Over/Under exposed???

[amara_shadow]

can someone explain over and under exposed to me please? And what will happen to the photos if they are either under or over exposed. And how to avoid it happening I guess.

Thanks in advance

 

[Tiberius47]

Over exposure is when too much light enters the camera, making the pictures look too bright. Under exposure is the opposite, when not enough light comes in, and the photos will be very dark.

In both these cases details can be lost, and you can't get them back. To avoid it, use the histogram on a digital camera to tell you if the image is properly exposed or not.

 

[amara_shadow]

Thanks for that - have had a couple of photos that have been overexposed - lots of white light in the picture, and a couple that are underexposed - should have mentioned that I am using a film camera as well.

 

[playswithlight]

In that case, if you don't believe what the meter in your camera is telling you, just bracket your exposure and do one stop up and down on either side, that way you're safe.

 

[amara_shadow]

I haven't quite worked out the meter with my camera yet - perhaps should look at working that out.

 

[dermit]

Also realize that depending on what you are shooting with... film, slide, negatives, digital, will also dictate what dynamic range your image can capture. Negative film will see more range than slide film, or digital will for example. So there can be situations where you will need to choose between exposing for the shadows or for the highlights.