The Sunny 16 Rule
For landscape photography, relying too much on your camera’s metering system often doesn’t yield the best results. For example, when a large portion of the scene is dark, the camera’s metering will increase exposure, resulting in overly bright photos where the sky turns washed out with no detail.
In such cases, the “Sunny 16 Rule” helps avoid this issue. Since sunlight intensity is relatively constant, in well-lit outdoor conditions, setting your camera to f16 aperture and 1/125 second shutter speed (with ISO 100) will produce vibrant, properly exposed landscape shots. According to this rule, for highly reflective environments like beaches, use f/22; for overcast conditions with weaker light, use f/11.
Camera Shake Rule
When shooting handheld, your shutter speed shouldn’t be slower than the reciprocal of your lens’s focal length. The slower the shutter, the more likely camera shake will reduce sharpness. For a 50mm lens, aim for a shutter speed of at least 1/50 second.
However, many modern digital cameras have image stabilization. Canon and Nikon, known for lens-based stabilization, excel especially in telephoto photography — stabilization is very noticeable at focal lengths over 135mm.
For models with in-body stabilization, the advantage is mainly seen at mid-range focal lengths between 50-100mm. Take the Olympus E-3, for instance — at this range, it can effectively provide the equivalent of 4 stops of safe shutter speed. That means at 100mm, you can shoot at 1/8 second without blur.
Depth of Field Rule
When your subject has significant depth, focus on the front third of the depth of field area. This is because the depth behind the focus point is twice as deep as the depth in front. This rule applies to any combination of aperture and focal length. Remember, the smaller the aperture, the shorter the focal length, and the farther the subject, the greater the depth of field.
Exposure Rule
Currently, digital cameras commonly use average metering, center-weighted metering, and spot metering.
Average metering calculates the mean light intensity across the entire frame. It uses various data collection and calculation methods, and doesn’t consider the main subject. It’s fairly accurate for evenly lit scenes and works well when there are no strong contrasts.
Center-weighted metering calculates exposure based on the central and nearby areas of the frame, using different weighting coefficients — with the highest weight given to the center, decreasing toward the edges. It’s a balanced approach, considering both overall brightness and the typical placement of the main subject in the center. It’s suitable for scenes where the subject stands out but the background still matters.
Spot metering is a more professional method, measuring light from just 1% of the center of the frame. It’s an extreme approach ideal for complex lighting or high contrast scenes where you want to emphasize the subject and create special artistic effects.
Fast Flash Output Rule
If your camera can’t automatically control flash output, set your flash’s ISO to double that of the film (or sensor setting). When metering for the main subject, set the camera aperture to a full stop, and match the flash to the same aperture. This way, shadow areas will be one stop darker than the subject.
Flash Distance Rule
This one’s simple: double the distance, quadruple the ISO. For example, if your flash is effective up to 20 meters at ISO 100, to reach 40 meters, you’ll need to increase the ISO to 400.
Capturing Motion Rule
This rule comes from an empirical formula relating angle and speed. If you can freeze motion moving along the lens axis at 1/125 second, then for motion perpendicular to the lens axis, you’ll need 1/500 second. In other words, for motion at a 45-degree angle to the lens axis, 1/250 second suffices.
Sunset Rule
When shooting a sunset, meter the top part of the sun, but don’t let the sun itself appear in your viewfinder. If you want the sunset to look like it’s an hour later than it actually is, reduce the exposure compensation by 1 stop.