If a photo is washed out and bright, it is described as

• A. Overexposed
• B. Balanced
• C. Washed out
• D. Underexposed

Answer: (A)

Exposure is about controlling how much light hits the sensor. When a photo is washed out and bright, it means too much light was captured, causing the highlights to clip and detail to be lost in the bright areas. That’s what overexposure describes—the image is brighter than it should be because the sensor received more light than it can render with detail. This contrasts with underexposure, which makes the image too dark and loses detail in the shadows; a balanced exposure would show a full range of tones without blown-out highlights. The “washed out” look is a symptom of overexposure, so labeling the scene as overexposed fits the cause and result. To avoid this, you can use a lower ISO, a smaller aperture, or a faster shutter speed, or reduce exposure with exposure compensation.