i learned that exposure is the amount of light that reaches your camera film. it depends on how dark or bright your pictures will appear. the only two camera settings that will affect the actual “luminous exposure” of an image is shutter speed and aperture. aperture controls the brightness of the image that passes through the lens and falls on the image sensor. shutter speed is the length of time that the film or digital sensor inside the camera is exposed to light when taking a picture.