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- Aperture, ISO, and shutter speed are all a part of the ‘exposure triangle.”
- Aperture controls the amount of light that can enter your camera.
- Shutter speed controls the duration of the exposure or how fast the shutter moves.
- ISO controls how sensitive your camera’s sensor is to different amounts of light.
- Aperture affects depth of field, shutter speed affects motion blur, and ISO affects image noise.
- The camera’s shutter determines when the camera sensor will open or closed to incoming light from the camera’s lens.
- A faster shutter speed means less exposure to light when you are taking your photo.
- Aperture settings are measured in f-stop values.
- A decrease in f-stop value means an increase in the lens opening leading to more exposure/light.
- Every time an f-stop value decreases by half, the opening increases by 4/quadruples.
- Lower f-stop values correspond with shallower depths of field.
- Lower ISO speeds are always desirable as compared to larger values/speeds of aperture and shutter speed.
- Image noise can also be referred to as film grain.
- Some digital camera exposure modes include Auto Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, and Bulb.
- Some cameras have pre-set modes such as portrait, sports, landscape, and night/low-light.
- In auto exposure mode the camera automatically selects all exposure settings for you.
- In Aperture Priority mode you specify the aperture and ISO, but the camera finds the corresponding shutter speed for you.
- In Shutter Priority mode you specify the shutter speed and ISO, but the camera determines the corresponding aperture for you.
- Some cameras come with additional features such as autofocus points, metering modes, autofocus modes, etc.
- Common ISO speeds include 100, 200, 400, and 800 but many cameras permit lower/higher speeds.
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