Step into the exposure triangle and learn how aperture, shutter speed and ISO work together to enhance the quality of every photo you take.
Whether you’re new to photography or need to brush up on your camera’s settings, dive into our guide and take your photography to the next level.
The exposure triangle is a popular method that professional photographers use to connect the three main variables (aperture, shutter speed and ISO sensitivity) that govern the look of an image. Creating a stunning photograph is about balancing these three elements.
Aperture regulates how wide your lens opens, shutter speed controls the time your shutter is open, and ISO controls the sensitivity of the digital sensor. To get the most out of the exposure triangle, it is important to find the right setting balance to achieve the desired effect. Balance is the crucial thing to keep in mind - if you change one setting you have to change another, thus compromising on one effect to achieve another.
This guide to the exposure triangle gives you just that, taking you through the basics of each setting and giving tips on how you can set up your camera for particular shots. We’ll cover everything from shallow to deep depth of field, from still to moving subjects and from dark to light.
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To make the most of the exposure triangle and to challenge your skills, you’ll need to take your camera out of fully automatic mode and set it to manual. For this guide, we’ve also disabled flash to rely wholly on the natural or available light we had when taking the example photos. Disabling flash is not only a challenge worth setting yourself, but it also makes you aware of the interplay between each of the camera’s main settings of aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
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