Meaning & use
overexposing
Last updated
“overexposing” is a form of “overexpose”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitivetechnical
Letting too much light reach photographic film or a camera sensor, so the picture looks washed out or too bright.
Grammar: Takes an object: she kept overexposing the sky.
Patterns
- overexposing a photo
- overexposing the sky
He kept overexposing the snow scenes because the camera was reading the bright ground wrongly.
Overexposing the shot slightly gave the portrait a dreamy, pale look.
I am overexposing my pictures at noon, so I will switch to a smaller aperture.
verbtransitivefigurative
Making a person, product or topic appear in public so often that people grow tired of it.
Grammar: Takes an object: overexposing a young singer.
Patterns
- overexposing someone
- overexposing something in the media
The label risks overexposing the young singer by booking her on every talk show.
Overexposing a joke in advertising can make it annoying within weeks.
Critics accused the network of overexposing the story until nobody cared.
verbtransitivemedical
Exposing someone or something to harmful radiation, chemicals or sun more than is safe.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with to: overexposing skin to sunlight.
Patterns
- overexposing someone to something
Overexposing children to strong sunshine can cause painful burns.
The factory was fined for overexposing workers to solvent fumes.
Word forms
| base form | overexpose |
|---|---|
| third person singular | overexposes |
| past tense | overexposed |
| -ing form | overexposing |
Common combinations
- risk overexposing
- Brands risk overexposing a logo if it appears everywhere.
- overexposing the sky
- Overexposing the sky left the clouds as plain white patches.
- avoid overexposing
- Use a lens hood to avoid overexposing the frame.
- overexposing a celebrity
- Overexposing a celebrity can end a career early.
- overexposing skin to the sun
- Overexposing skin to the sun raises the chance of damage.
Synonyms and how they differ
- overdoing
- Overdoing is a general word for excess of any kind, whereas overexposing is tied to light, publicity or harmful contact.
- saturating
- Saturating suggests filling a market or channel completely, while overexposing focuses on being seen too much.
- blowing out
- Blowing out is photographers' slang for losing detail in bright areas and fits only the camera sense.
Opposites
Word family
- overexposure noun
- too much exposure, to light or to publicity
- overexposed adjective
- too bright, or seen too often
- exposure noun
- the state of being revealed or uncovered
- underexpose verb
- to let in too little light
Commonly confused: overexposing or overexplaining?
overexposing vs overexplaining
Overexplaining means giving more explanation than needed and has nothing to do with light or publicity.
Practice
The photographer kept ______ the bright beach scenes, so the sand looked pure white in every frame.
Choose one answer.
Letting in too much light washes out detail, which is overexposing. Underexposing would make the pictures dark.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “overexposing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.