12 Photography Rules Of Thumb

When I was out shooting the other day, it occurred to me that I still use a bunch of
timeless rules of thumb I learned from various sources along the way; many so
ingrained I dont even realize Im using them. I thought it might be fun to do a review.
A few years ago, I read an article in Popular Photography (that I can no longer find on
their site) listing the ones I knew, and some I didnt. Taken from my notes:
1. Sunny 16:
Bright, sunny day at f/16, shutter speed is 1/ISO. Extrapolated, f/22 at the beach, f/11 on
cloudy-bright days.
2. Moony 11, 8, 5.6:
Shutter: 1/ISO
Moon Full: f/11
Moon Half: f/8
Moon Quarter: f/5.6
3. Avoiding Camera Shake:
Shutter: 1/focal length of the lens
4. No 18% Grey Card Handy (if you cant trust the in-camera light meter):
Hold palm up facing the light, take a reading an open up one stop. (Skin tones vary.)
5. Depth Of Field:
Focus 1/3 of the way to maximize depth of field on a deep subject. The smaller the
aperture, the shorter the focal length and the greater the distance, the greater the depth
of field.
6. Largest Print With Digital:
Divide the vertical and horizontal pixel counts by 200. For critical applications, use 250.
7. Exposure:
Digital/transparency: expose for highlights and let the shadows take care of themselves.
Negative: overexpose 1 stop

8. Fill-flash:
Set flashs ISO to twice your ISO, meter the scene, select f-stop, set autoflash to same
f-stop. The resulting 2:1 flash-fill ratio will produce filled shadows 1 stop darker than the
main subject.
9. Flash Range:
Double the distance, four times the ISO.
10. Megapixel Multiplier:
Increase the megapixels by 4 to double the resolution in a digital camera (to account for
both vertical and horizontal).
11. Stopping Action:
Shutter speed 2 stops faster than the action moving toward or away from you, if
perpendicular to the lens. For action moving at a 45-degree angle to the lens, use 1
stop faster.
12. Sunset:
Meter the area directly above the sun (without sun in frame). Down 1 f-stop to look like
1/2-hour later.