The exposure square
The basis of photography: the exposure triangle of ISO, shutter speed and aperture. Between them they divide up the cake called ‘the right exposure’. At least, that is how my teacher at the Fotovakschool taught me. If you let in less light with a short shutter speed, it has to be compensated for somewhere. You either adjust your aperture or raise your ISO. Every shift has its advantages and its drawbacks. Depending on the situation you want to shoot in, you choose the right values.
I have made determined attempts, honestly. Camera in M, of course, and turning the dials. They are like three measuring jugs of water. A little more water out of one jug, a little more into the other. The total quantity stays the same, but in different proportions. And still I was not satisfied.
That exposure triangle. Together with other photographers I contribute to a photography programme for Omroep Gelderland (Focus op Gelderland) and over the course of the programme this exposure triangle unintentionally became a sort of running gag behind the scenes. The thing is that you can overthink that exposure triangle very easily. If you attach too much value to it and trust your camera’s light meter one hundred per cent, you get nicely exposed but possibly very dull photos.
Creativity sits at the end of your comfort zone. You have to investigate that exposure triangle. You have to make it your own. I do not like the word ‘have to’, but here I have to use it. Without a solid knowledge of ISO, aperture and shutter speed it is impossible to rise above the crowd. And once you know it completely, I would let it go as fast as you can. And letting go is a deliberately chosen, far too grand word here. In our time we all have one of those little screens on our camera, and it shows rather well what sort of photo we are making. If you think the photo is well exposed, you press the shutter. If you find it too light or too dark, you think back to the exposure triangle, turn the dial you want to adjust, and press the shutter again.
It is not a triangle at all. It is an exposure square. If you take everything into account, your camera can want whatever it likes, but you make that photo. You want a particular exposure. Your creativity. Three sides is far too limited, if you ask me. Without your personal touch, with a perfect balance in the exposure triangle, your camera makes a well exposed photo. Nothing more than that. But you make the photo. You decide the amount of light. Only when you take the fourth side, yours, into account is the circle complete.
Enjoy your photography.
Curious how those settings translate between different camera formats? I put focal length and aperture per sensor size in one overview.
This article first appeared in Focus Magazine (the best photography magazine in the Netherlands), for which I wrote a column in every issue in 2023 and 2024.