1. Eugene Louie
Photo 1 Quiz # 2
Exposure Basics: The Concept
Making a correct exposure for a picture involves understanding just three things:
1. How the shutter speed and the size of the opening (the f stop or aperture) work together to control the amount of light that reaches
the film.
2. The ISO rating of your film (the film’s speed, or sensitivity to light).
3. Using a light meter correctly, understanding that a light meter is your slave and has only one mission in life.
Circle the correct answers except where the question specifically asks for two answers.
1. What are the two missing f/stops in this correct series of lens apertures?
Circle two answers.
f/ 2.8, f/ 4 , f/ , f/ 8 , f/ , f/ 16, f/ 22,
f/ 32, f/ 64,
A. f / 7
B. f / 5.6
C. f / 9
D. f / 11
2. Forgetting the variations in film processing, for the moment, the light meter in your camera will
always give you an exposure setting that will make the tone “middle gray” in the finished photograph.
Ansel Adams called this same middle gray “Zone V.”
A. True B. False
3. What shutter speeds are missing in this list of modern shutter speeds? Circle two answers.
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
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8 30 60 500 1000 2000
A. 1 / 25
B. 1 / 15
C. 1 / 30
D. 1 / 125
4. Light meters vary in design, but they all perform the same function. If we gave a voice to your
light meter and asked it to explain its life purpose, the meters explanation would be:
A. “Whatever I see (measure), I will recommend an exposure to make that thing look like a “middle
gray value, or tone”
B. “Whatever I see (measure), I will recommend an exposure that will be correct every time, in every
situation.”
C. “If I see (measure) a white polar bear I will recommend an exposure to make the polar bear
white, without the photographer changing the shutter speed or f/ stop.”
D. None of the above.
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2. Eugene Louie
Photo 1 Quiz # 2
5. What are the two missing f/stops in this correct series of lens apertures?
Circle two answers.
f/ 2.8, f/ 4 f /, f/ 8 f/ , f/ 16. f/ 22, f/ 32
A. f / 7
B. f / 5.6
C. f / 9
D. f / 11
6. If your f/stop setting is at f/ 8, what f/ stop would you choose to double the amount of light for the
exposure? Remember the reciprocal nature of photography.
A. f / 4
B. f / 5.6
C. f / 11
D. f /16
7. An equivalent exposure allows the use of different shutter speeds and apertures to make two
pictures with equal density. Calculate two equivalent exposures to equal the following exposure: 1 /
250 of a second, at f / 5.6
A. 1/ of a second, at f
B. 1 / of a second, at f
8. National Geographic assigns you to photograph white polar bears in the Artic. Your pictures are
the central- spread for this special black & white edition. What exposure changes would you make so
the bears look white in the finished picture?
Be specific. (Use the back of this test if you need more room to thoroughly explain)
9. The light meter built into your 35 mm camera is most likely to be this type of meter:
A. An incident light meter
B. A reflected light meter
C. A Weston light meter
D. A Sekonic one – degree spot meter.
10. The Aperture priority exposure mode on a camera means:
A. The photographer sets the aperture and the camera sets the shutter speed.
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3. Eugene Louie
Photo 1 Quiz # 2
B. The photographer sets the shutter speed and the camera sets the aperture.
C. The photographer doesn’t need to do anything after setting the camera to operate on
Aperture priority, except to focus the camera and take the picture.
D. The film canister’s DX code will set the camera’s ISO and take care of the aperture priority
issue.
11. The Shutter-speed priority exposure mode on a camera means:
A. The photographer sets the shutter speed and the camera sets the aperture
B. The photographer sets the f/ stop and the camera sets the shutter speed.
C. Since the camera is set on an “automatic” mode, all the photographer need do is to focus the
camera and take the picture.
D. None of the above
10. An incident light meter measures the light that falls on the subject. Incident light meters have a
distinctive design, and look like there is a “ping-pong ball” located where the light strikes this device.
A. True
B. False
Congratulations! You finished the weekly quiz. Add some extra credit to your score!
Extra Credit Question:
1. Explain Depth of Field and how you would create more and less depth of field. Describe
specifically the camera controls you would adjust, and how would you adjust them to achieve
minimal and maximum depth of field in a photographic scene of your choosing. (Use the back
of this page if you need more room).
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