exposure compensation

Meters aim for a mid-grey average, so they underexpose a white aircraft against a bright sky and overexpose a dark one against trees. Dialling in a stop of positive or negative compensation is the quickest way to correct that, and it is the control most often left on by accident between sessions.

Nearby in Photography

• depth of field — The range of distances that appear acceptably sharp in an image.
• dynamic range — The span between the darkest and brightest tones a sensor can record in one exposure.
• f-stop — The aperture expressed as the ratio of focal length to the diameter of the entrance pupil.
• focal length — The optical property, in millimetres, that determines a lens's angle of view and magnification.