Exposure and My Take

It has been drilled into my head that a photograph is all about light. Without it, all you have is black space. Here is the thing... exposure is just as important. I can have all the light, even the BEST kind of light and still not be a pro without some understanding of exposure. I have been stumped... perplexed... and kind of overwhelmed about the technical word. Thinking ISO, WB, Light Meter type, Aperture, Shutter Speed, and Composition is already enough. Some of these concepts I can settle in my mind before a session, but making sure that the shutter speed is quick enough... or making sure that my aperture is closed enough so that something is actually IN focus... ya it gets me. Should I even TRUST the light meter? Which light metering mode should I use? Spot metering? Ahhhh! It is enough to make me go insane.

Well, in all of my flying brains I think a prayer was sent up. I like to think that this was the case. Either way I know that God had my best interest in mind. He is the one that gave me the gift of sight and that eye for beauty. I took a trip to Barnes & Nobles to find some magazines for pose ideas. I was coming up empty handed in the magazines though. So I ventured toward the computer design rack, figuring that I could just browse the books since I was there. Then I saw IT. A book by Michael Freeman. I had previously purchased a book by this author entitled The Photographer's Eye. I appreciated how he took the time to provide visual diagrams of all the technical jargon. I also was glad to see that he was including information about the brain and how it coincides with how photographs are captured. So when I saw this other book by him I HAD to buy it. Not only that, it was entitled Perfect Exposure! I mean, how else is a person supposed to take that? That is what I was looking for... some answers to my exposure dilemma.

I still have to finish this book and I will probably read it several times through. Technical aspects of photography can get pretty deep. Though I appreciate practice and the natural gift of being able to see something, I feel that it is important to understand the tools and palettes that I am working with. Light is powerful. I think that that is why God uses it as a metaphor for His own personal uses. Without Light there is no passion in God's Word. Without light there is no photograph.