The Exposure Triangle is made up of ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed.
ISO – This is essentially how sensitive the sensor is to light, this means you can digitally control the brightness of the image. However using an excessively large ISO can result in a grainy image so it is best to keep it as low as possible and adjust after you have set your Aperture and Shutter Speed.
Aperture – This setting controls the size of the Aperture ring within the camera, dictating how much light is let in. This feature is also referred to as the F-Stop, having a Low number F-Stop (Big hole) will result in a Shallow Depth of Field. Therefore having a High number F-Stop (Small hole) will result in a Deep Depth of Field. A ‘Depth of Field’ is essentially how much of the image is in focus.
Shutter Speed – This controls how long the sensor is exposed to the light. If you’re filming a fast car at a high shutter speed the image in each frame will be sharp and clear, If you’re filming at a low shutter speed the image in each frame will appear Blurred.
When shooting a photo with a DSLR the mirror will fold out of the way exposing the sensor to light and then flip back down the time that this takes to happen is called the shutter speed. This is slightly different when filming with most modern cameras but the principle is still the same, rather than the mirror constantly folding up and down it will stay fixed in the open position and the camera will register the shutter speed manually.
FPS (Frames Per Second) – This is how many images the camera will take in a second and also how fast you play the images back. The human eye will see 25fps as smooth footage and won’t see much difference between that and a higher FPS. Using a Lower FPS however will be extremely noticeable and look more staccato.
Average Shutter Speed
Higher Shutter Speed
Highest Shutter Speed
Deep Depth of Field
Shallow Depth of Field
Exposure Triangle Test Shots
Aesthetics
ISO – This setting could be used to achieve an image with a higher gain or more grainy image. This effect could be used for a more edgy feel for example if you were shooting a gritty music video (nirvana) or perhaps a documentary about industrialization.
Aperture – This setting could be used to create an emotional style. For example having a shallow depth of field could provide a very close and homely feel, where as on the other hand having a deep depth of field could provide a very open and distant feel.
This entirely depends on the context it is being used in however as a shallow depth of field could also be used to represent isolation.
Shutter Speed – This effect would mainly be used to create motion blur. Filming someone with running past with a low shutter speed will create a slight blur giving the impression that they are moving much faster. In the same situation with a high shutter the images would be much cleaner and sharper reducing the amount of motion blur.
A low shutter speed could also be used to create a dreamy or memory effect as the footage will have a slight blur and wishy washy feel to it.
Professional film examples
This image is from Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. It uses a shallow depth of field which could of been used to show how self centered leo’s character was. By having every thing else in frame blurred out it represents how little he cares. This effect works as the film outlines how little respect white men had for their fellow man.
This image is from ‘The Hunger Games – Mocking Jay pt2’ and uses quite a large Depth of field. I feel this is effect as having everybody in one plane of focus could indicate how equal and unified everybody is which is appropriate in this film as its about the people coming together to overthrow a corrupt government.
Matthew Tucker 