Appendix A: Camera Settings & Exposure Reference
This is the page to screenshot before a shoot. Everything here was taught and reasoned through in the chapters — most of it in Chapter 3 (the exposure triangle), Chapter 4 (focus and depth of field), and Chapter 5 (light). This appendix strips the reasoning away and leaves the numbers: the scales, the rules of thumb, and a set of starting-point tables for common situations. Treat every value here as a starting point to adjust from after you check the meter and the histogram, never a recipe to obey. The camera in your hand matters far less than the decision behind the setting — but when you already know the decision, you want the number fast. That is what this page is for.
Every settings table gives a phone-equivalent path, because the principles transfer to any camera and a reader with only a phone always has a way in.
A.1 The mode dial, explained
The mode dial (or the mode menu, on a phone's Pro/Manual screen) decides which of the three exposure controls you hand to the camera and which you keep. There is no "best" mode; there is the right mode for how much you need to control right now.
FIGURE A.1 — What each mode decides for you (✋ = you set it, 🤖 = camera sets it)
MODE Aperture Shutter ISO You are saying...
---- -------- ------- --- ----------------------------------------------
AUTO 🤖 🤖 🤖 "Just take the picture." No creative control.
P 🤖 🤖 ✋/🤖 "Pick a working pair; I'll nudge it." (Program)
A / Av ✋ 🤖 ✋/🤖 "I care about DEPTH OF FIELD." (Aperture-priority)
S / Tv 🤖 ✋ ✋/🤖 "I care about MOTION." (Shutter-priority)
M ✋ ✋ ✋ "I'm driving all three." (Manual)
| Mode | Marked | You set | Camera sets | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program | P |
Nothing critical (can shift the pair) | A working aperture + shutter | You want Auto's convenience but the ability to override and a real ISO/white-balance menu |
| Aperture-priority | A (Av on Canon) |
Aperture (+ ISO) | Shutter speed | Depth of field is your priority — portraits, landscapes. The best learning mode. |
| Shutter-priority | S (Tv on Canon) |
Shutter (+ ISO) | Aperture | Motion is your priority — sports, kids, blurred water |
| Manual | M |
All three | Nothing (meter advises) | The light is constant but the meter keeps getting fooled (stage, snow, backlight); studio/flash; any time you want the exposure to stop moving |
A note on letters: on Canon bodies, Aperture-priority is
Av("aperture value") and Shutter-priority isTv("time value"); everywhere else they areAandS. Same modes, different labels.
Auto ISO is not a mode — it is a setting you can switch on inside P, A, S, or M. It lets the camera raise ISO only as needed (set a sensible ceiling, e.g. ISO 6400) so it returns to clean low values in good light. In A or S it removes most of the bookkeeping; in M it lets you fix both aperture and shutter and have brightness still tracked for you.
📱 Phone Pro mode. Most default phone camera apps are a glorified Auto: they pick aperture (which is usually fixed anyway — one physical opening), shutter, and ISO for you. A Pro / Manual mode — built into many phones and available in third-party apps — exposes the same controls as
M: a shutter slider, an ISO slider, manual focus, white balance, and often a live histogram. Because phone lenses rarely have a variable aperture, "Aperture-priority" on a phone is effectively just ISO + shutter control. The way a phone simulates shallow depth of field is Portrait mode, which is software, not optics (see Chapter 23).
A.2 The three scales and what one stop trades
All three exposure controls are measured in the same universal unit: the stop — one doubling or halving of light. One stop from any control equals one stop from any other. That is what lets you trade them (A.3). Cameras let you fine-tune in one-third-stop increments; the full-stop rungs below are the ones to memorize.
Aperture — the size of the hole (side effect: depth of field)
FIGURE A.2 — Full-stop aperture scale
MORE LIGHT ◄──────────────────────────────────────────► LESS LIGHT
bigger hole smaller hole
f/1.4 f/2 f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22
widest narrowest
SHALLOW depth of field ◄──────────────► DEEP depth of field
(background dissolved) (front-to-back sharp)
- Small f-number = big hole = more light = shallower focus. The scale runs backwards from intuition.
- Each step roughly ×1.4 in number, because the area of the opening (what actually meters the light) scales with the square of the diameter. See the Physics box in Chapter 3, §3.2.
- What one stop trades: open one stop and you gain a stop of light but lose depth of field (less of the scene sharp front to back); close one stop and you give back a stop of light but gain depth of field.
Shutter speed — the length of the moment (side effect: motion)
FIGURE A.3 — Full-stop shutter-speed scale (seconds)
LESS LIGHT ◄──────────────────────────────────────────► MORE LIGHT
shorter / FREEZES motion longer / BLURS motion
1/2000 1/1000 1/500 1/250 1/125 1/60 1/30 1/15 1/8 1/4 1/2 1s ... 30s
fast: freeze a │← hand-holdable floor →│ tripod: silky water,
sprinter, splash (for a steady hand) light trails
- Small fraction (1/1000) = short time = less light, motion frozen.
1/1000 sis briefer than1/30 s. - What one stop trades: double the time (e.g. 1/250 → 1/125) for one stop more light, at the cost of more motion blur and more camera-shake risk; halve the time for one stop less light and harder freezing.
- Hand-holding floor: keep shutter speed at least
1/(focal length)—1/50 sfor a 50mm lens,1/200 sfor a 200mm lens — because longer lenses magnify shake. Stabilization buys back a few stops; below ~1/60 shandheld, brace against a wall or use a tripod.
ISO — amplification of the signal (side effect: noise)
FIGURE A.4 — Full-stop ISO scale
LESS SENSITIVE ◄────────────────────────────────────────► MORE SENSITIVE
needs more light / CLEANEST works in less light / NOISIEST
ISO 100 200 400 800 1600 3200 6400 12800 25600
smooth tones grainy, speckled shadows
- The one intuitive scale: bigger number = brighter image, but more noise. Each doubling is one stop.
- What one stop trades: one stop more brightness for more digital grain (most visible in the shadows) — and no creative upside. ISO is the control you raise last, only after aperture and shutter have nothing left to give. Use the lowest ISO that still lets you set the aperture and shutter the photo needs.
- A sharp, slightly noisy frame beats a clean, blurry one every time. Raise ISO without guilt when the alternative is a missed or smeared shot; noise can be reduced in processing (Chapter 26), motion blur from too slow a shutter cannot be undone.
The one-line summary of the side effects: Aperture trades light for depth of field. Shutter trades light for motion. ISO trades light for noise. Two of the three give you something creative in return; ISO only costs you. That is the whole order of operations.
A.3 The reciprocity principle (equivalent exposures)
Because a stop is a stop is a stop, light gained on one control can be given back by another and the total brightness does not change — only the look does. This is reciprocity, and it is the engine of the exposure triangle (Chapter 3, §3.5).
The rule: open one control by N stops, close another by N stops, and the exposure is identical. The depth of field, motion rendering, and noise change; the brightness does not.
Suppose the meter says a scene is well exposed at f/8, 1/250 s, ISO 200. Every row below is the same brightness:
FIGURE A.5 — Equivalent exposures (all the SAME brightness, different looks)
Aperture Shutter ISO What changed vs. baseline The look
-------- -------- ----- ------------------------------ -----------------------
f/8 1/250 s 200 ── baseline ── balanced
f/2.8 1/2000 s 200 opened 3 stops, sped up 3 stops SHALLOW focus, freezes hard
f/16 1/60 s 200 closed 2 stops, slowed 2 stops DEEP focus, mild shake risk
f/8 1/1000 s 800 sped up 2 stops, ISO up 2 stops freezes motion, a bit noisier
f/4 1/250 s 50 opened 2 stops, ISO down 2 stops shallower focus, cleanest
Every stop GAINED on one control is GIVEN BACK on another → brightness never changes.
Order of operations when you build an exposure: (1) decide what the photo is about technically and set that control first — aperture if depth of field matters, shutter if motion matters; (2) set the second control to reach correct brightness; (3) raise ISO last, only if the first two can't make a clean, sharp exposure.
Note on film reciprocity failure. The word "reciprocity" has a second, narrower meaning you may meet: on film, at very long exposures (many seconds), the reciprocal trade quietly breaks down and the film needs more exposure than the math predicts. Digital sensors do not suffer this in the same way. Unless you shoot film at night, the everyday meaning above — equivalent exposures — is the one that matters.
A.4 Sunny 16 — metering without a meter
Before built-in meters, photographers carried a rule that still works as a sanity check and a fallback when a meter is fooled or dead.
The Sunny 16 rule: On a bright, sunny day, set the aperture to f/16 and the shutter speed to the reciprocal of your ISO. At ISO 100, that is f/16 at 1/100 s (or the nearest rung, 1/125 s); at ISO 200, f/16 at 1/200 s; and so on.
From that anchor, you adjust by reading the shadows the light is casting. Each row below is one stop of opening up from full sun (you can apply it on shutter or aperture — the table opens the aperture and holds the shutter fixed at 1/ISO):
FIGURE A.6 — The Sunny 16 family (shutter held at 1/ISO; open the aperture per the sky)
Aperture Sky / light condition Shadows you'll see
-------- ---------------------------------- -------------------------------
f/22 Snow or bright sand in full sun Very dark, very sharp-edged
f/16 Clear, sunny ("Sunny 16") Hard, sharp-edged
f/11 Slight haze / thin high cloud Soft-edged, distinct
f/8 Overcast, bright Barely visible
f/5.6 Heavy overcast None — flat light
f/4 Open shade / sunset None
A handy mnemonic for the names: f/16 = sunny, f/11 = slight overcast, f/8 = overcast, f/5.6 = heavy overcast, f/4 = open shade. The link between the aperture you open to and the quality of the day's light is exactly the four-lights-of-the-day idea from Chapter 5, §5.4 — Sunny 16 is just that knowledge turned into numbers.
📱 Phone equivalent. Your phone meters automatically and accurately, so you will rarely need Sunny 16 on it. Its value to a phone shooter is as a calibration of your eye: glance at the shadows, predict the condition, then check what the phone chose. Over time you learn to read light without looking at a screen — the real point of the rule.
A.5 Metering modes — how the camera measures the scene
The light meter measures scene brightness and recommends a "correct" exposure. Its fatal assumption: it expects every scene to average to middle grey — so it underexposes very bright scenes and overexposes very dark ones (the fix is exposure compensation, A.6). The metering mode controls how much of the frame the meter reads.
FIGURE A.7 — What each metering pattern reads (schematic frame, ▓ = weighted area)
EVALUATIVE / MATRIX CENTER-WEIGHTED SPOT
░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░ ░░░░▓▓▓▓▓░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░ ░░▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░ ░░░░░▓▓░░░░░░
░▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░ ░░░░▓▓▓▓▓░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░
reads the WHOLE scene favors the MIDDLE reads ONLY a tiny circle
| Metering mode | Reads | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluative / Matrix | The whole frame, with smart weighting | The default — most scenes, most of the time |
| Center-weighted | Mostly the central area | Subjects that fill the middle; classic, predictable behavior |
| Spot | A small circle (~2–5% of the frame) | A backlit face, a stage performer in a spotlight, high-contrast scenes where one tone must be exposed exactly |
When to switch off Evaluative: when one small, important area is lit very differently from the rest — a face against a bright sky, a performer in a dark theater. Switch to Spot, meter off the part that must be right (the face), lock it, and recompose.
📱 Phone equivalent. Phones do not usually expose separate metering modes. The equivalent control is tap-to-meter: tapping a point on the screen tells the phone "expose for this," which behaves like spot metering on that spot. Tap the face, not the sky.
A.6 Exposure compensation — overriding the meter
In any automatic or priority mode (P, A, S), exposure compensation tells the camera "brighter than you
think" (+) or "darker than you think" (−), in stops, usually via a dedicated dial or +/− button. In
Manual, you do the same thing without a button: you simply set the meter's pointer to +1 or −2
instead of 0.
The rule of thumb: white snow → add; black cat → subtract. When the scene is dominated by bright tones (snow, sand, a white wall, a pale sky), add
+1to+2stops to keep it bright — the meter wants to darken it to grey, so you countermand. When the scene is dominated by dark tones (night, a black backdrop, deep shade), subtract−1to−2stops to keep it dark.
FIGURE A.8 — The exposure-compensation scale (in the viewfinder / on screen)
darker ◄───────────────── correct ─────────────────► brighter
−3 . . −2 . . −1 . . . . . 0 . . . . . +1 . . +2 . . +3
▲ ▲
"black cat, deep shade, "white snow, sand,
night, dark backdrop" bright wall, pale sky"
dial toward − dial toward +
| Scene | Why the meter is fooled | Dial in |
|---|---|---|
| Snowy field, white sand, white seamless | Meter darkens the brightness to grey | +1 to +2 |
| Backlit subject (bright window/sky behind) | Meter exposes for the bright background, silhouetting the subject | +1 to +2 (or spot-meter the subject) |
| Night scene, dark backdrop, black animal | Meter brightens the darkness to grey, washing it out and adding noise | −1 to −2 |
| Concert / stage, spotlit subject on black | Meter overexposes the dark surround | −1 to −2 (or spot-meter the subject) |
📱 Phone equivalent. Tap to focus, then drag the little sun / brightness slider that appears beside the focus box up or down — that is exposure compensation. Many phones also let you lock it (press-and-hold to lock focus and exposure, often shown as "AE/AF lock").
A.7 Reading the histogram (the one honest judge)
The rear screen lies — it looks dark in sun and bright in a dark room — so judge exposure by the histogram, a bar chart of how many pixels fall at each brightness, pure black at the left wall to pure white at the right wall.
FIGURE A.9 — A well-exposed histogram, and the warning signs
pixel
count
│ ▁▃▅█▇▅▃▁
│ ▁▅███████▅▃▁
│ ▁▃▅███████████▅▃▁
│__▁▅█████████████████▅▁__
└────────────────────────────► brightness
BLACK midtones WHITE
(left wall) (right wall)
GOOD: data sits mostly in the middle, trailing off BEFORE either wall.
── WARNINGS ──
• Spike SLAMMED against RIGHT wall = highlights CLIPPED → blown to pure white, no detail (unrecoverable).
• Spike SLAMMED against LEFT wall = shadows CLIPPED → crushed to pure black, no detail (unrecoverable).
• Bunched LEFT with a gap on the right = UNDERexposed.
• Bunched RIGHT with a gap on the left = OVERexposed.
Clipping — data jammed against either wall — is lost detail no edit can recover. Glance at the histogram after important shots while you can still re-shoot. Turn on the highlight alert ("blinkies") if your camera has it. A correct histogram for a bright scene legitimately sits to the right, and a dark scene to the left — there is no single "right" shape, only "nothing important clipped against a wall." We go deeper in Chapter 26 (RAW processing) and Chapter 21 (reading it in near-darkness for night work).
A.8 Starting-point Settings Boxes for common situations
Each box is a starting point — set it, then check the meter and histogram and fine-tune. The "lead control" is the one you set first because its side effect is the point of the shot; the rest fall in behind it. White balance can stay on Auto (AWB) for most situations if you shoot RAW (you can fix it later — see Chapter 26); the suggested setting is where it helps to be deliberate.
Portrait (one person, soft dissolved background)
⚙️ Settings Box — Portrait
Setting Start at Why Mode A(Aperture-priority)Depth of field is the whole point Aperture f/2.8 (f/4 for a little margin / groups) Wide aperture melts the background; eyes pop Shutter Camera sets it; keep ≥ 1/200 s Avoid shake and subject movement ISO 100–400 (Auto ISO cap ~3200) Keep it clean; raise only indoors Focus Single AF ( AF-S) on the near eye; eye-detect if availableEyes must be the sharp plane Metering Evaluative; Spot on the face if backlit Expose the face correctly White balance Auto, or "Shade/Cloudy" to warm skin in open shade Flattering skin tone Light: one soft source to the side and slightly in front — a window or open shade is ideal (Ch. 5). 📱 Phone path: Portrait mode for the simulated blur; tap the eye to focus and meter; drag the brightness slider; get the subject into soft window light or open shade. Step back and zoom rather than shooting up close, for more flattering proportions.
Landscape (sharp front-to-back)
⚙️ Settings Box — Landscape
Setting Start at Why Mode A(Aperture-priority)Depth of field is the priority Aperture f/8 to f/11 Deep focus; near the lens's sharpest range (avoid f/22 — diffraction softens it) Shutter Whatever the meter needs (use a tripod) Long is fine when nothing moves ISO 100 Cleanest files; you have a tripod, so no need to raise it Focus Single AF, or manual to the hyperfocal distance (Ch. 4) Maximize the sharp band Metering Evaluative Broad, even scenes meter well White balance Auto, or "Daylight" for consistent skies Predictable color across a panorama Light: golden hour or blue hour for warmth and long shadows; overcast for soft, even detail (Ch. 5). 📱 Phone path: the tiny sensor already gives deep focus for free — just tap to focus a third of the way into the scene, lock exposure, and shoot. Use the grid for a level horizon; brace on a wall at dawn/dusk.
Action / sports (freeze the motion)
⚙️ Settings Box — Action
Setting Start at Why Mode S(Shutter-priority)Motion is the priority decision Shutter 1/1000 s (1/2000 s+ for birds in flight) Freeze the action hard Aperture Camera sets it (often near wide open) Let it open up to feed the fast shutter ISO Auto ISO with a ceiling (~6400) The shutter is locked; let ISO float to hold brightness Focus Continuous AF ( AF-C); tracking / subject-detectThe subject is moving toward/away from you Drive Burst / continuous shooting More frames = more chances at the peak moment Metering Evaluative Fast-changing scenes 📱 Phone path: use burst mode (hold the shutter / swipe) and pick the sharpest frame; tap-and-hold to lock focus on where the action will be. Phones can't set a true shutter speed in the default app, so shoot in bright light where the phone naturally chooses a fast one. A Pro app gives a real shutter slider.
Low light, indoors, no flash (stay sharp in the dim)
⚙️ Settings Box — Low light
Setting Start at Why Mode AorMControl the aperture; manage the shutter floor by hand Aperture f/1.4–f/2.8 (as wide as the lens opens) Gather all the light you can Shutter Keep ≥ 1/60 s handheld (≥ 1/125 s for people) Below this, shake or subject motion smears it ISO 1600–6400, raised as needed The control of last resort — but a sharp noisy frame beats a blurry one Focus Single AF on a high-contrast edge; manual + peaking if AF hunts AF struggles in the dark Metering Evaluative; −1 to −2 comp to keep the mood Don't let the meter wash dark scenes to grey White balance Set deliberately (tungsten/indoor) or shoot RAW Mixed indoor light casts color 📱 Phone path: turn ON Night mode (it brightens by stacking several frames — hold very still or prop the phone for the second or two it needs); avoid the harsh on-phone LED for portraits; brace on any solid surface. A Pro app lets you cap ISO and set a deliberate shutter.
Macro / close-up (tiny subject, paper-thin focus)
⚙️ Settings Box — Macro
Setting Start at Why Mode AorMAperture controls the (very shallow) depth of field Aperture f/8 to f/16 Up close, depth of field is millimetres — stop down hard for any margin Shutter ≥ 1/250 s handheld, or tripod At macro magnification, the tiniest shake is huge ISO 100–800 (raise to keep the shutter up) Balance against the small aperture's light loss Focus Manual focus; rock the camera slightly to place the plane AF hunts at high magnification Metering Evaluative or spot on the subject Small subject, possibly bright/dark surround Extras A reflector/white card to fill shadows; diffuse hard sun Soft light reveals tiny texture (Ch. 5) 📱 Phone path: use the dedicated macro lens or mode if your phone has one; otherwise get as close as the lens will still focus, tap the subject, and drag exposure. A clip-on macro lens is a cheap, genuine upgrade. Steady the phone — at this scale, handheld blur is the number-one killer.
Night / long exposure (light trails, stars, cityscape)
⚙️ Settings Box — Night & long exposure
Setting Start at Why Mode M(Manual)Meters are unreliable in near-darkness; you set everything Aperture f/8–f/11 for sharp cityscapes; f/2.8 or wider for stars Stop down for depth; open up to gather faint starlight Shutter 5–30 s for light trails / cityscape; ~15–25 s for stars before they streak Long enough to gather light and record motion ISO 100 for trails (tripod, long shutter); 1600–6400 for stars Low and clean when you have time; high when the sky is faint Focus Manual, set to infinity (or live-view magnify a distant light) AF fails in the dark Tripod Required; use a 2-second timer or remote Any touch during the exposure ruins it White balance Set deliberately; shoot RAW Mixed neon/sodium/LED light is wildly colored Light: blue hour (the ~20 min after sunset) balances a still-blue sky against city lights beautifully (Ch. 5). 📱 Phone path: Night mode handles handheld dusk; for true long exposures, prop the phone dead still and use a Pro app's long-shutter or a "light trails" mode. A phone tripod and a $5 clamp transform what's possible here.
A.9 The 60-second pre-shot checklist
Before the moment arrives — the habit that prevents the most common ruined shoots:
☐ ISO — reset it. (Did last night's dim event leave it at 3200?) Low unless you need otherwise.
☐ Mode — does it match today's priority? (Depth of field → A; motion → S; tricky light → M.)
☐ White balance — Auto is fine if you shoot RAW; otherwise set it for the light you're in.
☐ Focus mode — AF-S for still subjects, AF-C for moving ones; the right focus point selected.
☐ Drive mode — single, or burst if anything is moving.
☐ Format — shooting RAW (or RAW+JPEG) if you'll process later (Ch. 26).
☐ Exposure compensation — back to 0 unless this scene needs it (snow +, night −).
☐ Card and battery — in, and not full / not dead.
☐ One test frame — check the HISTOGRAM, not the screen's brightness. Nothing clipped against a wall.
📱 Phone version: clear the lens (a thumbprint is the #1 cause of soft phone photos), turn on the grid, decide Night/Portrait/Pro mode, and take one test frame — tap to set focus and exposure where it matters.
A.10 Quick decision rules (the whole appendix in nine lines)
• Exposure is ONE quantity of light, reached three ways. Measure every change in STOPS (a doubling/halving).
• Depth of field matters? → set APERTURE first (A mode). Portrait = wide (f/2.8); landscape = narrow (f/8–11).
• Motion matters? → set SHUTTER first (S mode). Freeze = fast (1/1000 s); blur = slow (1/4 s+, tripod).
• Neither critical? → keep ISO low and let P/Auto balance it.
• Raise ISO LAST, only when aperture & shutter can't make a clean, sharp frame. Sharp+noisy > clean+blurry.
• Trade stops freely: +N on one control, −N on another = same brightness, different look (reciprocity).
• Sunny day, no meter? → f/16 at 1/ISO (Sunny 16), then open up as clouds roll in.
• Meter fooled? → white snow ADD (+1/+2), black cat SUBTRACT (−1/−2) exposure compensation.
• Judge exposure by the HISTOGRAM, not the lying rear screen. Keep important tones off both walls.
Cross-references: the exposure triangle, stops, metering, compensation, and the histogram are taught in Chapter 3; focus, depth of field, autofocus modes, and the hyperfocal distance in Chapter 4; the quality, direction, color, and times-of-day of light in Chapter 5; phone Pro mode and simulated depth of field in Chapter 23; and RAW processing, white balance, and noise reduction in Chapter 26.