Lesson 2 · Days 6–10 · 6 min read
Exposure
Not too dark. Not too white.
Exposure means how bright the picture is. Too dark and you can't see anyone's face. Too bright and faces turn into white blobs. Your whole job is to land in the middle — and there's one simple test for it.
Read out loud, so you can just watch and listen.
Watch it move — that's what you're aiming for.
What you need to know
The only test that matters
Point the camera at a person and look at the screen. Can you clearly see their face? Then you're done. Is it a dark shadow, or a glowing white blob? Then something needs changing.
Three dials, in plain words
Shutter is how long each picture is taken for — we set it to 1/50 and never touch it again. Aperture is how big the hole in the lens is; a bigger hole lets in more light. ISO is a brightness boost.
Change the aperture first
Too dark? Open the aperture — that means a smaller f number, like f/2.8. Too bright? Close it — a bigger number, like f/8. This is the one dial you'll actually move.
Brightness boost has a cost
ISO makes the picture brighter without adding light, but push it high and it goes speckly and messy. On the FX3, ISO 800 is a clean place to sit. If it's still dark, turn a light on in the room instead of cranking ISO.
Too bright can't be fixed
A slightly dark clip can be rescued later. A face that has gone pure white is gone forever — there's nothing left to fix. So when in doubt, don't overdo the brightness.
On the Sony FX3
Exactly where to look
- Set shutter to 1/50 on day one and leave it there all week.
- Start at ISO 800 — the FX3's happy place.
- Then make it brighter or darker using the aperture (the f/ number).
- Smaller f number = brighter picture and blurrier background. Bigger f number = darker and sharper all over.
- If the room is super bright, the FX3 has a built-in filter called ND — basically sunglasses for the lens.
At Aura House
The big window problem
One Aura House studio has a huge window with the city behind it. The window is way brighter than the people sitting in front of it, so beginners point the camera and the guests turn into shadows. The fix is simple: make the people look right first, even if the window ends up too bright. People always win.
Hands on
Try this in real life
- 1Set the FX3 to 1/50 and ISO 800.
- 2Film someone's face way too dark on purpose, then way too bright on purpose.
- 3Now get it just right using only the aperture.
- 4Do it once more with a bright window behind them.
Three things to remember
- Shutter 1/50, ISO 800, then adjust the aperture.
- Smaller f number = brighter.
- If you can clearly see the face, you got it right.
You don't need to master all three dials. Move the aperture and look at the face.