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SUNNY 16 RULE
Even the professional photographer can forget to bring along an exposure meter
on an assignment. A predicament faced more often is finding the exposure meter
battery dead. Either situation will require the photographer to make an
estimation of exposure.
For daylight an approximation of the correct exposures is possible by following
an old rule of thumb:
Daylight Exposure = 1/ASA ISO speed at f/16
Example when using ASA 100 speed film.
For a sunny day picture, set the shutter to 1/100 of a sec or as close as
possibly i.e. 1/125. And the aperture to f/16 this will be the correct
exposure " Sunny 16".
Daylight Exposure Estimation Chart
Lighting Conditions Exposure Time:
Bright sun on beach or snow Close 1 f /stop
Normal Bright Sun Sunny 16 Rule
Hazy sun, soft shadows Open 1 f /stop
Cloudy bright, no shadows Open 2 f /stops
Open shade, no sun Open 3 f /stops
Heavy overcast Open 3 f /stops
Rounding off of the ASA/ISO is permissible but should be with in ½ f/stop for
black and white film and 1/3 f/stop for color. Remember that this is an
approximation of correct exposure, and is based on average sunny light with an
average subject. When not sure of the correct exposure bracket your shots one up
and two down. Also when starting out with this or a new "old" camera
keep a record ( Film Frame Info ) of
shots, shutter speed, aperture and lighting conditions. This way you will
improve from your mistakes and know why some images turn out.
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