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Quick TIp - Getting your exposure right in 3 shots

Thats right, you should be able to guess your exposure in three shots or less without using any metering whatsoever. I am not saying you should not learn how to use the in camera meter. I am simply saying by using the cameras LCD screen you should be able to get a solid exposed picture in three shots.

Let me also remind you that the LCD screen on the back of the camera may not be an exact representation of what the image really looks like but its pretty close.

Here is the Quick Tip, the first shot you can pretty much guess based off of the situation you are shooting in. Ask yourself this, is it bright, dark or somewhere in the middle? What lens are you using and what type of subject are you photographing. Based off of all these questions you should be able to guess a starting point for your first image

After you capture the first image take a look at it and ask yourself this. Is it over exposed or underexposed, did you freeze the action and is the DOF what you were looking for.

After you figure out what direction you should go take your second image. This image should be much closer if not really close like I was able to do in the video above. Take a look at the second image and ask yourself all the same questions again. At this point your third image should pretty much be spot on.

Shooting RAW is definitely going to help you in these situations. Again I know the LCD is not the most exact representation of your image but between shooting RAW and the screen you have a great starting point. The rest of the job will be done in Lightroom, if your dam close a simple tweak will get you to where you need to be.

I think this is a great way to start understanding cause and effect and see the results. Once you have this pretty well down, you will start to venture into understanding the meter which is still very important.