TechniqueLesson 4 of 8 · 20 min · 5 reading, 15 doing
The short version
Your camera tries to make every scene a middle brightness. When a scene is mostly white or mostly dark, that's wrong. Exposure compensation (±) lets you nudge it: plus for brighter, minus for darker.
Why the camera turns snow grey
Inside every camera is a light meter: it measures how bright the scene is and sets the exposure. The meter can't tell a white wall in shade from a grey wall in sun. So it assumes every scene is average, somewhere between light and dark, and makes it come out that way.
For most scenes this works beautifully. For two kinds it doesn't:
Mostly bright scenes (snow, a white beach, a white wall, a bride's dress) come out too dark and greyish.
Mostly dark scenes (a black cat, a dark stage, a night street) come out too bright, and blacks look washed-out grey.
You know the snow should be white. The camera doesn't. Exposure compensation, marked ± or +/−, is how you tell it.
The exposure compensation scale. +1 lets in twice the light the camera wanted; −1 half. Many cameras go to ±3 or ±5, but ±2 covers almost everything.
Reading the scale
Each whole step on the scale doubles or halves the light. The small marks between are usually thirds of a step, so +⅓ and +⅔ come before +1. Some cameras use halves instead. Photographers call each whole step a stop; Module 5 uses that word a lot.
Thirds matter. +⅔ is often all a pale scene needs, and a full +2 is a big change.
Which way to turn
Scene
What the camera does
Try
Snow, white sand, a white wall
Too dark; whites look grey
+1, up to +2
Person in front of a bright window or sky
Face too dark
+1 to +2, or Lesson 5
Everyday street, park, room
About right
0
Sunset sky
Colours look pale
−⅔ to −1
Black cat, dark stage, a lamp in a dim room
Too bright; blacks look grey
−1 to −2
A simple rule: compensate in the direction of the scene. White scene, plus. Dark scene, minus.
Mostly white. The meter would make this grey; plus keeps it white.
Mostly dark. The meter would lift this to grey; minus keeps it black.
Black against pale. The bright background pulls the meter down; a little plus keeps detail in the fur.
How to set it
Most cameras: press the ± button and turn the main dial, or on some cameras hold ± while you turn. Watch the marker move along the scale on the screen.
Cameras with a ± dial: just turn it. Some Fujifilm, Sony and Nikon bodies have one on top.
Phones: tap the screen to focus, then slide the brightness control that appears. On iPhone it's a sun icon beside the focus box: drag up for brighter, down for darker. Most Android phones show a similar slider.
± works in P, A and S. In full Auto it's often locked, and in M it only works when Auto ISO is on (Module 9).
1
1 A dedicated exposure compensation dial on a Fujifilm X-T5, marked in thirds.
White on white: a good test scene. Try 0, then +⅔, then +1⅓.
Common mistakes
Leaving ± set. On many cameras it stays where you left it, even after switching off. Set it back to 0 when the scene changes.
Going too far. If the brightest parts turn to blank white with no texture, come back a third or two.
Judging on the screen in bright sun. Screens look darker outdoors. Module 15 shows a better way to check.
Quick checkYour photo of a white wedding dress looks dull grey. Which way do you turn ±?
Plus. The camera made the white dress a middle grey. Start at +⅔ or +1 and check that the dress keeps its texture.
Tip
With an electronic viewfinder or a screen, you see the change before you shoot. Turn ± until the view looks right, then take the photo.
Try it now · 15 minutes
Set P. Find ± and practise turning it to +1, back to 0, to −1, back to 0, watching the marker.
Put a white mug or sheet of paper on a white or pale surface. Photograph it at 0, +⅔ and +1⅓.
Put something dark on a dark cloth or jumper. Photograph it at 0, −⅔ and −1⅓.
Compare each set. Which version looks most like the real thing? Note the number.
