Most so called "point and shoot" cameras don't immediately look like you are able to alter the exposure with the same degree of control you might achieve with a far more sophisticated camera setup. However whilst not being able to directly choose apertures or shutter speeds, with most compacts you can still influence hugely how your pictures look by using controls that most of these cameras do have. One technique uses a function called Exposure Compensation, and a related facility which grants you an even finer degree of lighting control is called Exposure Lock. Exposure Compensation is a very simple way of lightening or darkening your photos and is usually marked in your camera's menu with a small +/- symbol, or alternatively it may have a dedicated button with this symbol on it. When accessing this control your camera will usually display a scale going from +2 to -2 in graduated steps with 0 in the middle, this being what the camera thinks should be the correct exposure. Some cameras just display the number on its own. Either way, using the navigation buttons allows you to move through these numbers, with the plus numbers making the picture lighter and the minus numbers making things darker. What number you finally settle upon depends on the desired outcome. You will find that how much light, what direction the light is coming from and your choice of subject, all influence the cameras own choice of exposure. This may mean your choice will be a corrective measure to get the shot as you saw it at the time. Or your choice may be based on purely artistic grounds and thus you are able to produce a dramatic silhouette or sunburst. Exposure Lock is slightly trickier to master, but is worth mastering if you really want to take charge of your Digital Compact. This allows you to choose exactly where in the shot you want to base your exposure on, and then recompose your picture to your liking. First if your camera has it, you need to set it's light metering pattern to spot or centre bias. Now when you depress the shutter release half way the camera will take and hold its exposure reading from the central point of the screen. Then when happy with the framing you press the button all the way to take your picture. Hint: Like most techniques with these cameras it benefits you greatly to practice on land beforehand. Try using the exposure compensation technique by taking pictures of someone silhouetted against a window, and adjusting the exposure compensation scale to see how this affects the outcome. It's also worth knowing that not all LCD screens on cameras show you exactly what the finished picture will look like. Sometimes they show the images to be too bright or dark with incorrect colours. Make sure you compare your pictures on the computer with the way they look on the camera so you can learn to compensate for this.

under exposed over exposed