The Exposure Guide in a box of Kodak Film

Introduction to the Sunny 16 Rule

Shot with the sun going down at the harbour in Cefal, Sicil ! The Sunn "# rule is actuall simple set of rules to help ou shoot without a light$ meter but we are going to take it much further than that! In this article you will find all the information you will ever need to take photos without using light meters whether handheld or in-camera. % decided to write this guide after ha&ing gone through the arduous process of mastering the Sunn "# rule without really knowing what % was doing! % tried finding information online but most of it was 'ust generic, run$of$the$mill information about the Sunn "# rule that has been copied and pasted all around the web! I wont be throwing graphs and charts at you in Part 1 of this guide. In Part 2 where we will go into huge detail you will have more charts and graphs than you can possibly handle This guide will pro&ide a short and brief explanation of the Sunn "# rule and some tips as well as a much longer step b step approach on how to nail the exposure every time, because that is what reall matters! %f, after a short period of ad'ustment, ou can(t trust

an exposure s stem then it(s 'ust not good enough! The Sunn "# rule works for me and it will work for ou! % shoot a )eica *+ and a ,entax K"--- .which has a broken light meter/ using onl the rules laid out on this page and % get +# great exposures .but not necessaril great pictures0/ in e&er roll of film! %(&e taken these two cameras all o&er 1ustria, Spain, %tal , England and e&en as far awa as Cambodia0 %t doesn(t matter if ou shoot , outside or inside, at night or during the da or e&en at sunrise or sunset! The Sunn "# rule works! 1fter much deliberation %(&e come to the conclusion that the camera ou use doesn(t reall matter, it(s all about what ou point it at0 %t(s irrele&ant if ou shoot film or digital, a rangefinder or a S)2, colour or black and white! % belie&e that the most important thing is to make sure ou shoot sub'ects which ou are passionate about! % reall en'o the compan of people and tra&elling and so most of m images are portraits or tra&el shots! % ha&en(t written this article because % belie&e that m wa of doing things is superior or because % want to 3con&ert4 an one to shooting without a light meter! %t(s for people who are considering making the mo&e, for e&er bod else it can hopefull be an interesting read and e&en if it 'ust makes ou think a little more about how ou go about taking photographs then % feel %(&e achie&ed something! % also don(t consider m self an authorit .what a word0/ on photographic matters, %(m 'ust a regular gu who gu s has a slightl different approach to photograph ! 1ll the photographs in this article were shot using the Sunn "# rule!

!nyway lets begin. Remember to bookmark this post as you might need to refer back to it in your journey to master the Sunny 16 rule. 5ote6 This is partl a continuation of the Exposure "-" article, in this article we will also discuss the more ad&anced aspects of exposure!

Why use the Sunny 16 Rule?

Shot in the late afternoon on a boat in Cambodia!

It might seem incredibly archaic to guess exposure in the 21st century but there are some distinct advantages of being able to accurately assess the intensity and quality of light in any given situation.

You might have little choice %f ou shoot an all manual film camera like the wonderful )eica *+ and don(t fanc carr ing around a separate light meter then ou need to learn the Sunn "# rule! 1 small price to pa to be able to use such a fabulous tool! In tough lighting situations you can!t trust your camera to get it right. )ight meters can easil be fooled b scenes that contain large contrasts and on a bright da the can also be fooled b &er shin ob'ects! 1lso, our camera cannot read our mind and know what effect ou want to create! 2emember, photograph is not 'ust about capturing the scene, it(s about your interpretation! "hat happens if the batteries in your film camera run out and you are left #ith no light meter$ This has happened to me before on m ,entax K"--when the light meter was actuall working! 7hile not a

likel occurrence, learning the basics ou insure ourself against this e&ent! 8our light meter could also permanentl stop working but ou would still ha&e a useable camera if ou know the Sunn "# rule! %a&ing personal responsibility. This is the same reason wh man photographers shoot9scan in 217 instead of 'peg! %t takes the decision making process awa from the electronics inside our camera and gi&es it back to the photographer! : learning to use the Sunn "# rule ou take ultimate responsibilit about how our image will turn out! 8ou can(t blame our tools0 It feels great. % find that it(s a satisf ing feeling going out with 'ust m )eica *+, a ;-mm prime lens and m pockets full of film! % ha&e no batteries to worr about and a perfectl clean &iewfinder with no blinking lights or needles that mo&e around! % find that it reall helps me focus on the moment! 1lso, it(s refreshing to take a step back from technolog once in a while! 'astering the Sunny 16 rule gives you huge respect from the mere mortals #ho still use in(camera metering. % met a photographer on a boat in Cambodia who was shooting with a Canon S"--, a wonderful little point and shoot digital camera and the look on her face was priceless when % told her % was using m experience and intuition to nail the exposure! 5ot sure how &alid a reason this is but it(s <uite nice when it happens0 It ma&es you use your head #hich is never a bad thing! % think most artistic endea&ours re<uire a huge amount of thinking! Guessing exposure b using the Sunn "# rule will force ou to pause and actuall look at the <ualit and intensit of the light for each and e&er shot ou take! 8ou ma be surprised at how much more ou begin to see=

Shot at a slightl cloud lunchtime in )ondon, Summer >-">! 2ight now the mere thought of 'ust going out and using our e es and brain to calculate the aperture and shutter speed probabl seems a little cra? ! %t brings up images of doing calculations on the back of scraps of paper or of being one of those tough$as nails

war photographers from last centur , changing rolls crouching behind a rock while being shot at! This couldn(t be further from the truth! @nce ou ha&e mastered the Sunn "# rule ou will find that our camera will alread be set to the correct combination of shutter speed and aperture before ou e&en raise to our e e and all ou ha&e to do is compose the shot, focus and then fire awa ! %t will seem the most natural thing in the world and ou will ne&er hesitate! Exposure 1 1

1n %nfographic on basic photograph exposure This is 'ust a <uick recap of the &arious terms ou will find further on! %f ou are &er new to photograph , or 'ust want a refresh, then ou will want to read m in(depth guide to photographic exposure.

)perture ( This is the ad'ustable opening in the lens! The bigger the opening, the more light hits our sensor at an one time! Shutter Speed ( This determines how long the shutter will sta open! The longer the shutter sta s open the more light hits the sensor! IS* ( This is a measurement of how sensiti&e our film or digital sensor is to light! *ore on this later!

!he Sunny 16 Rule in a "utshell

If you are more of a +hands on, type of person #ho prefers to be outside shooting instead of reading then this section is dedicated to you Short- s#eet and to the point. *n a sunny day set aperture to f.16 and shutter speed to the reciprocal of the IS* for a sub/ect in direct sunlight. )et(s <uickl break this down! The onl part were some people might get confused is setting the shutter speed to the 3reciprocal of the %S@4! This is actuall &er simple! %t means ou turn the shutter speed into a fraction of a second! So6

%f ou are shooting at %so >-- then our shutter speed will be "9>--s %f ou are shooting at %so A-- then our shutter speed will be "9A--s! %f ou are shooting at %so B-- then our shutter speed will be "9B--s! 1nd so on= %f ou don(t ha&e these exact shutter speed settings on our camera .i!e! ou ha&e "9>;-s instead of "9>--/ don(t worr about it, 'ust use the closest settings a&ailable!

0asy *n a sunny day you set the aperture to f.16 and your shutter speed to 1.211 if you are using Iso 211 film. @f course, feel free to use an other e"uivalent e#posure. %f ou aren(t <uite sure what that means, ou probabl need to read m in$depth guide to exposure before attempting to use the Sunn "# rule! 2ood luc& and ma&e sure you chec& out the tips at the end of this post

!he #ull "ine $ards

This is reall the crux of the guide! : all means read the 3Cuick Dn( Eas 7a 4 first as a <uick introduction to the Sunn "# rule but this reall is the full nine ards! 1fter reading and absorbing this section ou will know e&er thing ou need to know about guessing exposure and the Sunn "# rule! Take a deep breath and read on0

E%uipment needed to use the Sunny 16 Rule

There isn(t a huge amount that ou need to learn the Sunn "# rule! 1fter all, the whole point is to keep things simple0

) camera #hich can be set into manual mode. This can be a film or digital camera! This doesn(t need to a )eica * s stem, an camera will do! Something to measure exposure. This could be a dedicated hand$held light meter, our current camera with a built in light meter or e&en a smartphone with a light meter app! Tr beeCam for 1ndroid and ,ocket )ight *eter for i,hone! :oth are free! Your brain and eyes. Eopefull ou ha&e these! ) good attitude and a healthy dose of patience. 1s with e&er thing in life=

$our #irst !ime using the Sunny 16 Rule

The first time ou hit the streets to attempt using the Sunn "# ou probabl shouldn(t expect great results! )ike most things, it takes some time and practice to get good! The first thing ou need to do is calibrate our e es and brain to a default exposure setting! Fnless ou tra&el constantl .luck ou if ou do0/ then ou will probabl be shooting in similar light most of the time! This is wh it makes sense to calibrate the sunn "# rule for which e&er part of the world ou li&e in! For example, % split m ear between Sicil , )ondon and 1ustria and each re<uires a slight alteration! %n the middle of the summer in Sicil the Sunn "# 2ule needs to be altered to become the Sunn >> 2ule because incredibl bright and there are ?ero clouds in the sk ! So % decrease m default aperture from fG"# to fG>>! %n )ondon in the summer it ne&er reaches that kind of le&el so % would stick to Sunn "#, or e&en change it to Sunn B! Hon(t go to )ondon in the summer, it(s alwa s horrible weather! 3o# to calibrate$ Eas 0 Take our metered camera or light meter and go outside on a t pical sunn da for our area of the world and take se&eral readings in bright sunlight! 8ou might want to do this o&er the course of a week and then a&erage the results for more accurac but that is probabl o&erkill! 2emember that ob&iousl our a&erage rule will change depending on the seasons too but it(s usuall a small change and with a little common sense ou won(t ha&e an problems! 5ow that ou ha&e calibrated our e es and brain to a default exposure setting it(s time to get used to changing that for specific situations! %f ou want, print off a cop of the exposure guide at the beginning of the article and carr it around with ou! Tr and guess the exposure before taking the shot! )ook at a scene and sa to ourself fG"# I "9>-- or whate&er ou think the settings should be! Tr shooting directl towards the sun, awa from it, in the shadows etc! Then check and see what our camera or light meter tells ou! 2emember that our camera or light meter don(t know how to compensate for backlit sub'ects and don(t ha&e artistic taste! So don(t think that ou are wrong 'ust because our exposure is different0 Tr and get a feel for how much ou are

o&erexposing or underexposing! % explain in the tips sections how to expose for sidelit and backlit sub'ects! 1 <uick tip6 %f ou are shooting digital it(s fine to underexpose a small amount but if ou are shooting film ou want to aim for either spot on exposure or o&erexposure! 8ou can get awa with murder o&erexposing film but if ou o&erexposure in digital often ou will 3blow4 the highlights! This means ou will get horrible blocks of white, usuall the sk ! %f ou underexpose with film ou lose lots of details in the shadows and it generall looks awful! %hat!s it 1fter a da (s shooting ou should ha&e a general idea of how to use the Sunn "# rule! *ake notes of the mistakes ou made and make sure ou learn from them! %f ou are shooting digital then ou can re&iew our images and see how ou did! %f ou are shooting film then write all our exposures down and then get our film de&eloped and then printer and9or scanned! E&entuall , tr not using the exposure guide and 'ust keep the Sunn "# rule in our head! 1s long as ou can remember fG"# and " o&er the %so ou are good to go! !ips

%t(s as eas as one, two, three0 Eere are &arious tips that % ha&e either disco&ered the hard wa or found b talking to other photographers

4eep it Simple There is no need to write down all the possible exposures for e&er lighting situation known to man! 1 little common sense goes a long wa ! %f unsure, bracket our shots in one stop increments! 5on!t ma&e it harder for yourself % recommend sticking to the same %S@ settings regardless of whether ou are shooting film or digital! This effecti&el turns the infamous exposure triangle of %S@, shutter speed and aperture into a seesaw of 'ust shutter speed and aperture! @nce ou ha&e the hang of it, then ou can start bumping that %S@ up0 If in doubt- overexpose. This onl applies to the film shooters! Colour print film and :lack and 7hite film ha&e a huge latitude for o&erexposure! %f % remember correctl , colour print film can be o&erexposed up to ; stops and still produce a picture! %t probabl won(t be the image ou had in mind but c(est la &ie! That(s like shooting at fG> when ou should be shooting at fG"#00 This leads me nicel onto the next tip= f67 )nd 8e %here. 7hat is far more important that getting an absolutel perfect exposure is actuall being there and taking the shot0 Just setting our camera on f9B will mean ou will get something which alwa s beats getting nothing0 *ake sure ou explore places properl and don(t 'ust take the same old snapshots that e&er bod else takes! This old photographic rule is actuall wh m blog is named 1nd:eThere!com ! 7e tr and capture the essence without getting bogged down in the mundane! Rate your film slightly slo#er 1gain, a tip for film shooters! %f ou rate our film slightl slower, so for example ou rate %S@ >-- film at ";-, ou will automaticall ha&e a slightl o&erexposure, usuall b around one "9+ of a stop! This is often beneficial as, in m experience, it gi&es a slightl cleaner exposure! 2ead StefanosDs point and m repl in the comments below for further clarification! 9or film ma&e sure you expose for the shado#s. Hon(t take this as gospel but it(s often the right wa to go about things! For example, if % am shooting a portrait and there is strong light coming from the side then part of the face of the model will be in shadow! 8ou want to expose for that side of the face so ou don(t lose detail! 9or bac&lit sub/ects overexpose by t#o stops. %f ou are walking around on a sunn da and ou want to shoot a backlit sub'ect, increase our aperture b two stops .i!e! f9"# to f9B/ or increase our shutter speed b two stops ."9>;-s to "9#-/! 2emember ou can mix and match0 %ncrease both parameters b one stop each or ou could choose a faster shutter speed like "9"---s and then ha&e a larger aperture such as f9A so ou get less depth of field for a flattering portrait! 2emember it(s all about our creati&it ! This ob&ious is a rule of thumb, some sub'ects will re<uire more exposure compensation, some will re<uire less! You can turn your camera into a point and shoot. %f ou shoot with a manual focus lens then ou alread ha&e the fastest camera a&ailable! ,re$set our exposure using the Sunn "# 2ule and then estimate the distance to our sub'ect and use the HoF scale on our lens to focus! 1ll ou need to do now is point the camera in the right direction and take the picture0 That(s how % shot a bic cle race the other da with a ,entax K"--- and a ;-mm manual focus prime lens!

&onclusion

This was taken in the late afternoon with no artificial light! Just the sun coming in from large floor to ceiling windows on the right hand side! This is the end of part one of the Fltimate Guide to the Sunn "# 2ule! Check out ,art > where we go into much more detail about e&er thing we co&ered toda and also learn some new things0 :e warned, a fair bit of maths and charts lie ahead0 % belie&e that regardless of how ou shoot, learning to guess exposure will make ou a better photographer! 7hen we take photos we are painting with light and so spending some time thinking not onl about how much light we use, but the <ualit of it will surel help us impro&e our skills! % hope ou ha&e found this guide useful and if you have any questions or feedbac& please do not hesitate to comment belo#.

That was just the starter, now, onto the main course Btw, if you have just landed on this page, you probably want to read Part 1 of this guide first, or even my Exposure 101 Guide before you tac le this article! "ou have pretty much all information you need to get started using the #unny 1$ %ule in Part 1! Part & is the advanced course for those who types who want to now everything and want to nail their exposures every time, without using a light meter! 'his is probably complete over ill for most people, but here we go(

Lets Geek Out

)e * s ipped an incredibly fundamental point in Part 1! )e never discussed what units light is measured in+ *t,s seems pretty basic, right- *t,s not crucial to now this to learn how to guess exposure well but who nows, it may come in handy one day! .ight /or should * say, the intensity of light0 is measured in various units! )e have Foot Candles, Candelas and Lumens!Foot Candles are the traditional way of measuring light! 1ne 2oot 3andle is the amount of light that a candle produces 1 foot away from the candle! 'o me, this doesn,t seem particularly helpful! Candelas is actually a measure of how much light a certain light source produces! 'his is measure from the source itself, unli e with Foot Candles! 'he full definition of a 3andela is the following4 luminous intensity of a light source producing single-frequency light at a frequency of 540 terahertz (THz) with a power of !"#$ watt per steradian% or #&$'## milliwatts over a complete sphere centered at the light source& *,m not even going to pretend to now what the hell that means+ 'he easy way of loo ing it at it that 2oot 3andles are a measurement of light at a particular illuminated object while 3andela is how much total light is coming from the source! Lumens is a measure of the total 5amount6 of visible light emitted by a particular source! "ou may also have heard of the term Lux, all that means is lumens per square meter& P#4 *f you %E7.." want to gee out, read the )i ipedia entry on light!

Making Things im!le "gain

2ortunately, we can leave all that ru((ish to the scientists! 7s photographers, we have our own simplified scale! )e can plot this scale out using #x!osure $alue %#$& numbers! 7ll that an Exposure 8alue number tells you is what combination of 7perture and #hutter #peed to use for any given scene!#x!osure $alue %#$& is often confused with Light $alue %L$&! )hile #x!osure $alue tells you how much light is allowed into the camera, Light $alue %L$& tell you how much light there is in the scene! 7t *#1 100, .8 and E8 are e9ual to each other, while for other *#1 speeds you need to add or subtract! )e won,t cover this in detail as it,s fairly redundant and we really only need to deal in E8

:umbers! ;ust be aware that when * tal about the Exposure 8alue of a scene, it,s technically only correct for *#1 100! 'hese numbers range from <$E8 to &=E8! <$E8 is virtually pitch blac , while >&=E8 is so bright it,s not even found in nature! ?nless you wor ing at a :uclear power plant and something goes horribly wrong, you will never see anything brighter than 1$E8! )ell, you might, but * doubt you will be photographing it! 'he Ev scale is logarithmic! 'his means that each time the Ev number increases by 1 the amount of light is doubled! 'hus, 1@Ev is twice as bright as 1=Ev, but only half as bright as 1AEv! Bere is a lovely graphic comparing the most commonly used Ev numbers and their relative brightness4'ust a (uick note, di))erent #* num+ers descri+e di))erent +rightnesses i) ,ou !hotogra!hed them with the same a!erture and shutter s!eed- O+*iousl, ,ou change ,our shutter s!eed and a!erture as and when needed-

'ypical Ev numbers encountered in everyday life

*f you thin about it, &=Ev is over A00 Billion /& to the power of &C0 times brighter than <$Ev+ Get ,our .a, /ans out0

#o, let,s ta e a loo at what ind of scenes correspond to the various E8 numbers

12 'his is when you are out in the countryside, far away from the city and the only light source are the stars in the s y! Bow romantic DD 13

'his is the same as above, but there is also a sliver of the moon visible, just li e in the Eream)or s logo! 14 7gain, you,re away from the city with only stars in the s y but this time there is half a moon visible! 15 #ame old story, but with a full moon! *t,s highly recommended to use a tough<as<nails #.% camera li e a :i on 2 or Pentax F1000 so you can use it to fight off the werewolves!

'his is what happens at <=E8 16 #ame as <=Ev, but you,re in the snow! #ounds horrible+ 17#* 8 9#* Enough about the moon, * won,t mention it again! 'hese two Ev numbers are for subjects which are lit by dim ambient artificial light! 7n example of this is a lamp on a table or a fixture on the ceiling! :7 'his is for a lighted s yline which is at a distance :6 * actually lied when * said * wasn,t going to mention the moon again! * totally forgot about total eclipses of the moon+ 'his is when the earth goes between the #un and the

Goon! 'he moon goes red, it,s pretty cool! "ou can also use this setting to capture lighting, as long as you have a long enough exposure time! :5 2irewor s+ >4 'his is great when you want to ta e romantic candle lit close<up portraits of your girlfriendHwifeHmistress! *t,s also good for ta ing photos of all those horrible 3hristmas lights that get put up each year as well as floodlit monuments, fountains and buildings! >3 'his is useful for ta ing portraits of people around a camp fire and also for home interiors at night , with normal house lights! >2 'his is for brightly lit scenes in a house and at amusement par s! >; *n the forest, indoor sports, at the theatre, and brightly lit street photography! :< 'his is when you want to ta e pictures of people telling stories by the campfire and also for sports at night! := .andscapes about 9uarter of an hour after sunset :79 .andscapes just after sunset :77 #unset or subjects which are heavily shaded :76 Beavy overcast day or a subject in the shade! :75 7 bright, cloudy day with no shadows 7gain, you need to have a long enough exposure time for these+

:74 2or a day with a wea sun, or when the s y is haIy :73 #ubjects on a sunny day /hence the #unnyH1$ rule+0 :72 #ubjects on a sunny day at the beach, desert or on snow! :7; to :65 "ou will most probably never encounter this type of intense light, except in a nuclear meltdown or other man made event!

The Charts
"ou can find a more boring serious Exposure 8alue chart that you can actually print out and ta e with you at 2red Par er,s website! "ou can train yourself to use the E8 scale by carrying the chart around with you, then consulting the following chart which is the E8 to fHstop J shutter speed chart and you,re done+ /'here is also an easier way which *,ll share a little later on!!0 >ote? This is )or @so 799

Because * am absolutely incredible, * have also redone the chart for all the other common *so settings too+ Get them here4

*so &A Exposure 8alue 3hart *so A0 Exposure 8alue 3hart *so 100 Exposure 8alue 3hart /as seen above0 *so &00 Exposure 8alue 3hart *so @00 Exposure 8alue 3hart *so K00 Exposure 8alue 3hart *so 1$00 Exposure 8alue 3hart *so =&00 Exposure 8alue 3hart *so $@00 Exposure 8alue 3hart

Aou can thank me in the comments later 7 9uic pointer on how to use these charts! 2ind Ev number and loo it up and then choose best shutter speedHaperture combination for your scene! *t,s all about "1?% artistic interpretation of the scene! )hen shooting film, * would thin more about areas of the chart than specific boxes!! you can often get away with murder if you overexpose! *f you underexpose, you are the one getting murdered!

* wouldn,t recommend trying to commit any of these to memory, that sounds li e far too much wor + %each the point where you )ust *now the correct exposure(*t,s much easier ;ust in case you are a genius, here are 7.. of the Exposure 8alue 3harts rolled into one+ 'his is truly the Gother 1f 7ll Exposure 8alue 3harts+ * recommend that you right clic and save this to your computer so you can view it full<siIe! * don,t actually thin this table is needed because you should be shooting the same filmH*so /and yes, you really should be shooting film0 while you are learning the #unny 1$ %ule!

The Mother O) "ll #x!osure $alue Charts

The Bltimate unn, 72 .ule Cheat heet

1 , if you found all those charts up a bit too difficult, here is a great little cheat sheet that you can print out and carry with you and it will be good enough CL!=KM of the time! 7lternatively, you could just stic the #unny 1$ %ule cheat sheet found inside every box of Foda onto the bac of your camera! 'hat,s what * did when * was learning! "ou can find a copy of Foda ,s cheat sheet at the beginning of Part 1 of this guide!

:ote that *,ve included a description of what the shadows should loo li e! 'his is often the easiest way to now what setting your camera should be on as you wal around and then you can adjust for each individual subject as you see fit! 7 word of warning4 remember to ex!ose )or the shadows and the highlights will ta e care of themselves+ 'his is especially important when shooting film /which, as always, you should be0! 7s the overexposure latitude of colour negative and blac and white film is so large, you are better off exposing a little too much by calculating your exposure from the dar er parts of your subject and relying on this enormous latitude to not 5blow6 the highlights! *f all this sounds li e Gree to you, you probably need to read my guide to Exposure!

3hec Bac soon for Part = where we will discuss after<dinner photography and how to guess exposure during the night+