After discussing most of the basics of exposure, let’s take a look on some common exposure errors that frequent our photographs when we rely on automation too much.

Problem 1: Underexposure of Subject in Front of Bright Background.

We often shoot indoors and it is logical that we place our subjects near the window or whatever large lightsource we may see available. Due to the significant coverage and intensity of the bright background, our camera meter tends to put a little more bias towards correctly exposing the bright scene instead of our subject, causing an underexposed photograph of our subject.

Solutions: By metering the subject only, we can ensure that the subject is correctly exposed and allow the rest of the scene to just complement the subject instead of taking over the subject.

We can choose a smaller metering pattern such as a spot meter, or use auto-exposure lock on the face of the subject instead of just allowing the camera do make the decision.

Problem 2: Shaky, Blurry Photograph of a Still Subject.

When we photograph a stationary subject, such as a building, for instance, any blur that we see in the photograph is caused by us, the photographer, as the structure we’re photographing doesn’t move.

Solutions: Stabilize the camera to keep it steady and use a faster shutter speed.

The first photo in Figure 2 used a slow shutter speed due to a small aperture and low ISO setting of the camera, the second photograph used a wider aperture and higher ISO which allow us to get a much sharper image. The camera was also stabilized a little by propping my elbows on the table while holding the camera, acting as a pseudo tripod.

Problem 3: Not Enough Areas of the Subject are Sharp.

The third problem is common when we use longer lenses and/or lenses that allow a wide aperture opening. Many of us get too addicted with wide aperture usage and it often cause our photographs to not have adequate depth-of-field (DOF) to keep all the necessary details in focus.

Solutions: Use a smaller aperture, use a wider focal length, and/or increase distance between subject and lens.

Figure 3 shows the difference between shooting at an aperture of f/4 versus a shot taken with f/16. The second image shows more details and kept all the elements of the classic scooter in focus, while the first image failed to keep even the branding in sharp focus.

As a photographer, we should have a keen eye on making sure how much of the subject needs to be in focus and not get carried away with selective focusing.

Problem 4: Distracting Background

In an ideal world, every photo we take will have a perfect, complementary background, whether it’s plain or complex. In reality, the world is a messy place and there may be cases where we cannot avoid moving the camera or our subject around for a less cluttered background.

Figure 4 shows an identical scene with the clamp as a main subject. The first photo shows all the distracting elements in the background because of the small aperture we’ve chosen. At f/16, most of the background elements remain clear enough to cause the viewer’s eyes to wander around the frame.

The second photo uses a wide aperture of f/2.8. The large aperture reduced the depth-of-field considerably and we can see that much of the background elements are blurred out. Some of the elements, such as the hanging incense burner cannot even be identified in the second photo.

Problem 5: Lack of Motion Depicted.

While we often strive to take the sharpest photo we can take, many images that require us to depict motion, frenzy, excitement, and speed would look really stale and static when the elements in the photograph are frozen solid.

Looking at the two photos in Figure 5, the faster shutter speed image on the right shows a man carrying an elaborate structure strapped and hooked around his body with bystanders looking on. The image itself documents the scene but fails to show anything spectacular happening.

The second image captured the man jumping up and down and the amount of blur shows the intensity of his movement. Couple with an appropriate caption mentioning to the viewer that the structure is actually pierced onto the man’s flesh made the motion even more significant for the photograph.

These are very basic exposure related problems that occur in many day-to-day scenes that we shoot. By keeping an eye on our subjects and our photograph’s intended purpose, we can capture a scene the way we, the photographer, intended, not the way the camera thinks should be captured.

It is wise to start off with the camera’s suggested exposure combination as a starting point, digital photography provides us the chance to review what the camera suggested as an exposure using the LCD and we can make the necessary exposure alterations we need to get our desired output.

The camera has no knowledge of which element in your viewfinder is the subject, neither can the camera determine how much (or how little) areas in the scene should be kept in focus, or whether or not you want the subjects to be blurry or sharp. By understanding exposure control we can make these decisions appear as we want them to in our photographs.

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