Hi Reader,

One of the most common questions I get?

“My image looks dark—how do I fix it?”

And apart from simply needing more lighting in the room, the real answer comes down to understanding one thing:

The Exposure Triangle.

There are three core camera settings that determine how light or dark your image appears:

Aperture

This controls how wide the lens opens to let light through.

A wider aperture (a lower f-number like f/1.4) lets in more light and gives you a shallower depth of field—meaning you’re in focus, while the background is beautifully blurred.

Shutter Speed

This determines how long your camera sensor is exposed to light per frame.

A slower shutter speed (like 1/30) lets in more light but can add motion blur. A faster speed (like 1/250) creates a sharper image but lets in less light.

ISO

This controls the sensor’s sensitivity to light.

A higher ISO makes your image brighter but introduces more grain (or noise), which can reduce image quality.

Incidentally, if you’re wondering what ISO actually stands for... well, it’s frustrating (to me at least). It doesn’t describe what it does at all. It stands for International Standards Organization (the group that created the standard). Why they didn’t just call it something like Light Sensitivity Factor "LSF" or something similar is beyond me.

But there it is.

(And no, this is also not to be confused with 'ISO' video recording, which stands for 'Isolated' Video Recording… but that’s a topic for another newsletter.)

Here’s a quick reference you can save:

Now, here’s the key thing:

These three settings don’t exist in isolation. They work together and every change affects your image in multiple ways. But here’s where it gets really interesting for those of us creating in a studio environment:

Shutter speed is basically fixed.

At least, it might as well be. If you’re recording at 30fps, you’ll want a shutter speed around 1/60 as a rule of thumb (half the frame rate). Stray too far from that and your image starts to look unnatural—either too blurred or too sharp and stuttery (Is that a word? It is now!)

ISO has a downside.

You can raise it, but doing so introduces noise. It’s useful in a pinch, but it’s not your best first move.

Aperture is where the magic happens.

A wider aperture doesn’t just brighten your image. It also gives you that soft background blur (known as “bokeh”), which helps focus attention where it belongs—on you.

And that’s actually desirable. Why?

Because if every single item behind you is in sharp focus, people’s eyes will wander. A little blur keeps the background visually pleasing, but not distracting. That’s why lenses like the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 and 30mm f/1.4 are so loved—they give you a brighter image and a more focused frame.

In short, if you’re building a home studio setup, aperture is the setting that gives you the biggest visual impact with the fewest downsides.

Oh, and if your image is still looking really dark, check you don't still have the lens cap on. (Probably should've mentioned that one before you went out and bought a new lens!)

One More Thing...

If you’re curious to go deeper into everything we’ve covered—frame rate, depth of field, field of view, and all the other technical aspects that make your camera work for you—you might enjoy the Video Studio Masterclass.

It’s a complete, in-depth course covering not just cameras, but also lighting, microphones, audio processing, studio layout, and everything else that goes into creating a setup that feels effortless every time you hit record. It gives you the knowledge to make informed buying decisions saving you both time and money!

Right now, it’s 50% off until April 30th as part of the early access launch.

Check Out The Masterclass Here

Keep experimenting, keep learning, and don’t let the tech get in the way of your message.

And if you ever need a second opinion, or just want to sanity-check your setup, I’m only an email away.