Last week when I wrote a post about shutter speed, I said that I would come back and tell you about something that would help you utilize the concept better... The light meter.
This was wrong.
I apologize.
It's not called a light meter.
I'm sorry.
In my defense, I have written before about how I barely know what I'm doing. You've been warned.
I really don't know how I got that idea in my head. I thought for sure that was what it was called. I even remember seeing it on some diagram labeled as that. But, last night, when I sat down to work on this post -- to write about the light meter, which isn't actually a light meter -- I came upon my mistake and wanted to fess up.
And I also wanted to say that it's not going to discourage me, because trial and error is a HUGE part of photography, and it's how we all get better and more knowledgeable, so I shall charge forward.
So, today, we're not here to learn about the light meter. We're here to learn about the EXPOSURE DISPLAY.
What is an exposure display?
Well, it's not a light meter... I can tell you that much.
Or maybe it is. I'm still unsure. For now we're just going to play it safe and call it an 'exposure display'.
If you have a digital SLR, your camera mostly likely has one of these. I'm going to describe what it looks like in my Nikon D70. If you have a Canon or another brand, yours will likely look similar. I've also seen it labeled as an 'exposure analog display' or an 'exposure meter'.
(See? Meter. I was close.)
It looks something like this...
I showed you mine, now you show yourself yours. (Providing you have a digital SLR, that is.)
First of all, make sure your camera is in either M (manual) mode or S (shutter speed priority) mode. If it's not in either of these modes, you won't be able to see it.
Now, look into your viewfinder. (This is the little rectangular piece of glass that you hold up to your eye when you take a picture. I know that I probably didn't need to tell you this, but you never know. If you're like me, the more clearly things are explained, the better!)
Do you see it? On my D70 it's on the bottom, in the middle. Do you see it?
If you don't see it, consult your manual for more specifics related to your camera. Or, if you still can't figure it out, leave me a note in the comments and I'll try to help.
One note: On my camera I have to push down my shutter release button (a.k.a. the 'trigger' or button you push to take a picture) part way for this viewfinder screen to light up.
So this... this EXPOSURE DISPLAY.... is a wonderful thing. This was my saving grace when I started shooting in full manual mode. The exposure display makes it much easier to get your exposure the way you want it when shooting a photo. (Even if you're calling it a light meter inside your head. It doesn't care if you call it by the wrong name. It will still help you out. It's forgiving that way.)
As you will soon see, it makes sense that I thought of it as a light meter, because it basically is measuring the light that is coming into your camera, and tells you if your result if going to have enough light, too much light or not enough light.
This makes the whole idea of shutter speed easier to handle, because instead of worrying about the actual number your shutter speed should be set on, the exposure display will tell you what to do. It works like this...
When the camera settings are optimal for letting in just the right amount of light, the exposure display will look like this...
Same as the image above.
The following is a photo taken at this setting on my camera...
Not too bright. Not too dark. Pretty blah, if you ask me, but right now I'm not interested in a stunning photo. And we'll do a more dramatic example in just a bit.
Now, if you adjust your shutter speed to let in less light, which is a faster shutter speed, the exposure display will show little bars to the right (towards the 'minus' sign) of the '0' mark, looking like this...
This is telling you that, based on your camera's current settings, the photo you are about to take will be an UNDERexposed photo, i.e. one that does not have enough light, i.e. a photo that will turn out dark.
To demonstrate, here is a photo that I took with my exposure display set like the view above (UNDERexposed)...
A little dark, right?
On the other hand, if you adjust your shutter speed to let in more light, which is a slower shutter speed, the exposure display will show little bars to the left (towards the 'plus' sign) of the '0' mark, looking like this...
Here is a picture that I took with my exposure display on this setting...
This is brighter. I actually like this. I tend to overexpose a lot of my photos just a bit. This probably has to do with my camera, and my personal preference. You do what suits your fancy.
Let's compare the three. I'll include shutter speeds, aperture and ISO settings too, just for fun...
(I keep forgetting my ISO setting is on 1600, which is way higher than I want to be for daylight conditions. I'll try to do a post on ISO too, sometime, but I don't want to get into it too much right now. I will just say this... The higher your ISO setting, the grainier your photo will be. ISO helps to let in more light, which is helpful in darker situations. However, in general I like my ISO to be as low as the light conditions will allow. The lowest setting on my camera is 200.)
Okay, so you've got the general idea, but the difference between those images was pretty subtle, so let's demonstrate something more obvious...
Now are you getting the picture? I hope this makes it easier to see the difference. And I hope this shows you how the light meter exposure display on your camera can be your new best friend!
Of the three photos above, the one in the middle is obviously the best exposed. However, it still didn't quite suit my liking, so I did take one more shot and overexposed (more light, slower shutter speed) it just a hair, giving me this...
Shutter Speed = 1/640 Aperture = f/4.5 ISO = 320
No Photoshop-ing or other editing tricks here, by the way. I want you to see it SOOC.
Now it's time for you -- if you haven't been already -- to go play around with your camera and see for yourself! It's the only way any of this will ever 'click'.
(I apologize for the 'picture' and 'click' puns by the way... They're really not on purpose. I shutter to think what other puns I may come up with.)
March 7, 2010 
My sweet babies.
These are her cutie petutie little boys. They have the best dimples! They are about the same ages as our kids, and Little Blue Eyes has really taken to Flying Jae as his new friend.
