:

The 3 elements and how it affects exposure:

Aperture:
• This controls the size of the lens opening that allows light
into the camera. Think of the aperture as a dilating pupil.
• Aperture controls the size of the lens opening. These
sizes are referred to as f-stops.
• There is an inverse relationship between f-stops and the
size of the lens opening, which is to say, when the f-stop
increased, the size of the opening decreases. 
• Two common f-stops are 1.4 and 2.8; 1.4 will have a
larger opening than 2.8.
• A wide aperture (f/2), is going to have a very shallow
depth of field 
• (for example, if you focus on a nearby object, other
objects in the background will be out of focus) 
• while a narrow aperture (f/22) will have a deep depth of
field (if you are shooting a panorama, this will allow you
to get everything in focus).
Shutter Speed:
• This refers to the amount of time that light is permitted
to enter the camera. The shutter is literally a trap-door
that opens and closes at fixed periods.
• Shutter speed is the most intuitive of the three elements
of the exposure triangle. 
• Shutter speed is measured in seconds; one second (1/1)
being a very slow speed and 1/1000 of a second being
very fast.
• Slower speeds are generally used for things like low-light
and nighttime settings or to add blur or movement to a
photo  
• (I’m sure you’ve seen photographs of waterfalls in which
the water is slightly blurred as it falls).
• Faster speeds, of course, are used to capture fleeting
moments, such as sports and wildlife, but faster speeds
are also used in brightly lit situations.
ISO:
• ISO is the sensitivity of the film or digital
sensor. This controls what is called the “noise,”
or graininess of a photograph.
• ISO, also referred to as the “speed” of your
film or digital sensor, controls light sensitivity.
• By controlling the sensitivity, you are also
controlling what is known as “noise.”  
• Think of it as interference on television, which
causes “snow.” Noise is more or less
synonymous with graininess.
• A low ISO, which will in turn have low noise, is
almost always preferred because it will
produce the clearest photographs.
LIGHT METER
Now that you understand ISO, Aperture and Shutterspeed
 – What will be your guide for a good exposure?...

The answer is the LIGHT METER.

It is the Ruler-like line that you may see inside your viewfinder or in your LCD.

What is Metering?
Metering is how your camera determines what the correct shutter speed and aperture should be,
depending on the amount of light that goes into the camera and the ISO.

Exposures:
Underexposed - A condition in photography which means too little light                                was recorded, producing  a dark picture.

Overexposed  -  Refers to a white-looking or washed out image.

                           - Occurs when a photograph receives too much light.
Measuring the Light
Most cameras today have a few basic ways of measuring the incoming light:
(image samples from photographylife.com)

• Matrix or Evaluative Metering – the camera looks at the light in the entire
scene and averages it, (Nikon puts a bigger emphasis on the area where
your lens is focused as well). Nikon calls this Matrix Metering, Canon calls it
Evaluative.

• Center-Weighted Average Metering – looks at the light of the entire scene

and averages it, but with emphasis on the center of the frame. Nikon and
Canon both call this Center-Weighted Average Metering.

• Spot Metering – measures the light only in a small area around the central
autofocus point. Nikon and Canon both call this Spot Metering.