Control exposure and motion
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The idea in everyday life
Choose aperture, shutter speed, and ISO based on the visual result rather than leaving every tradeoff to automatic mode.
Exposure is a triangle of tradeoffs: light, motion, depth, and image quality move together.
One step at a time.
Use the sample or information you have permission to use. Keep your work as you go. You can pause between steps.
- 1
Photograph one stable subject while changing one variable at a time to see depth, motion, and noise differences.
- 2
Set shutter speed first when you need to control motion blur. Set aperture first when you need to control how much of the scene is in focus.
- 3
Raise ISO only as needed to reach the required shutter and aperture in available light.
- 4
Check test photos, the light meter, bright areas, and the histogram—a graph of image brightness. Keep important detail even if the meter is not centered.
See how it works.
Ava freezes flying flour at 1/1000 second, opens the lens, and accepts a higher ISO because sharp motion matters more than perfectly clean shadows.
Did you cover these?
- Your work includes an exposure comparison grid with settings, predicted effect, actual result, and chosen working ranges.
- Check this common mistake: Using a low ISO at all costs and accepting motion blur or camera shake that destroys the intended subject.
- For a new scene, you can name the creative priority and choose a defensible starting shutter, aperture, and ISO.
What to finish
An exposure comparison grid with settings, predicted effect, actual result, and chosen working ranges.
Watch for this
Using a low ISO at all costs and accepting motion blur or camera shake that destroys the intended subject.
How can I tell I understand it?
For a new scene, you can name the creative priority and choose a defensible starting shutter, aperture, and ISO.
Quick knowledge check
Answer all 3 questions. Get at least 2 right and the lesson completes automatically.
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Answer all 3 questions above and get at least 2 right. You can review the explanations and try again.
Go to the knowledge checkOptional course overview video · same video as Lesson 1
Photography Basics in 10 Minutes
From David Manning. Watch here or open it on YouTube .
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