will be halved, resulting in a brighter image: When shooting in Shutter Priority mode, using the exposure compensation feature will impact the camera’s aperture instead of shutter speed. We also share tips and provide free courses helping everyone become a better photographer. And the – symbol indicates decreased brightness. Most mid-range cameras with manual-controls and a single control-dial use this to their advantage where the EC button switches between controlling aperture and shutter-speed in Manual mode. Dial in some negative exposure compensation to keep the photo sufficiently dark. To understand exposure compensation (also known as EV), you must understand the basics of exposure: Exposure is the level of brightness in an image. I am sometimes annoyed with all the talking about technology and not enough about technique but… I am currently working with two Oly EM5II bodies always in aperture priority. And you’ll be able to capture perfect exposures, consistently. Nikon D5100 Macro photo with flash issues. Or it might choose a shutter speed that’s too long, resulting in an overwhelmingly bright photo. A) That silhouette shot was terrific!! But first, it helps to have a good understanding of exposure, which is the sum total of the three most important settings in all of photography: shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. And your camera will select a shutter speed that will produce a good exposure. That’s where negative exposure compensation comes in handy. In this article, we will go over what exposure compensation is on a digital camera and how you can take advantage of it to make adjustments to your exposure when shooting in camera modes such as aperture priority, shutter priority, program mode and other scene modes of your camera. So here’s a basic step by step process for using exposure compensation: First, you take a photo, letting the camera’s meter do the exposure work. Say the proper exposure for a given scene as judged by the light meter is 1/500 sec @ f/5.6. Although there is no such thing as “proper exposure” for every scene due to the fact that we as photographers often pick relative brightness of the scene depending on what we are trying to portray (such as intentionally darkening an image to highlight silhouettes, as in the image above), there are cases where one can make exposure adjustments using the exposure compensation feature in order to get the best out every image. Be warned that this is not a beginner technique by any means though, as it requires shooting in RAW vs JPEG to get the best results. Look for a button with the +/- icon, or turn the wheel on the back of your camera. Alternatively, with the exposure compensation function, you can stay in auto mode but can tell the camera to allow more light in, often by increments of one-third of a stop. This allows for manual corrections if you observe a metering mode to be consistently under or over-exposing. In Manual, you set the ISO, aperture, and shutter speed yourself. I could not set any exposure compensation for my situation. At these settings the light meter indicator is smack in the middle, at 0. You misunderstand how exposure compensation works. Be prepared to experiment and try out different amounts of exposure compensation. In modes P, S, and A, the camera automatically adjusts settings for optimal exposure, but this may not always produce the exposure the photographer intended. Nasim, I own a bridge camera Fujifilm s7000 (2003 year). Note: if you are wondering how different metering modes impact your images, please see our detailed article on Camera Metering Modes. Unless one has Auto ISO turned on, exposure compensation will do absolutely nothing in Manual mode. Again, using the exp comp dial will only bias the exposure if you're in auto exposure modes. No, that is not at all correct. This is negative exposure compensation, and it will cause your camera to darken the photo. You see, your camera thinks that all scenes should be middle gray–and it uses this understanding to select exposure settings. PhotoWorkout is an online photography magazine. If an image appears to be dark, you dial a positive number (+EV), whereas if the image appears to be bright, you dial a negative number (-EV). And if so, why do you have to bother with exposure compensation in the field? A nice article, clear and well illustrated! But just be careful and make sure to check the exposure on your camera’s LCD. Your email address will not be published. While this works out quite well in most cases, one might experience overexposure or underexposure in more challenging lighting conditions, where the camera meter might be adjusting the exposure too aggressively. There will be an indicator on the scale that shows where the exposure compensation adjustment is. Well put simply it allows you to incrementally adjust the camera’s exposure around the default reading that meter is giving. With the EVF set to changing brightness with the exposure and the histogram showing, exposure compensation always lets me re-center the histogram very quickly while exploring different compositions. If you are having a hard time finding the exposure compensation button / dial, please check your camera manual for details. Take a look at the below sample chart, where we will try to adjust exposure using exposure compensation in aperture priority mode: Dialing in -1 EV via exposure compensation will increase the shutter speed from 1/250th of a second to 1/500th of a second, while keeping the aperture constant: This essentially darkens the image, since there is less light hitting the sensor. So you can never know for certain that your camera is going to overexpose or underexpose–just when it probably will! One of these will likely let you work with the exposure compensation feature, but if not, take a quick peek into your camera’s manual. This bias can be set to achieve either more or less exposure than usual, and the result is an image that is either slightly brighter or darker than would otherwise be the case. 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