The Sunny 16 Rule

8/13/2019 The Sunny 16 Rule

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The Exposure Guide in a box of Kodak Film

Introduction to the Sunny 16 Rule


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Shot with the sun going down at the harbour in Cefal, Sicil!

The Sunn "# rule is actuall simple set of rules to help ou shoot without a light$

meter but we are going to take it much further than that!In this article you will find all

the information you will ever need to take photos without using light meters whether

handheld or in-camera.

% decided to write this guide after ha&ing gone through the arduous process of mastering

the Sunn "# rule without reallyknowing what % was doing! % tried finding information

online but most of it was 'ust generic, run$of$the$mill information about the Sunn "#

rule that has been copied and pasted all around the web!

I wont be throwing graphs and charts at you in Part 1 of this guide. InPart 2 where

we will go into huge detail you will have more charts and graphs than you can

possibly handle

This guide will pro&ide a short and brief explanation of the Sunn "# rule and some tips

as well as a much longer step b step approach on how to nail the exposure every time,

because that is what reall matters! %f, after a short period of ad'ustment, ou can(t trust


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an exposure sstem then it(s 'ust not good enough! The Sunn "# rule works for me

and it will work for ou!

% shoot a )eica *+and a entax K"---.which has a broken light meter/ using onl the

rules laid out on this page and % get +# great exposures .but not necessaril great

pictures0/ in e&er roll of film! %(&e taken these two cameras all o&er 1ustria, Spain,%tal, England and e&en as far awa as Cambodia0 %t doesn(t matter if ou shoot ,

outside or inside, at night or during the da or e&en at sunrise or sunset! The Sunn "#

rule works!

1fter much deliberation %(&e come to the conclusion that the camera ou use doesn(t

reall matter, it(s all about what ou point it at0 %t(s irrele&ant if ou shoot filmor

digital, a rangefinder or a S)2, colour or black and white! % belie&e that the most

important thing is to make sure ou shoot sub'ects which ou are passionate about! %

reall en'o the compan of people and tra&elling and so most of m images are

portraits or tra&el shots!

% ha&en(t written this article because % belie&e that m wa of doing things is superior or

because % want to 3con&ert4 anone to shooting without a light meter! %t(s for people

who are considering making the mo&e, for e&erbod else it can hopefull be an

interesting read and e&en if it 'ust makes ou think a little more about how ou go about

taking photographs then % feel %(&e achie&ed something! % also don(t consider mself an

authorit .what a word0/ on photographic matters, %(m 'ust a regular gu who gus has a

slightl different approach to photograph! 1ll the photographs in this article were shot

using the Sunn "# rule!

!nyway lets begin.Remember to bookmark this post as you might need to refer back

to it in your journey to master the Sunny 16 rule.

5ote6 This is partl a continuation of the Exposure "-"article, in this article we will

also discuss the more ad&anced aspects of exposure!

Why use the Sunny 16 Rule?


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Shot in the late afternoon on a boat in Cambodia!

It might seem incredibly archaic to guess exposure in the 21st century but there

are some distinct advantages of being able to accurately assess the intensity and

quality of light in any given situation.

You might have little choice%f ou shoot an all manual film camera like thewonderful )eica *+and don(t fanc carring around a separate light meter then

ou need to learn the Sunn "# rule! 1 small price to pa to be able to use such

a fabulous tool!

In tough lighting situations you can!t trust your camera to get it right.)ightmeters can easil be fooled b scenes that contain large contrasts and on a bright

da the can also be fooled b &er shin ob'ects! 1lso, our camera cannot

read our mind and know what effect ou want to create! 2emember,

photograph is not 'ust about capturing the scene, it(s aboutyourinterpretation!

"hat happens if the batteries in your film camera run out and you are left#ith no light meter$ This has happened to me before on m entax K"---when the light meter was actuall working! 7hile not a


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likel occurrence, learning the basics ou insure ourself against this e&ent!

8our light meter could also permanentl stop working but ou would still ha&e a

useable camera if ou know the Sunn "# rule!

%a&ing personal responsibility.This is the same reason wh manphotographers shoot9scan in 217 instead of 'peg! %t takes the decision making

process awa from the electronics inside our camera and gi&es it back to thephotographer! : learning to use the Sunn "# rule ou take

ultimate responsibilit about how our image will turn out! 8ou can(t blame

our tools0

It feels great. % find that it(s a satisfing feeling going out with 'ust m )eica*+, a ;-mm prime lens and m pockets full of film! % ha&e no batteries to worr

about and a perfectl clean &iewfinder with no blinking lights or needles that

mo&e around! % find that it reall helps me focus on the moment! 1lso, it(s

refreshing to take a step back from technolog once in a while!

'astering the Sunny 16 rule gives you huge respect from the mere mortals#ho still use in(camera metering. % met a photographer on a boat in

Cambodia who was shooting with a Canon S"--, a wonderful little point andshoot digital camera and the look on her face was priceless when % told her % was

using m experience and intuition to nail the exposure! 5ot sure how &alid a

reason this is but it(s !

2ight now the mere thought of 'ust going out and using our ees and brain to calculate

the aperture and shutter speed probabl seems a little cra?! %t brings up images ofdoing calculations on the back of scraps of paper or of being one of those tough$as nails


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war photographers from last centur, changing rolls crouching behind a rock while

being shot at!

This couldn(t be further from the truth! @nce ou ha&e mastered the Sunn "# rule ou

will find that our camera will alread be set to the correct combination of shutter speed

and aperture before ou e&en raise to our ee and all ou ha&e to do is compose theshot, focus and then fire awa! %t will seem the most natural thing in the world and ou

will ne&er hesitate!

Exposure 11

1n %nfographic on basic photograph exposure

This is 'ust a


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If you are more of a +hands on, type of person #ho prefers to be outside shooting

instead of reading then this section is dedicated to you Short- s#eet and to the

point.

*n a sunny day set aperture to f16 and shutter speed to the reciprocal of the

IS* for a sub/ect in direct sunlight.

)et(s -- then our shutter speed will be "9>--s %f ou are shooting at %so A-- then our shutter speed will be "9A--s! %f ou are shooting at %so B-- then our shutter speed will be "9B--s! 1nd so on= %f ou don(t ha&e these exact shutter speed settings on our camera .i!e! ou

ha&e "9>;-s instead of "9>--/ don(t worr about it, 'ust use the closest settings

a&ailable!


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0asy *n a sunny day you set the aperture to f16 and your shutter speed to 12

if you are using Iso 2 film.@f course, feel free to use an other e"uivalent e#posure. %f ou aren(t


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There isn(t a huge amount that ou need to learn the Sunn "# rule! 1fter all, the whole

point is to keep things simple0

) camera #hich can be set into manual mode.This can be a film or digitalcamera! This doesn(t need to a )eica * sstem, an camera will do!

Something to measure exposure.This could be a dedicated hand$held lightmeter, our current camera with a built in light meter or e&en a smartphone with

a light meter app! TrbeeCamfor 1ndroid and ocket )ight *eterfor ihone!

:oth are free!

Your brain and eyes.opefull ou ha&e these! ) good attitude and a healthy dose of patience. 1s with e&erthing in life=

$our #irst !ime using the Sunny 16 Rule


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The first time ou hit the streets to attempt using the Sunn "# ou probabl shouldn(t

expect great results! )ike most things, it takes some time and practice to get good!

The first thing ou need to do is calibrate our ees and brain to a default exposure

setting! nless ou tra&el constantl .luck ou if ou do0/ then ou will probabl be

shooting in similar light most of the time! This is wh it makes sense to calibrate the

sunn "# rule for which e&er part of the world ou li&e in!

For example, % split m ear between Sicil, )ondon and 1ustria and each re>! %n )ondon in the summer

it ne&er reaches that kind of le&el so % would stick to Sunn "#, or e&en change it to

Sunn B! Hon(t go to )ondon in the summer, it(s alwas horrible weather!

3o# to calibrate$Eas0 Take our metered camera or light meter and go outside on a

tpical sunn da for our area of the world and take se&eral readings in bright

sunlight! 8ou might want to do this o&er the course of a week and then a&erage theresults for more accurac but that is probabl o&erkill! 2emember that ob&iousl our

a&erage rule will change depending on the seasons too but it(s usuall a small change

and with a little common sense ou won(t ha&e an problems!

5ow that ou ha&e calibrated our ees and brain to a default exposure setting it(s time

to get used to changing that for specific situations! %f ou want, print off a cop of the

exposure guide at the beginning of the article and carr it around with ou! Tr and

guess the exposure before taking the shot! )ook at a scene and sa to ourself f"# I

"9>-- or whate&er ou think the settings should be! Tr shooting directl towards the

sun, awa from it, in the shadows etc! Then check and see what our camera or light

meter tells ou! 2emember that our camera or light meter don(t know how to

compensate for backlit sub'ects and don(t ha&e artistic taste! So don(t think that ou arewrong 'ust because our exposure is different0 Tr and get a feel for how much ou are


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o&erexposing or underexposing! % explain in the tips sections how to expose for sidelit

and backlit sub'ects!

1


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4eep it Simple There is no need to write down all the possible exposures fore&er lighting situation known to man! 1 little common sense goes a long wa!

%f unsure, bracket our shots in one stop increments!

5on!t ma&e it harder for yourself % recommend sticking to the same %S@settings regardless of whether ou are shooting film or digital! This effecti&el

turns the infamous exposure triangle of %S@, shutter speed and aperture into aseesaw of 'ust shutter speed and aperture! @nce ou ha&e the hang of it, then ou

can start bumping that %S@ up0

If in doubt- overexpose. This onl applies to the film shooters! Colour printfilm and :lack and 7hite film ha&e a huge latitude for o&erexposure! %f %

remember correctl, colour print film can be o&erexposed up to ; stops and still

produce a picture! %t probabl won(t be the image ou had in mind but c(est la

&ie! That(s like shooting at f> when ou should be shooting at f"#00 This leads

me nicel onto the next tip=

f7 )nd 8e %here.7hat is far more important that getting an absolutel perfectexposure is actuall being there and taking the shot0 Just setting our camera on

f9B will mean ou will getsomething which alwas beats gettingnothing0 *ake sure ou explore places properl and don(t 'ust take the same old

snapshots that e&erbod else takes! This old photographic rule is actuall wh

m blog is named 1nd:eThere!com ! 7e tr and capture the essence without

getting bogged down in the mundane!

Rate your film slightly slo#er 1gain, a tip for film shooters! %f ou rate ourfilm slightl slower, so for example ou rate %S@ >-- film at ";-, ou will

automaticall ha&e a slightl o&erexposure, usuall b around one "9+ of a stop!

This is often beneficial as, in m experience, it gi&es a slightl cleaner exposure!

2ead StefanosDs point and m repl in the comments below for further

clarification!

9or film ma&e sure you expose for the shado#s. Hon(t take this as gospel butit(s often the right wa to go about things! For example, if % am shooting a

portrait and there is strong light coming from the side then part of the face of the

model will be in shadow! 8ou want to expose for that side of the face so ou

don(t lose detail!

9or bac&lit sub/ects overexpose by t#o stops.%f ou are walking around on asunn da and ou want to shoot a backlit sub'ect, increase our aperture b two

stops .i!e! f9"# to f9B/ or increase our shutter speed b two stops ."9>;-s to

"9#-/! 2emember ou can mix and match0 %ncrease both parameters b one stop

each or ou could choose a faster shutter speed like "9"---s and then ha&e a

larger aperture such as f9A so ou get less depth of field for a flattering portrait!2emember it(s all about our creati&it! This ob&ious is a rule of thumb, some

sub'ects will re


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This was taken in the late afternoon with no artificial light! Just the sun coming in from

large floor to ceiling windows on the right hand side!

This is the end of part one of the ltimate Guide to the Sunn "# 2ule! Check out art >

where we go into much more detail about e&erthing we co&ered toda and also learn

some new things0 :e warned, a fair bit of maths and charts lie ahead0

% belie&e that regardless of how ou shoot, learning to guess exposure will make ou a

better photographer! 7hen we take photos we are painting with light and so spending

some time thinking not onl about how much light we use, but the


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That was just the starter, now, onto the main course

Btw, if you have just landed on this page, you probably want to read Part 1of this guide

first, or even my Exposure 101 Guidebefore you tacle this article!

"ou have pretty much allinformation you need to get started using the #unny 1$

%ule in Part 1! Part & is the advanced course for those who types who want to noweverything and want to nail their exposures everytime, without using a light meter! 'his

is probably complete overill for most people, but here we go(

Lets Geek Out

)e * sipped an incredibly fundamental point in Part 1! )e never discussed what units

light is measured in+ *ts seems pretty basic, right- *ts not crucial to now this to learn

how to guess exposure well but who nows, it may come in handy one day!

.ight /or should * say, the intensity of light is measured in various units! )e have Foot

Candles, Candelasand Lumens!Foot Candlesare the traditional way of measuringlight! ne 2oot 3andle is the amount of light that a candle produces 1 foot away from

the candle! 'o me, this doesnt seem particularly helpful!

Candelasis actually a measure of how much light a certain light source produces! 'his

is measure from the source itself, unlie with Foot Candles! 'he full definition of a

3andela is the following4

luminous intensity of a light source producing single-frequency light at a frequency of

540 terahertz (THz) with a power of !"#$ watt per steradian% or #&$'## milliwatts

over a complete sphere centered at the light source&

*m not even going to pretend to now what the hell that means+

'he easy way of looing it at it that 2oot 3andles are a measurement of light at a

particular illuminated object while 3andela is how much total light is coming from the

source!

Lumens is a measure of the total 5amount6 of visible light emitted by a particular

source! "ou may also have heard of the term Lux, all that means is lumens per square

meter&

P#4 *f you %E7.." want to gee out, read the )iipedia entry on light!

Making Things im!le "gain

2ortunately, we can leave all that ruishto the scientists! 7s photographers, we have

our own simplifiedscale!

)e can plot this scale out using #x!osure $alue%#$&numbers! 7ll that an Exposure

8alue number tells you is what combination of 7perture and #hutter #peed to use for

any given scene!#x!osure $alue %#$&is often confused with Light $alue %L$&!

)hile#x!osure $aluetells you how much light is allowed intothe camera, Light

$alue %L$&tell you how much light there is in the scene! 7t *# 100, .8 and E8 are

e9ual to each other, while for other *# speeds you need to add or subtract! )e wontcover this in detail as its fairly redundant and we really only need to deal in E8


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:umbers! ;ust be aware that when * tal about the Exposure 8alue of a scene, its

technically only correct for *# 100!

'hese numbers range from


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12

'his is when you are out in the countryside, far away from the city and the only light

source are the stars in the sy! ow romantic DD

13

'his is the same as above, but there is also a sliver of the moon visible, just lie in theream)ors logo!

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7gain, youre away from the city with only stars in the sy but this time there is half a

moon visible!

15

#ame old story, but with a full moon! *ts highly recommended to use a tough


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'his is what happens at


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oon! 'he moon goes red, its pretty cool! "ou can also use this setting to capture

lighting, as long as you have a long enough exposure time!

:5

2irewors+ 7gain, you need to have a long enough exposure time for these+

>4

'his is great when you want to tae romantic candle lit close3

'his is useful for taing portraits of people around a camp fire and also for home

interiors at night , with normal house lights!

>2

'his is for brightly lit scenes in a house and at amusement pars!

>;

*n the forest, indoor sports, at the theatre, and brightly lit street photography!

:


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:74

2or a day with a wea sun, or when the sy is haIy

:73

#ubjects on a sunny day /hence the #unnyH1$ rule+

:72

#ubjects on a sunny day at the beach, desert or on snow!

:7; to :65

"ou will most probably never encounter this type of intense light, except in

a nuclear meltdown or other man made event!

The Charts

"ou can find a more boring serious Exposure 8alue chart that you can actually print out

and tae with you at 2red Parers website!

"ou can train yourself to use the E8 scale by carrying the chart around with you, then

consulting the following chart which is the E8 to fHstop J shutter speed chart and

youre done+

/'here is also an easier way which *ll share a little later on!!

>ote? This is )or @so 799


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Because * am absolutely incredible, * have also redone the chart for all the other

common *so settings too+

Get them here4

*so &A Exposure 8alue 3hart *so A0 Exposure 8alue 3hart *so 100 Exposure 8alue 3hart/as seen above *so &00 Exposure 8alue 3hart *so @00 Exposure 8alue 3hart *so K00 Exposure 8alue 3hart *so 1$00 Exposure 8alue 3hart *so =&00 Exposure 8alue 3hart *so $@00 Exposure 8alue 3hart

Aou can thank me in the comments later

7 9uic pointer on how to use these charts!

2ind Ev number and loo it up and then choose best shutter speedHaperture combination

for your scene! *ts all about "?% artistic interpretation of the scene! )hen shooting

film, * would thin more about areas of the chart than specific boxes!! you can often get

away with murder if you overexpose! *f you underexpose, youare the one getting

murdered!


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* wouldnt recommend trying to commit any of these to memory, that sounds lie far

too much wor+

%each the point where youust *nowthe correct exposure(*ts much easier

;ust in case you are a genius, here are 7.. of the Exposure 8alue 3harts rolled intoone+

'his is truly the other f 7ll Exposure 8alue 3harts+ * recommend that you right

clic and save this to your computer so you can view it full


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The Bltimate unn 72 .ule Cheat heet

, if you found all those charts up a bit too difficult, here is a great little cheat sheet

that you can print out and carry with you and it will be good enough CL!=KM of the

time!

7lternatively, you could just stic the #unny 1$ %ule cheat sheet found inside every box

of Foda onto the bac of your camera! 'hats what * did when * was learning! "ou can

find a copy of Fodas cheat sheet at the beginning of Part 1 of this guide!


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:ote that *ve included a description of what the shadows should loo lie! 'his is often

the easiest way to now what setting your camera should be on as you wal around and

then you can adjust for each individual subject as you see fit!

7 word of warning4 remember toex!ose )or the shadowsand the highlights will tae

care of themselves+ 'his is especially important when shooting film /which, as always,

you should be! 7s the overexposure latitude of colour negative and blac and white

film is so large, you are better off exposing a little too much by calculating your

exposure from the darer parts of your subject and relying on this enormous latitude to

not 5blow6 the highlights! *f all this sounds lie Gree to you, you probably need to

read my guide to Exposure!


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3hec Bac soon for Part = where we will discuss after

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The Sunny 16 Rule