Exposure Triangle

Creating a properly exposed photograph may seem like an art, but it’s as simple as understanding The Exposure Triangle and applying its concept to the scene at hand. Every photograph is created by combining three technical aspects: shutter speed, lens aperture and ISO speed. The ISO speed controls the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor (or film) to light; lens aperture describes how large the iris of the lens is opened, controlling how much light is let in; and the shutter speed, as the name implies, describes how long the shutter stays open, which also controls the amount of light taken in.

Each of these components is widely variable, and that variance may seem daunting to beginners and even many intermediate photographers. But Peterson lays out each of these concepts in a simple yet precise manner, allowing for easy digestion of the topic. All the science and math will melt away, leaving the reader with a new understanding of how to make stunning photographs.