5. Photo brightness

Beginners feel that the term "Exposure Compensation" is a jargon, which leads them to hesitate using the function. To put it simply, the function is used to correct (adjust) the brightness of the photo. How to set this function varies depending on the model, therefore, read the manual of your camera. What you should do is set a positive or negative value, which is common to all cameras.

<01>
Turn the mode dial to the "P," "A," or "S" position. Most models disable the exposure compensation function in the automatic or image program mode. The "M" mode prohibits you from using this function.

<02>
Select the exposure compensation function and check the number of the setting. In Nikon D-series cameras, the button is adjacent to the shutter release. Press it. If your camera is in the automatic exposure mode, " 0" appears on the display.

<03>
Take a test shot of any subject near to you. Make sure you can photograph it normally.

After selecting the function, use the control dial to change the value, and then take a picture of the same subject with the same composition.
Does the second photo look different? For comparison, display them on the monitor of your camera or on a PC screen.

<04>
Exposure compensation: +1.0

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The photo is brighter.

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Exposure compensation: +2.0

<07>
The photo is still brighter.

The larger the value, the brighter the resulting photo. The photo gives the impression as if it was taken in a bright location exposed to strong illumination.
This is the magic of the exposure compensation function.

Many cameras allow you to set an exposure correction value in steps of 0.3 or 0.5. The adjustment range varies depending on models: the narrow range is up to ¡Þ2 while some models have wide range as ¡Þ5. Check how much the images will change at the upper and lower limits of the value. Well, now let's set a negative value for the exposure compensation.

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Exposure compensation: -1.0

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The photo is darker.

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Exposure compensation: -2.0

<11>
The photo is much darker.

Do you understand now? Though the brightness of the subject itself is the same, the resulting photos become bright or dark just by correcting the value of the exposure compensation.

Many users have experienced taking a too-dark photo of a white subject. Japanese women may complain about their portraits because their white faces appear to be darker than in reality. The reason is that the subject is white, which makes the resulting photo denser (darker).
To reproduce such a white subject with high fidelity, you must set a positive value for the exposure compensation.

<12>
Set a positive value for the exposure compensation, for example, +2.0.

<13>
The white flower with a white background makes the resulting photo darker than expected.

<14>
The photo is brighter than what is seen with the naked eye.

Contrary to the photo of a white subject, that of a black subject becomes brighter than in reality-it is a grayish picture. In this case, the resulting photo does not often seem to be failed because gray may give you a better impression than black.
If you want to reproduce the black subject with high fidelity, you need to set a negative value for the exposure compensation. This setting results in an image full of premium accents and stateliness.

<15>
Set a negative value for the exposure compensation, for example, -2.

<16>
The black camera and background make the resulting photo brighter than you expect.

<17>
Black is denser than what is seen with the naked eye, resulting in an image with stateliness.

The function that automatically adjusts the brightness of the resulting photo is called "Automatic Exposure" (AE). Brand-new cameras have the latest AE function designed to bring the brightness of the resulting photo close to that of the real subject.
However, the camera relies only on the light emitted from the subject to adjust the exposure, that is, it has no means to determine whether the shooting place is bright or the subject is white.
Accordingly, when photographing a white subject the camera wrongly determines that the place is bright, it makes automatic adjustments so that the resulting photo becomes darker. This is the reason why the white subject photo is dusky.
On the other hand, when photographing a black subject, the camera wrongly determines that the place is dark and makes automatic adjustments to brighten the resulting photo. Therefore, the dark subject appears brighter in the photo than to the naked eye.

<18>
The white subject reflects many light rays. Therefore, the camera decides incorrectly that the location is bright and adjusts the exposure to darken the resulting photo. This is the reason why the photo of a white subject looks too dark.

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The black subject reflects fewer light rays. Therefore, the camera decides incorrectly that the location is dark and adjusts the exposure to brighten the resulting photo. As a result, the black subject is brighter in the photo than in reality.

I am afraid that you might feel that the exposure compensation is troublesome.
Please rethink about it, though. The automatic exposure function is excellent, and it makes it unnecessary to correct the exposure in most scenes. You may, however, need to correct the exposure only when you feel that the resulting image is a little too dark or too bright.
The important thing is that the brightness of the resulting photo can be adjusted by changing the exposure setting, rather than depending on the brightness of the shooting site.
To put it another way, the exposure compensation gives you the chance to take a unique photo. It is not an exaggeration to say that most good photographers take full advantage of this function. Please become familiar with it.

The word "Histogram" is a term used in statistics and is also known as distribution chart. Digital cameras display a graph showing the brightness distribution of an image displayed on the monitor, this graph is called a histogram.
If using a Nikon D-series camera, you press the multi-selector in the image playback mode to display the histogram.
It is helpful to determine the exposure objectively as the graph shows the brightness of image in objective terms. However, viewers subjectively determine whether the brightness of a photo is good or not, unless the photo is for academic use. Do not rely only on the objective data given by the histogram.

<20>
Press the multi-selector in the playback mode to display the histogram. If the displayed photo is bright, a peak appears on the right side of the histogram.

<21>
When the displayed subject is neither white nor black, a peak appears in the center of the histogram.

<22>
When the displayed subject is black, a peak appears on the left side of the histogram.

The histogram mode is followed by the highlight mode. In the latter mode, the pure white part of an image on the screen blinks in black and white.
If you set an extremely positive value for the exposure compensation, or if the photo includes the sun or a lighting device, the blinking area increases.
Such blinking area is called a highlight. It is completely blank-no image data. This means that when you modify the picture with an image processor (retouch software), you can do nothing about the highlighted area.
Accordingly, it is essential to correct the exposure to minimize the highlighted area as best you can. Note, however, that the reduction of highlights may cause another problem, for example, the whole image becomes too dark.

<23>
Highlight mode. Only the center of the screen is black (highlight).

<24>
The higher the exposure correction value, the larger the highlighted area.

Here, I would like to describe functions helpful for exposure compensation. If you understand the mechanism of exposure compensation, you will take full advantage of these functions. Different models provide different operations. For in-depth information, read the manual of your camera.

<25>
Press the menu button to display commands, and then select and set them one by one.

<26>
Automatic Bracketing
With this function, multiple photos are taken in series while the exposure is changed in a phased manner. For example, if the center value is +1, three photos are taken with exposure correction values of +1, 0, and +2. Note that different models have different setup methods.

<27>
Exposure Metering System
This system specifies which part of the screen is used to adjust the brightness of a photo. The option "Multi-Pattern Metering" divides the full screen into several parts and finds the brightness based on that of each area. This option is useful when used in the fully automatic mode. The option "Center-Weighted Metering" gives priority to the brightness of the screen center and also considers the average brightness of the whole screen. It allows you to correct the exposure intuitively. The option "Spot Metering" uses the brightness of the screen center only. It makes precise measurements.

<28>
Step interval of exposure compensation
You can switch the adjustment interval of exposure compensation to either 0.3 or 0.5. I recommend that beginners use steps of 0.5.