Exposure
The total amount of light reaching the camera sensor, determined by the combination of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO sensitivity.
Exposure refers to the total amount of light that reaches the camera's image sensor during capture. Correct exposure produces a well-balanced image, while overexposure causes blown highlights and underexposure results in crushed shadows.
Exposure is controlled by three factors: aperture (f-stop), shutter speed, and ISO sensitivity. A wider aperture (lower f-number) admits more light, a slower shutter speed extends the light-gathering duration, and higher ISO increases sensor sensitivity. This relationship is known as the exposure triangle.
Post-capture exposure correction can be done through brightness adjustment, but information lost to clipping cannot be recovered. Shooting in RAW format preserves a wider dynamic range, allowing approximately ±2 stops of exposure correction in post-processing.