Camera Basics: EV Compensation Is an Important Tool You Need to Understand (VIDEO)

Many photographers rely on their camera’s sophisticated metering system to provide the “correct” exposure for the scene at hand. While this approach works well under a wide variety of lighting conditions, there are times when even the smartest camera can be fooled.

The quick tutorial below describes how and when to use a camera’s exposure compensation capability under tricky lighting conditions to arrive at a more accurate result than what the camera’s built-in meter recommends. Also known as “EV Compensation,” this feature enables you to override the camera and either add or subtract up to 5 stops of exposure in 1/2 or 1/3-stop increments.

Experienced photo instructor David Robbins walks you through the simple process in less than four minutes while shooting in the field. You can find more helpful tips on The Photographer Academy YouTube channel, and be sure to watch another primer from Robbins we posted Wednesday, explaining everything you need to know about your camera’s different shooting modes.

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