Underexposed means the photo has ______ light.

• A. Too much light
• B. Balanced exposure
• C. Too little light
• D. Saturated colors

Answer: (C)

Underexposure means not enough light reaches the sensor, so the photo ends up darker than intended. When there isn’t enough light, the image appears with deep shadows and overall reduced brightness, and you can lose detail in the darker areas. This happens when the exposure is set too low for the scene—using a fast shutter speed, a small aperture, or a low ISO, or when the lighting is simply dim without compensating. To improve, increase the amount of light hitting the sensor by opening the aperture wider, slowing the shutter so more light is collected, raising the ISO, or adding light to the scene. This is different from overexposure, which is when there’s too much light and highlights burn out, or a balanced exposure, where brightness matches the scene. Saturated colors relate to color intensity and are not about the amount of light reaching the sensor.