Why can indoor event photos vary in exposure when my camera settings stay the same?
Asked 6/10/2021
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I normally shoot newborn and baby portraits in a studio with flash, where I’m used to controlling the lighting. Recently I photographed an indoor event and noticed that some images were properly exposed, while others came out much darker or brighter, even though I was shooting in manual mode and did not change my aperture, shutter speed, or ISO between shots. The room lighting seemed consistent to me.
What could cause exposure to change from frame to frame indoors when my settings stay fixed? Would manual mode still be the right choice, or should I be using an automatic mode for this kind of event shooting?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
5y ago
2 Answers
2
Available light can vary dramatically with the presence of light sources, shadows, and the colours and reflectivity of subjects and background.
Flash photography is probably the only kind (short of a controlled studio setup) where exposure will be similar keeping the same aperture/shutter/ISO settings. Both indoor and outdoor photography will need the exposure to be considered for each different subject - which probably means each individual shot.
Switching to an automatic mode (even if just for ISO) is one way of doing this, but many cameras have an exposure meter in the viewfinder (or on the screen) which will tell you whether each shot in manual mode is likely to be over or underexposed, and adjustments to the three settings (shutter, aperture, ISO) can be made.
Originally by user68831. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user68831
5y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—this can happen even if your camera settings never change. In a studio with controlled flash, exposure is predictable. At an indoor event, exposure can vary from shot to shot because:
- The scene changes: different subject positions, shadows, bright/dark clothing, reflective backgrounds, and uneven room lighting all affect how bright the image appears.
- Artificial light flicker: many LED and fluorescent lights pulse rapidly. With faster shutter speeds, one frame may catch a brighter part of the cycle and the next a dimmer part, causing inconsistent exposures.
Manual mode is still fine, but you need to evaluate exposure for each shot using your camera’s meter/histogram and adjust as needed. Another option is to let one setting float, such as Auto ISO, or use an automatic exposure mode if the light and subjects are changing quickly.
If flicker was the issue, using a slower shutter speed (often around 1/60 or slower) can help average out the light cycle, and some cameras offer an anti-flicker setting for this exact problem.
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