Underexposure vs. overexposure in photography.
Learn how to fix images that are too bright or too dark with this handy guide.
In photography, we refer to images that are darker than the actual scene as underexposed, while those that are brighter are considered overexposed. Sometimes photographers will underexpose or overexpose an image for artistic purposes. However, many times underexposure and overexposure are common mistakes that photographers make when creating images.
How to correct an underexposed image.
It can be frustrating when you snap a picture indoors and what appeared to be a perfectly lit scene to your eye comes out looking like a shadowy cave in your image. Here are some tips to brighten up your shots:
- Open your aperture: A lower f stop allows more light into your camera, resulting in a brighter image.
- Slow down your shutter speed: Just like with a lower f stop, the slower the shutter speed, the more light can enter your camera.
- Raise your ISO: The higher your ISO number, the more light sensitive your camera’s sensor becomes.
How to correct an overexposed image.
Especially when you’re shooting outdoors, overexposed images become a common issue for photographers. Our eyes are great at automatically adjusting to the sun’s blazing light, but our cameras are not quite as adept. Here’s how to dim the lights a bit when your images are overexposed:
- Close your aperture: Like we mentioned before, a lower f stop lets in more light, so choose a higher f stop if you want to let in less light.
- Choose a faster shutter speed: The quicker your shutter speed, the less time light has to enter your camera.
- Lower your ISO: Lower ISOs are less sensitive to light, so if your images are turning out too bright, try a lower ISO.
Discover more great photography tips for photographers of all skill levels.
Explore how Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom can brighten or darken your images to help you perfect your artistic vision.