Starting out in photography exposure just seems to be technobabble. But it’s important for your growth as a photographer to really understand what the f stops/shutterspeeds are doing.

To help with that, at this link is a chart in the form of a .pdf file. Download it, print it, then cut it in two along the thick line.

The lower section displays Aperture, the upper Shutter Speed.

Set your camera to Manual mode. Aperture and Shutter Speed will appear in the viewfinder and/or on the LCD on the top deck of the camera. Turning knobs or thumbwheels will move the Aperture and Shutter speed up or down. Don't worry about anything else just yet. Just set an Aperture and Shutter Speed.

Now look at the chart.

Slide the lower section of the chart over until the aperture you selected lines up with the shutter speed you just selected on your camera. All of the other aligned aperture/shutter speeds combinations will give you the same exposure.

Press the shutter button on your camera to take your picture.

If your exposure choice of aperture and shutter speed resulted in an image that is too dark....slide the lower scale one stop to the left, reset your camera and try again. All combinations of aperture and shutter speed displayed will give you an exposure one stop more than before, resulting in a lighter image.

If your exposure choice of aperture and shutter speed results in an image that is too light...slide the lower scale one stop to the right. All combinations of aperture and shutter speed displayed will give you an exposure one stop less than before, resulting in a darker image.

If you are waaaaay off, it may take more than one stop adjustment to give you a good exposure.

Notice the effect of depth of field is labeled on the aperture scale and the effect of subject motion is labeled on the shutter speed scale. Also notice the ISO scale. It might not be a bad idea to laminate this chart and keep it in the camera bag for a while. In time this will be second nature to you, just like your multiplication tables are now. But until then, it’s okay to use this chart.

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