Do you know how to get exposure?

Hello there
Do you know how to get exposure?
And I don't mean rating; I mean do you know how to use exposure to achieve good photographs?
You probably know that getting the exposure right is the basic rule for good photography. Without getting into the basic balance of aperture and shutter speed, and Iso sensitivity and so on, I would like to give a few pointers on different techniques designed to make the exposure work to your special message in the shot.
Exposure can freeze movement and capture a special split of second, or get you surreal effect of dynamics and blurry movement. It can also help you get dramatic effect of “studio like” shots and deeper colors. So how?
1. Freeze life – In order to freeze split of seconds you will need very fast shutter speed. If you are not a pro then simply put your camera on S (that’s the shutter priority) and move the dial to 1/1000 or even faster if you have it. The camera will use that variable to get the aperture right and balance the exposure. Pay attention that if you shoot in low light it may not be possible to use high shutter speed and balance the light. You may need flash to freeze movement (and you will be limited to the flash sync speed of your camera), or use high Iso.
Bottom line – To freeze movement you will need high shutter speed




2. Long exposure - Longer exposures are usually done under low light conditions. Sometimes you just can’t help it and need to use long exposures (simply cause it’s too damn dark) but sometimes you will want that on purpose. We often see it in shooting traffic in nighttime, or ocean water getting “steamy” in longer exposures. Make sure you have a tripod (handheld long exposure is not a good idea), make sure you use minimum Iso sensitivity. Move to A (aperture priority) and close your aperture to the max (the bigger F numbers, the closer it is). Pay attention that in strong day light your camera won’t let you use long exposures since too much light will enter the camera. You will need an ND filter or wait till it is darker.
Bottom line – To get longer exposures you need a tripod and a high F number




3. Over exposure - The camera will meter the light to the balance it thinks the frame needs (Matrix, average, or spot) but what if you need something else? What if you want to get more details out of something the camera insist that needs to be darker? What if you are shooting against the light and you want more details, or even if you want to use light to make the frame white and by that you can attract more attention to the well lighten details? Now, it’s true that over exposure is considered bad, but it still can be used to your goals if you do it right. You can use two ways to get that over exposure. The first is with exposure compensation (use the numbers on plus just as much as you need). The second is work on manual, and let the camera measure, and simple open the aperture (or lower shutter speed) and you will see on the manual scale how you add light to the balance measurement.
Bottom line – use over exposure with more light then the camera recommends



4. Under exposure - My favorite. If you know my work you have seen me use it many times. The under exposure gets you a more dramatic picture, when the sky appears to be stronger and you see more details in the light. It works very well in landscape shots. Now, I balance the under exposure in various ways – from using fill flash to HDR (a combination of multi exposures into one frame). You can use two ways to get that under exposure. The first is with exposure compensation (use the numbers on minus just as much as you need). The second is work on manual, and let the camera measure, and simple close the aperture (or use higher shutter speed) and you will see on the manual scale how you reduce light to the balance measurement.
Bottom line – Use under exposure to get a more dramatic scene especially when you can balance the under exposed details with fill flash