The "Sunny 16" rule · Mar 18, 11:27 AM by Simon Mackie
A good rule of thumb to remember if you’re ever stuck without a meter (I know, unlikely on most of todays’ cameras), or you have a tricky lighting situation (like taking a shot of the moon, for exaple) and you want to make a good estimate of what setting to use to get a good exposure is the “Sunny 16” rule. This rule will give you the correct exposure in bright sunlight with strong shadows. Basically, set your aperture to f16, and then set your shutter speed to as close as possible to the ISO of your film (or the ISO you’ve chosen on a a digital camera). So, for 100 ISO, set your shutter speed to 1/125 of a second, and for 400 ISO, set it to 1/500th of a second, etc.
You can modify this rule to suit the conditions – so if it’s overcast, open the aperture up to f11 or f8, etc. If you’re relying on this method, you’ll probably want to bracket your shots.
It’s a very easy to remember and a useful rule of thumb.
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