E CO MPENSATION
Want to take more control of exposure, but don’t know where to start with manual mode? Exposure compensation is much easier to use, and much more intuitive as well…
Exposure compensation is essentially a way of brightening or darkening shots in aperture-priority, shutter-priority, or even program mode without having to resort to manual exposure. This is ideal for those situations where the camera’s automatic metering produces under- or over-exposed results, such as when shooting very light or very dark subjects. when the background is much darker or lighter than the subject you’re shooting, such as a person standing against a window. In these cases, exposure compensation is perfect for ensuring that your subject is correctly exposed, rather than the background. You apply exposure compensation by holding down the +/- button on the camera body, and then using the rear input dial to set the amount of compensation required. The settings that this affects will vary depending on which exposure mode you are using. If you’re using aperture-priority mode, for example, the aperture value will stay the same, but the shutter speed will change to let in more or less light. The opposite is true when you’re shooting in shutter-priority mode; in this case, the shutter speed will remain unchanged but the aperture will vary, again to let in more or less light. All you need to remember is that positive exposure compensation brightens images, while negative compensation darkens them.
Exactly how much exposure compensation you need to dial in will vary depending on how much of the scene is light or dark, but a good starting point is to set + or – 1, and then take a test shot. Exposure lock (AE-L) is another way to control the exposure in all auto exposure modes, but in order to use it you have to point the camera at a subject that contains mostly midtones, lock the exposure using the AE-L button, and then recompose your image. This isn’t convenient in most situations, so it’s usually better to use exposure compensation.