} Over Exposure. 

This one is for DSLRs and uses Manual mode.

Maybe it’s the rain this today, but this seems like a good project to start experimenting with as we head into the summer. It’s a year-round technique, but one you have to practice with — and I mean practice — in order to not lose what you intended to capture in the first place. Summer can be the easiest time to screw it up (and I have, oh boy, I have) so mastering it now gets all that hard work done and over with.

Over exposing an image with a digital SLR is tricky; you don’t want to blow out the pixels completely (this gives a blank white spot in the image, particularly horrid on faces) so the challenge is to apply just enough control on the camera but not overdo it, essentially creating light that isn’t there.

There are two ways to control the exposure on your image at the point of shooting; with the settings (ISO, shutter speed and aperture) or/and with the exposure bracket. I tend to rely on the former, but the latter can be just as useful and even put into play in modes other than ‘manual’.

Because many camera models will have you arrive at adjusting the exposure bracket differently, I’m going to say to defer to your manual for the how-to there. Once you’re there, it’s easy; one way over exposes, one way under exposes. The desired results are subjective so have fun with it!

Manual | 1/80 @ f/3.5, ISO 640

How to get this image here? This is done in ‘manual’ controlling the shutter speed (1/80, for example), aperture (f/3.5, for example) and ISO (640, for example). To correctly get that photo, I would probably have done a recipe of around 1/200 @ f/3.5 with an ISO of 400. If 1/80 is going to be slow of a shutter speed, you can try increasing the ISO or opening the aperture more (if possible). 

It’s by no means a perfect-perfect image, but therein lies the trade off. I’m getting some blur on Isla’s arm. I’m getting a mixed exposure because we still had light coming in from the left through the window. And I’m noisy in the corners, and losing pixels in Hamish’s shirt stripes. 

But… This photo makes me think of a dreamy Saturday morning without a care in the world (even if it was nearing bedtime on an otherwise chaotic day) so I’ll take the cons for the pro. 

Your results will be varied based on your preference for how light or dark a photo is. 

Photos done with an eye for over exposure also look nice in black and white, with sometimes dramatic contrast you might not otherwise get from a perfectly balanced shot. I then upped the contrast a little more like the contrast-junkie I am. 

Start to experiment around the house with everyday photos until you get the hang of it. Once you’ve found the combinations that suit your style the most, mix it into your shooting rotation as a sure-thing refresher for those albums.