Aperture. Shutter speed. ISO. The holy trinity of photography—the exposure triangle.

But what are these, and how do you make them work together?

First, you have to understand that photography is literally “writing with light.” As I teach the students in my ELA class every year, “photo” means light and “graph” means write. Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO all have to do with controlling the light you allow into your camera so that you can expose, or make clear, your image. But there are other effects that you can achieve by controlling aperture, shutter speed, and ISO that aren’t light related—bokeh, blur, and grain.

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