Tutorials Video

Mastering the Exposure Triangle

Intermediate · ~50 min

Overview

ISO, aperture, and shutter speed are three variables that always trade off against each other. Change one and you must compensate with another. This guide makes that relationship intuitive.

What You Need

Any camera with manual mode (DSLR, mirrorless, or a phone with manual controls)
A well-lit outdoor location to practise in
A tripod (helpful but not essential)

Steps

Understand what each control does

ISO amplifies the sensor signal, low ISO (100 to 400) is clean, high ISO (3200+) is noisy. Aperture (f-stop) controls the lens opening, wide aperture (f/1.8) gives shallow depth of field and more light. Narrow (f/11) gives more in focus and less light. Shutter speed controls how long the sensor is exposed.

Lock shutter speed using the 180° rule

For video, set shutter speed to 2× your frame rate: at 24fps use 1/50s, at 30fps use 1/60s. This creates natural motion blur. Don't change it during a shoot, inconsistent motion blur is immediately noticeable.

Choose aperture for depth of field

Do you want the background blurry (f/1.8, f/2.8) or sharp (f/8, f/11)? Set this based on creative intent, not exposure. The look of the shot comes first.

Use ISO to correct remaining exposure

After fixing shutter and aperture, if the image is still too dark, raise ISO. If it's too bright in good light, add an ND (neutral density) filter. Never change shutter speed to fix exposure. It destroys your motion blur consistency.

Read the histogram, not the screen

Don't trust your monitor for exposure. Use the histogram. Peaks pushed hard to the right edge = overexposed. Peaks bunched left = underexposed. Aim for a gentle hill shape with the peak slightly left of centre.

Pro Tips

Shoot LOG or flat picture profile if your camera supports it. You'll have far more flexibility when colour grading.
Overexposure is harder to fix in post than underexposure. When in doubt, expose to the left.
Use a grey card to set manual white balance. Your colours will match shot to shot.

Knowledge Base

What You'll Learn

Master the exposure triangle: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Understand how each impacts your image and how to balance them for the look you want. Essential foundation for all video and photography work.

The Three Elements

Aperture (f-stop): Controls depth of field and light. Wide aperture (f/1.4) = blurry background, more light. Narrow aperture (f/16) = sharp background, less light.
Shutter Speed: Motion blur. Fast shutter (1/500) = frozen motion. Slow shutter (1s) = motion trails.
ISO: Sensor sensitivity. High ISO = bright image in dim light, but noisy. Low ISO = clean, requires more light.

Practical Balancing

In bright sunlight, use fast shutter (1/1000) to avoid overexposure, wide aperture for shallow DOF, and low ISO. Indoors, slow shutter (1/50), wider aperture, higher ISO. The balance depends on your creative intent.

Video vs. Photography

In video, shutter speed is tied to frame rate (24fps = 1/48s typically). You control exposure via aperture and ISO. This is different from photography where you control all three independently.

Common Exposure Mistakes

Overexposing highlights thinking you can recover in post. You can't. Expose for highlights first.
Using too-high ISO in bright light when you could stop down aperture.
Motion blur from slow shutter when you wanted sharp images.

Where This Fits

This guide covers one specific part of colour and grading. The wider picture, grading in Resolve from a technically correct starting point through building a look that holds up across a sequence, is in Color Grading in DaVinci Resolve, which frames the discipline as a whole and links out to the detailed guides underneath it, including this one. If you are starting from scratch rather than solving a specific problem, read that first and come back here.

FAQ

Q: Which of the three exposure settings should I adjust first?
A: Aperture, since it also controls depth of field, decide the look you want (blurred or sharp background) first, then use shutter speed and ISO to balance the remaining exposure around that choice.

Q: Is it better to underexpose or overexpose if I have to choose?
A: Underexpose slightly. Modern cameras recover shadow detail in post far better than blown-out highlights, which are permanently lost once clipped.