Why Are My Photos Overexposed?

Likely causes

• ISO left too high after moving to brighter light. an ISO set for a dim indoor scene can badly overexpose the same shot once you step outside into daylight.
• Shutter speed too slow for the actual brightness. a shutter speed chosen for a dimmer moment earlier in a shoot can let in far too much light once conditions brighten.
• Aperture wider than the scene's brightness calls for. a wide aperture chosen for background blur can overexpose a bright scene if shutter speed and ISO aren't adjusted to compensate.

The fix

1. Re-solve exposure for the current light rather than carrying over settings from an earlier, dimmer part of the shoot.
2. Check which of the three settings is out of step with the actual metered brightness, and adjust that one first.
3. If depth of field or motion blur needs are fixed, solve for the remaining setting rather than adjusting all three by feel.