How Does Exposure Compensation Actually Work? | Ask David Bergman

[@storiesbyad]

Count of " " was so irritating to me....

[@st.michaelthearchangel7774]

Yes. It was very distracting.

[@colmanian]

Yea it really detracted from the useful information

[@foggylake]

Seriously

[@bobporter1681]

Thumbs down just for the counting of air quotes very distracting

[@shmurt11]

Agreed. These “quirks” on free education materials are soooooooo annoying. Gtfo here. Beggars can’t be choosers

[@carlstawicki1915]

I couldn't make it past the 3rd ding.

[@IsaacNYC212]

OMG 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪

[@sg666tri]

I barely managed to the 6th. Most annoying video edit ever. And it cuts in the middle of sentences ruining the good lesson.

[@HejSantos]

Couldn't watch the whole thing because of the annoying "dings" and freeze frame.

[@davewilliamson6798]

Yeah, lower volume and no freeze frame would have made it more watchable.

[@sekhar721]

Totally agree

[@jaypee4288]

Same

[@sutv6754]

LOL, I really got a lot out of the video but yes most distracting. It's common in the world of teaching videos. I suppose the idea is to keep it fun and entertaining but I myself like to get serious and stay in the zone of focusing and learning.

[@chivafut11]

same

[@pammy6irlfox229]

As someone who is prone to migraines the audio quality is just as important as the content. 4 minutes 6 dings and I’m wrenching. Afraid to watch more because it will trigger a migraine. Please adjust the dreaded 🛎

[@robdocherty6122]

Stop the ding. It detracts from the message ANNOYING

[@eyeojo]

Deal with it.

[@AllgoodthingsTv]

Thank you for stating what I've always known but couldn't articulate, which is that if you shoot manually exposure compensation has no value lol. You simply adjust your aperture or shutter speed accordingly (e.g., based on light meter readings or, better yet, what you see on the LCD).

[@lewis1180]

I heard that what you see on the screen is deceptive. You should instead check on the histogram. Is that correct?

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

That's not accurate, at least on cameras I've used. All the exposure compensation does is tell the camera metering system that the scene is brighter or darker than the 18% grey that it typically exposes for. In automatic modes, it will result in changes being made to the actual settings. In manual mode, all it does is change where the indicator is on the exposure meter and leave it to you to make the adjustment manually. As a result, you can get a lot more adjustment than you'd think as you get both the maximum exposure compensation as well as the maximum amount that you can adjust the meter and still be on the display. It's kind of an important detail as sometimes you may need more than the amount of compensation that is available or what you can see within the meter. In manual mode you can just completely ignore the compensation if you like, but it will limit you insituations where you need so much compensation that you're no longer on the displayed meter. And as Lewis suggested, ultimately, it's the histogram that will tell you if you've got the exposure correct. Or at least correct enough for some reasonable adjustment in software.

[@jasonbodden8816]

@@lewis1180 I almost never use my histogram for exposure *shrugs*

[@natestain7103]

That's basically what I have come to figure out. EC only applies to people who shoot Aperture or Shutter Priority. I've never turned my knob off of M for the 25 years I've used a SLR or DSLR. I wouldn't know who to use my camera if it's not on M. Just the way I was taught

[@mlaygan4703]

that ding lost it's appeal real fast. but otherwise, super handy video!

[@derekk2708]

I stopped watching half way through because of the distracting 'ding's

[@pcfreak1992]

The dings would be bearable, but the constant pausing of the video killed it for me.

[@maxreaume3593]

Yeah bad call..

[@kennethgnielsen]

Dings and pauses bad. Quit watching on third ding.

[@BabyBoomerChannel]

ADB should have his own channel. He’s concise, knowledgeable and awesome.

[@vuducmanhvlog]

A big thumb up to you David. Even I don’t natively speak English and have very little knowledge about photography, I understood the lesson easily

[@duncanthorn6338]

I prefer Manual Mode also, where I set the Aperture and Shutter speed, but put the ISO on Auto. That way, when you use exposure compensation it only changes the ISO. Works for me :) Keep up the great work!

[@mediaflmcreation]

Best answer right here ^. If you are new or you are simply a shooter hat's never really used it, THIS ^ again is the best way to go.

[@Graficmademania]

In doing this you can allow the camera to pick a high iso which might get grainy

[@Bldyiii]

What max ISO settings do you use?

[@GrahamJonesJr]

Excellent. Simon d’Entremont also does an excellent Exposure Compensation mode lesson. Grateful I found both! 😊 thank you!

[@patrickfitzgerald2861]

In digital photography the most frequent exposure problem is blown out, irretrievably overexposed highlights. Underexposing by one stop (and often even more) will not only reduce the likelihood of that happening, it will be easy to restore the highlight/shadow balance in post. Even modestly priced gear will retain shadow detail if underexposed up to three stops, but at least some blown out highlights tend to pop up in most uncompensated images, unless spot metering was used to expose specifically for the highlights. Bottom line - most of the time expose/compensate for the highlights, and retrieve the shadows in post.

[@greenmedic88]

And this answers why I never use exposure compensation: I'm always shooting in manual mode. But, it's still pretty useful for shooting in shutter priority or aperture priority when the internal reflective meter isn't metering the point of focus. If using auto ISO, exposure comp is useful for manually pushing the gain average up or down.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

Obviously, if you've got an external meter, this is pointless. An incident meter will get the exposure right pretty much every time, as long as you can position it near the subject. For manual generally though, it can be useful if youre exposure needs to be far enough off from the typical that the indicator is stuck on the left or the right. At that point, you might as well not even have a meter as you're not going to be able to tell the difference. The EC can extendt hat a bit. Shooting with the indicator stuck at either side is kind of risky.

[@jasonbodden8816]

The internal reflective meter IS metering the point of focus.

[@douglasgillarddcprofessoro5285]

Always love your videos, but those "dinging" number that keep popping up are really annoying/distracting.

[@jeff.photography]

Hey David, thanks for the response. You mostly answered the question, but... I am a Canon shooter, in your example you were shooting Av and you set the ISO, what if you left the ISO on Auto, hence giving the camera two choices to adjust (shutter and ISO), which would it choose? I do mostly shoot Manual (setting shutter and aperture) leaving ISO on auto for bird shooting, but I'm almost positive that the camera adjusts my shutter speed in this case, not just ISO when I shoot with bracketing on.

[@DavidBergmanPhoto]

If shooting aperture priority in auto ISO, the camera will adjust shutter speed first as always. Then, when it gets to the minimum shutter speed you set (in the auto iso settings), it will stop and switch to moving the ISO. That’s so your shutter speed doesn’t get so low that you get blurry images. Here’s a video I did about it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/onfTfZt_fb2Jhc0

[@Chopperbob56]

I cannot watch this with the mindless dings.

[@willbrink]

I tend to shoot S priority most of the time personally. On manual, may go a half stop lower for better saturation.

[@violistanton]

Thank you for video and for light setup👍👍👍

[@TedNemeth]

Wow. That’s the best explanation I’ve heard. I finally got now. Thank you!!

[@adventuresofjandk]

Fantastic lesson. It’s always been confusing part of photography but not anymore. Thank you.

[@durannomad]

Such information filled video. But spoiled by 🛎️🛎️🛎️

[@CanadianArchivist]

I use exposure compensation all the time in hockey arenas. The ice reflects and causes the cameras metering to be off. So I take a test shot. Some arenas I’m up at +1.7 and sometimes as low as +1.3. It depends on the lighting and the ice surface. I look at the images I take for details in the highlights, proper skin tones and the uniform colours. Lots of times one team will have a dark jersey and another a light jersey. So I want to make sure I see the tonal ranges in the jerseys. I am usually shooting at 1/320 Second and iso 3200. I have a variable aperture lens 70-300 f:/4.5-6.3 so I do have to make minor adjustments when shooting at 70mm compared to 220mm. It works well. Saves me in editing in post ( other than checking horizon lines).

[@z4ng3tsu1ch1g0]

1/320s is way too slow for sports.

[@surgio818]

Best explanation - the way I see it then is you could use Exp Comp to selectively make the blacks less grey or make the whites whiter in your shot if the camera tries to neutralize everything to a neutral medium grey

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

Essentially yes. With many sensors though, that applies just as much to lit reds, magentas and yellows as to whites as all three use red pixels and tend to be highlights that are more easily blown.

[@TheWeardale1]

is it worth reducing the exposure down 1 stop (for example) to get a faster shutter speed then bringing the brightness back up when doing your post processing? i shoot with Av mode..

[@aw-de-cn]

Not only answered Jeff's question... I always wondered why I need adjust exposure if I have ISO/Shutter/Aperture..+ND (Which is in Manual- - ) Turns out its kind for 'semi/full' setting not needed in manual

[@justinking8458]

Great video. What if I use shutter speed priority and zoom all the way out with maximum aperture, what does the camera do when I step up the exposure compensation?

[@DavidBergmanPhoto]

Just depends what the camera is seeing. It will adjust for what it thinks is the “right” exposure regardless of being zoomed in or not. Unless you have activate exposure lock or change to manual.

[@z4ng3tsu1ch1g0]

If you have a slow lens and there isnt enough light, AV/TV modes will show a blinking number in your viewfinder telling you that your settings are capped. Your photos will be underexposed. You can turn safety shift on in custom functions and itll change ur shutter speed or aperture even in priority modes to get a correct exposure.

[@MrDrpk]

Very clear demo of what EC does and how to use it in practical terms

[@KAR120C69]

Was just shooting a football game 3 days ago. Was talking with a student photographer on sidelines about this very subject & few more items. Told her last year to watch videos on this channel for tips which she says she does. During game was discussing how metering works in cameras & for her to take control of exposure for how she wants her images to look & not let camera decide always. Hope she watches this video because she will have to laugh since we just talked about this subject... great timing David 👍 If she (Fe......) sees this... Like I told you great tips here... hope to see you again for playoff games. And again the timing couldn't have been better for this video, lol ✌️

[@JoshyDaMan08]

Make a sense... Excellent tutorial... I needs to work on that features but I hasn't messing with it for years. Hand gestures are fine without sound effects like air quote. Notification pinging in my ears was unnecessarily but can be heard someone else notification goes off in the background. Nice work, David. Rock star photography (maybe). 🤘🏻 📷 📸

[@brendonevans1268]

Please stop the dinging. It got in the way of the message.

[@BrewsterPgonzales619]

I followed your setting and it gave me 1/8 on a dark background and 1/5 on a brighter background. I used Canon 6D. This is at what you said 1/100 and 1/50.

[@JosesGarage101]

Hi David. On a speedlight you have zoom. Why should you use it and how? // José from Sweden.

[@philippelang.photographie]

You mention R5/R6 have an andvanced metering mode that prioritize the focus area, picking up the best exposure regardless of the background (like snow). Any more infos on that? Can't find details in the reference...

[@MrCelokun]

Ni video David. On my Sony A7RII, when I use aperture priority, I also set the min and max range for ISO and min shutter speed, so I know that the camera won't go any lower than, for example, 1/160th or 1/250th sec. Works pretty well.

[@pwhiteheadnj]

When you shoot using AV or TV mode, how does your ISO change? Do you put your ISO in auto to have it dial in a number using AV or TV? I also assume if you set a number for ISO, it won't change in AV or TV mode? Thanks!

[@PhotoswithArt]

I started with Program Mode on Nikon D3400, it sets all three for you, but you can modify each of them and the other two will change correspondingly. I used it like months and pushed myself to go full Manual, because you didn't learn much from all semi-auto modes.

[@ahankiransullia3301]

Hi sir...how to use speedlight while shooting in AV/TV mode

[@craigweddle8325]

Mr. Bergman - Is exposure correction an alternative to a neutral-density filter? If so, when might you use a ND filter or when might you use Exposure Correction? Thanks for the videos.

[@DavidBergmanPhoto]

I wouldn’t use a filter for something you can simply control with exposure. The goal should always be to get the exposure that’s “correct” for you. ND filters can help when you need to go beyond what you can do with exposure. For example, if you want a very slow shutter speed for running water on a tripod. Something like 10 seconds. You can put your ISO as low as it will go and close down your aperture as much as the lens will allow and still have too much light at 10 seconds. So put an ND over the lens to block some of the light from entering the lens.

[@craigweddle8325]

Thanks for the prompt response. I get it. Gotta say if I need help in the range of 1 to 3 stops, exposure correction looks easier and faster to deal with, especially hand held.

[@ayechapin1]

Thanks for this video... but now I have a question about shooting the stars... do you want to be darker or brighter? TIA

[@JOHANNAANNABLE]

How can I manually adjust shutter speed on EOS R while in manual mode? thanks.

[@johngambriel4493]

Interesting...I use manual but with auto ISO (wildlife/nature shots) so Exposure Compensation does have an impact. In that case, is it adjusting ISO to compensation? Canon R5 is my primary.

[@DavidBergmanPhoto]

In manual, auto ISO will only change the ISO. If you’re on aperture priority, you set the aperture and pick an shutter speed (in the settings) so that, if the camera wants to go lower than that speed, it will start to adjust ISO instead.

[@NEWSHAWK13]

Who knew exposure compensation didn't work in Manual mode! Good info on a somewhat difficult topic. Thanks for your time!

[@terrycrank4160]

Will this also work with a speed light

[@DavidBergmanPhoto]

The exposure will still work the same way when using a flash - at least until you hit your camera’s max sync speed. Flash exposure compensation is a different function and only effects the output of the light from the flash - not you exposure settings.

[@fairlessdave1834]

Thanks so much for this. I never really had a good understanding of what was happening mechanically. Now I do.

[@marzvrover]

for street photography I find “full manual” but bracketed auto ISO to be the best for me. Exposure comp is a very quick way to control the ISO during select compositions

[@b991228]

I have a zoom lens with variable aperture f/4.5 to f/6.3. By setting it to aperture priority mode and setting the correct exposure compensation even though the camera will change the aperture when I zoom in or out I will get the correct exposure. Depending on how I have zoomed the lens the camera will change the aperture and the exposure will be compensated with shutter speed.

[@mywildlifestories3793]

How does it works in Manual mode. In D850, we increase or decrease exposure compensation. I didn't get this thing in Manual modern.

[@DavidBergmanPhoto]

In manual, you pick all the settings and the camera doesn’t change anything.

[@loumonte658]

Outstanding lesson.

[@victorcolon3222]

What meter mode you use when use flash in ETTL ? Why and what situation?Thank you for you time and I appreciated all you videos.

[@sutv6754]

Excellent lesson David. You covered all the bases and answered all the questions. Not frustrating at all like many videos I watch. Thank You.

[@creativahary]

If exposure compensation does not appear in viewfinder mode, how do I solve it so that it appears again, please answer sir because this is the first time I experience it, I am a Canon user

[@satindersharma1766]

David, I may have misunderstood the point of, when in full manual mode, the camera is telling you without making any changes to the composition that you are two stops underexposed. How do you know when composition is correct then. sorry if this is sounding like a thick question.

[@nerdnam]

In Aperture or Shutter priority mode with Auto ISO, exposure compensation will just move the ISO up or down. And I find that highly confusing as to whether that's a good, bad or OK thing. I end up with the same exposure at different ISOs and have no idea which is the best one to keep or why. I prefer to keep Auto ISO off and just move the ISO up or down to get the shutter speed (or aperture) I want. And when I use EC, it makes sense because the exposure is actually brighter or darker and I have some idea of what I'm doing.

[@mahdishafi566]

Thank you David..you are as always the cream of the cream..wishing you all the best.

[@AlergicToSnow]

Great explanation.

[@danielmcdermott5161]

Great explanation. Well done.

[@robertcudlipp3832]

I have ongoing problems with shooting against the light. Most common scene causing problems is taking photos of people at the beach with very bright sun at their backs. As you have already guessed, end up with too many blackened/underexposed human objects. I invariably use aperture priority and spot metering. Have attempted to use exposure compensation, obviously with less than satisfactory results. Advice please? Am heading off to Adorama ,by you, dealing with exposure compensation.

[@tanweercaa]

Nicely explained David, excellent video👍

[@okay1904]

Brilliant - Just what I needed. Thanks

[@ofthewayministries]

Extremely helpful and great. Thank you for this. When I'm in Av Mode, my camera changes both the shutter speed and ISO. In this video, the camera is automatically adjusting shutter speed and not ISO. Is this because you have set your ISO instead of having it on auto ISO? Thanks.

[@ag1805x]

Can reducing EV to -3 cause grainy image?

[@TheDecguy]

I don’t know if anyone here has been shooting long enough to have worked with a Minolta XK, yes back in the days of film. It had the ability to do plus or minus three stops simply by pushing a spring loaded lever to the left or right to get 3 stops compensation seamlessly. Let go of the lever and it reverted back to zero. No fiddling around with dials or forgetting that you still had the compensation set. Also your eyes never left the viewfinder. Amazing for a camera introduced in the 70’s.

[@allenbuyck7957]

Great video. I was confused about your comment that in P mode the “ camera selects aperture, shutter speed and ISO”. I know that is true in full auto mode but on my Nikon, in P mode I still select ISO, and camera selects aperture and shutter speed. Am I missing something?

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

Probably not. Does the camera have an A option in the iso range, because that's usually the case, if you want fully and completely automatic, that's what you'd typically do.

[@kevins8575]

I tried this on several canon cameras and got very different results. Program mode uses an algorithm to set the exposure using shutter speed, aperture and ISO. None of them are locked in unless you've set a minimum or maximum value. The algorithm won't bust your limits so the program will shift the values of what it can. It does not restrict changes only to shutter speed. Exposure compensation tells the algorithm to allow more or less light than it would otherwise, but still uses all three points of the exposure triangle.

[@felixrodriguez4263]

Wonderful coverage of the subject and how to select which feature one controls when shooting in those modes and what one aspect from the sensor reading in different backgrounds and subject.

[@sweetblueman]

very nice info.. esp on M what exposure does.. i got my answer..

[@adnanmansour8757]

Fantastic and crystal clear, thank you David.

[@drr5117]

What is the definition of zero on the exposure compensation scale? What is the algorithm by which the camera determines what zero is? I'm aware that 18% grey is used for white balance. Is it also used to determine exposure?

[@petegalindez9961]

Very interesting. I always wondered that even though I’ve never used it. However, you brought up something I didn’t know. I just purchased an R6 and use it to shoot my son playing ice hockey. I am in full manual and usually set the metering to partial metering. You mentioned the R6 has a different metering process. Should I use something else for my metering?

[@FlyBoyEnterprises]

Very fascinating and educational. I am definitely going to utilize some adjustments in certain areas of weakness especially night shots.

[@eggs-benny]

Great explanation thanks!

[@vernon_4411]

Does this topic relate to the camera metering mode? For the lens cap sample, the spot metering will yield a correct exposure without any exposure compensation if your meter spot aims to the lens cap.

[@Digmen1]

Hi Jeff, yes you explained that very well using the lens cap. I want to try to use it to take portraits outside facing bright sun. If I was a pro, or had a light meter I suppose I could use manual. But with AE I can use Aperture or Shutter mode, and then we are really overding the camera with an AE or 1 or 2 stops. Is that right?

[@leonardo197880]

So well explained. Thank you so much :)

[@pfunk360]

Excellent video. You have a gift for explaining things. Love your videos. I was 10 minutes in the video and was going to make a comment saying, it sounds like I should just continue with manual mode because I have full control. Just so happen you mentioned the same thing later in the video. lol. There are too many issues to deal with exposure compensation. (AV & TV).

[@robgerety]

Thanks for this. Very helpful. Assume you are shooting in Manual with auto iso. If you use exposure control to darken two stops - does the camera lower iso two stops, and leave the aperture and shutter speed at the settings you selected manually?

[@z4ng3tsu1ch1g0]

Yes. Itll lower iso until it cant any further. At that point it will start blinking

[@JungleJimAB9AB]

Okay, that explains it. Strong back light, use exposure compensation. Thanks for posting.

[@MindYaBizz_Whiz]

I WAS JUST THINKING I NEED TO FIND A VIDEO ON WHAT EX COMP MEANS. Great video!!!

[@dwm_hc]

I've enjoyed this recent series of videos. Would you be willing to talk about handling white balance/color in mixed lighting situations? I am a hobby photographer who shoots candids of family members indoors and struggle to deal with the mix of window light and interior lighting.

[@DavidBergmanPhoto]

Sure! Send it to www.AskDavidBergman.com :)

[@buffalodoc007]

Thanks. Excellent lesson.

[@rutlegs]

Perfect explanation! Thanks!

[@LupusIrae]

Really good video. Very informative. But, if I could make a suggestion, dial back on the volume of the “chime”. It’s bit harsh. Cheers

[@Hrishi1970]

Dear Mr.Bergman, thanks for your insights! Agree that there is no correct exposure...set what you want as exposure that works best for your creative work. Request...those softboxes in your studio are really distracting and you may want to consider removing them from the frame?

[@oslonorway9061]

LOVE YOUR VIDEOS!

[@madcat1007]

If a photo is too dark or too light, why don’t you just change the aperture or shutter speed? Why bother with Exposure Compensation? I don’t get it.

[@TC-eo5eb]

It all depends on what you are photographing and the lens you are using. For example, if shooting a swim meet in an indoor swimming pool with poor lighting where flashes are not allowed. With a 70-200 lens you need a low F stop i.e. f2.4 and a high shutter speed 1000. To get the correct exposer you may have to change the exposer compensation to get the best-looking photograph. Hope that helps.

[@old4004]

Appreciated the video (and voted as such), but the constant dings were annoying.

[@MattiaManzini]

Really helpful video!

[@julioeperez]

Keep the count of the air quotes if you think it is funny, but remove the bell noise and pause. Otherwise the info, and delivery was good.

[@amandamoore2868]

This is just what I needed! Thank you!

[@DochertyStephen]

If all EC does is change one of the other settings, then why not just change those settings yourself? I was always under the impression EC somehow changed some other setting in a way not known by users.

[@RowanCHSS]

Because sometimes you may want a scene to be brighter or darker than your camera's meter is choosing. And if you're shooting an event where you don't have much time to continually change your settings, using the EV is faster and better. I use Manual all the time, but sometimes, especially when shooting a fast paced event like a sport, using the EV is better and you won't (shouldn't) miss any shots because you're fiddling with the settings.

[@pictureeyecandy]

This was a great question. I don't like to use Exposure Compensation mainly because it can still give you a bad setting! It has no idea if your subject is moving or you are handholding on a zoom lens. That means it could slow down your shutter too slow and end up with an out of focus image in Aperture priority. Its also a two-step process, push the exposure comp button, then turn the dial. Man up and learn Manual Mode (Just kidding) but its the best mode to use.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

That would be the case regardless. If you're allowing the camera to set things automatically, that can happen. Some cameras have either a safety shift feature that can override the settings if it thinks they're really poorly advised, and some cameras will allow you to set a minimum value for shutter and maximum for aperture to ensure that things don't go off the rails due to the computer screwing up. You shouldn't be using the EC without knowing what you want from it.

[@blackmamba3427]

Awesome video

[@julienakazi9336]

Thank you so much! if i were you I would limit the use of bell sounds, they are really taking the focus out of the topic.

[@snapandzap]

Great video but seriously, what’s with the “ count? If at least it was silent and without interruption, but otherwise very irritating to the point I almost closed the video. Please consider for next time.

[@foilpainterfantasyartist1711]

So much to learn, so much to remember

[@johannes.schaffer]

Just put up a counter instead of the dings & freeze frames

[@ChoicesHabitsAttitudeLuck]

What's the advantage of using Aperture Priority than Manual? Since you are discussing exposure compensation. Next video please

[@briantsings]

“ excellent explanation “ 😁👍🏻

[@RoNin-ks8pu]

Thank you . that made sense.

[@Imhotep397]

The problem I have is that ISO isn’t actually part of the exposure triangle in the digital era and people just continually try to talk about it as if it is and confuse things. The base ISO is different per camera, but changing the ISO ABOVE OR BELOW THAT IS DIGITALLY APPLIED GAIN (like digital zooming the computer is on it’s own to figure it out from the baseline in the reconstruction.). This is why so many cinema cameras have dual base ISO hardware built-in. Exposure variance or something named something similar depending in every camera I believe is separate from shutter/ISO/aper. but I believe that it messes with the actual dynamic range. Even worse it’s possible this. EV is not accessible in cameras and it’s just baked into the ISO settings.