2

CHAPTER
NIGHT AND LOW-LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY / All About Light and Exposure

low light. Most of the photos in this book

were taken using manual mode. In Figure

2-10, for example, there was no way to get

this exposure in any of the other modes. In

most cameras, the longest shutter speed that

you or the camera can use is 30 seconds.

There is a special setting called the bulb set-

ting which allows you to use a cable release;

as long as the shutter button is pressed, the

shutter will stay open. That is what was used

here because if the camera had picked the

shutter speed and the aperture, it would have

used the widest aperture and the longest shut-

ter speed and still wouldn’t have been able

to expose the scene properly due to the large

areas of black and the lack of light.

■   Aperture priority mode. This mode enables

you to set the aperture, and the camera uses
the reading from the built-in light meter to
set the best shutter speed to get a proper expo-
sure. If you have auto ISO capability and have
it turned on, the camera will also adjust the
ISO accordingly.

■   Manual mode. This is the mode that gives

you complete control over the camera settings
because you set both the shutter speed and
the aperture. So, while the camera will still
use the built-in light meter to read the light
in the scene and determine what it believes to
be the proper exposure, it has no actual bear-
ing on what is captured. You will use this
mode most often when shooting at night or in

ABOUT THIS PHOTO Mission Bay in San Diego captured late at night. Taken at 61 seconds, f/22, and ISO 200.

2-10