Basic exposure 33You have only one chance to get it right. That’s the reality in the world
of photojournalism and fast-moving action. Architectural photographers
and studio photographers of still-life subjects have the luxury of time.
Time to set up, check lighting, take test shots, look at them on the com-
puter—even time to have clients, art directors, and others pass judg-
ment—before they make the fi nal photographs. In contrast, there was
only one opportunity to photograph this medevac helicopter when it was
taking off from University Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico. On
assignment for the School of Medicine at the University of New Mexico,
Barry was on the roof near the helipad, knowing that the chopper would
soon take off. He chose a 14 mm wide-angle lens to show the tower atop
the hospital roof and catch the chopper against the early-morning sun.
The camera was set in Manual exposure mode. The lens fl are to the left
of the chopper is quite common when fast lenses with large front elements
are pointed at a light source. © 2005 Barry Staver.
fact, the exposure is amazingly accurate, even in many poorly
lit situations. Not 100 percent, but darned close. If you agree
with us that light is one of the key elements that separate a good
photograph from a snapshot, then it’s still necessary to learn and
understand proper exposure. The ability to tweak the exposure,
even with today’s sophisticated cameras, can make or break your
image quality and content. We’re astounded at the number of
people who don’t care about correct exposure, using the already
worn-out phrase, “I’ll just fi x it later in Photoshop.” When expo-
sure is concerned, there’s only a partial truth to this statement.
Adobe Photoshop has indeed become a favorite crutch for sloppy
camera work, but you still need to be careful in the arena of
proper exposure. A digital image that is too far over- or under-
exposed cannot be completely saved with image-manipulating
software. Please reread the previous sentence. Both of us rou-
tinely make minor adjustments to the automatic exposure set-
tings as we shoot, including using the different metering patterns
available in the camera, and still pull out the handheld meter
from time to time.