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Exposure Without a Meter Text & Photography © Ron Day In the December, 2003 issue of Outdoor Photographer, David Stoecklein states in his article, Perfect Exposure without a Meter : ". . . it's embarrassing to call yourself a professional photographer -- or even a serious amateur -- if you can't look at the light in any situation and know where you need to be (with exposure)." p. 60. Here is a simple formula for accurately determining the exposure of a middle tone subject on a bright sunny day, without a meter. The correct exposure is the number on the shutter speed dial closest to the film's ISO number, at f/16. Or, Exposure = 1/ISO @ f/16.
When shooting 200 speed film, the correct exposure for bright sunny conditions is 1/250 sec. at f/16, because 1/250 is the number closest to the film's ISO number of 200. When shooting Fuji Provia 100 slide film, the correct exposure in bright sunlight is 1/125 sec. at f/16, because 1/125 is the number closest to the film's ISO number of 100. And, if you don't want to shoot at f/16, any equivalent exposure will work. For example, 1/125 at f/16 is equivalent to 1/250 at f/11, or 1/500 at f/8, or 1/1000 at f/5.6. In bright sunlight, it is fairly easy for a camera's light meter to be thrown off by light colored or shiny surfaces. For this reason, many professionals rely on the Sunny f/16 rule in these conditions. Another well known pro, John Shaw, says he takes "thousands" of photos this way. The rule works well in digital photography too. After you become comfortable using the basic Sunny f/16 rule, you can start making adjustments in exposure for sidelight (+1.0 EV), and backlight (+2.0EV) in the photographs you make under bright sunny conditions.
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