If you wished there was a way to guarantee a good exposure, look no further than your camera's histogram. This "mountain range" graph is available on all digital cameras in playback mode and in shooting mode on some cameras.
When you have an average brightness subject, a good exposure shows the histogram roughly in the middle, left to right.
If the histogram is pushed far to the right and blocks up against the side, your picture is too bright or overexposed.
If the histogram is pushed far to the left and blocks up against the left side, your picture is too dark or underexposed.
So check the histogram occasionally as you are shooting to be sure your exposures are spot on.
To learn more about the histogram and other helpful camera settings, check out my one-day Getting to Know Your Digital SLR Camera class on February 24, 2018, in Missoula, Montana. Any camera that allows you to switch lenses is appropriate for this class. Click here to register online.
When you have an average brightness subject, a good exposure shows the histogram roughly in the middle, left to right.
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| Histogram mostly in the middle indicates a good exposure for the scene above. |
If the histogram is pushed far to the right and blocks up against the side, your picture is too bright or overexposed.
 |
| Histogram shifted far to the right indicating overexposure for the scene. |
If the histogram is pushed far to the left and blocks up against the left side, your picture is too dark or underexposed.
 |
| Histogram shifted far to the left indicating underexposure for the scene. |
So check the histogram occasionally as you are shooting to be sure your exposures are spot on.
To learn more about the histogram and other helpful camera settings, check out my one-day Getting to Know Your Digital SLR Camera class on February 24, 2018, in Missoula, Montana. Any camera that allows you to switch lenses is appropriate for this class. Click here to register online.