What Is... Exposure Bracketing
Exposure bracketing is a simple technique professional photographers use to ensure they properly expose their pictures, especially in challenging lighting situations.
When you expose for a scene, your camera's light meter will select an aperture / shutter speed combination that it believes will give a properly exposed picture.
Exposure bracketing means that you take two more pictures: one slightly under-exposed (usually by dialing in a negative exposure compensation, say -1/3EV), and the second one slightly over-exposed (usually by dialing in a positive exposure compensation, say +1/3EV), again according to your camera's light meter.
The reason you do this is because the camera might have been 'deceived' by the light (too much or too little) available and your main subject may be over- or under-exposed. By taking these three shots, you are making sure that if this were ever the case, then you would have properly compensated for it.
As an example, say you are taking a scene where there is an abundance of light around your main subject (for example, at the beach on a sunny day, or surrounded by snow). In this case, using Weighted-Average metering, your camera might be 'deceived' by the abundance of light and expose for it by closing down the aperture and/or using a faster shuter speed (assuming ISO is constant), with the result that the main subject might be under-exposed. By taking an extra shot at a slight over-exposure, you would in fact be over-exposing the surroundings, but properly exposing the main subject.
Another example would be the case where the surrounding might be too dark, and the camera exposes for the lack of light by either opening up the aperture and/or using a slower shutter speed (assuming ISO is constant), then the main subject might be over-exposed. By taking an extra shot at a slight under-exposure, you would in fact be under-exposing the surroundings, but properly exposing the main subject.
Now, most digital cameras have auto exposure bracketing, meaning that if you select that option before taking your shot, the camera will automatically take three shots for you: one which it thinks it has perfectly exposed; a second one sightly under-exposed; and the third one slightly over-exposed.
When should you use exposure bracketing? Anytime you feel the scene is a challenging one (too much highlights or shadows) as far as lighting is concerned, e.g. sunsets are usually better taken slightly under-exposed so use exposure bracketing there, or whenever you want to be sure you don't improperly expose a fabulous shot.
Remember, you are not using film anymore, so there are really no wasted shots (unless you are severely constrained by the size of your storage media).
Digital Dodging & Burning
Should you delete the extra shots right away? No, if storage permits, keep all three shots until you get home and upload them to your PC and into an image editing software, such as Photoshop. By using the layers functionality of Photoshop (or similar functionality of another image editing software), you can load all three shots into different layers and then carefully erase the under-exposed or over-exposed part of one or more layers to end up with a final shot where both the main subject and the surroundings are properly exposed!
This Photoshop functionality allows you to shoot in very extreme lighting situations where there are many parts in different intensity of light and shadows such that you are losing details in the highlights and shadows. In this case, you might need more than two extra shots to obtain details in the different parts. Without moving the camera (a tripod is essential here), take as many shots as you need, exposing for the different parts you want details to be visible. Then you would load them all up into Photoshop, each into its own layer, and by erasing the under- and over-exposed parts in each layer (granted, this equivalent of film 'dodging' and 'burning' can be a very tedious and challenging task in itself, but done properly it can be well worth the effort), you can end up with an 'impossible' shot where every part of the cave is properly exposed.
Used judiciously, exposure bracketing is a simple technique that can ensure proper exposure of a difficult lighting situation. Make sure you get a camera with good manual bracketing control
Lincoln Stretch rentals Alsip ..Pre-Production:It's all got to start somewhere, so before you even... Read More
So, you have taken lots of pictures with your new... Read More
So you have rushed out into the malls in a... Read More
Some compact cameras are small enough to fit in your... Read More
Good wildlife safari photography is not only about composition and... Read More
The digital camera is but a technological advancement of the... Read More
With such a fantastic device as the digital camera for... Read More
Every Mom wants to take great photos of their babies... Read More
Digital Photo Diary - memories that last a life timeThe... Read More
These parameters are discussed at 2 levels: -Based on... Read More
Dots Per Inch is a useful measure of relative resolution.... Read More
So you recently bought a digital camera or perhaps your... Read More
PrefaceIn order to understand color management, it is important to... Read More
Think about Laurel and Hardy for a moment, or Charlie... Read More
What Is... Exposure BracketingExposure bracketing is a simple technique professional... Read More
As you might imagine the paradigm shift from traditional film-based... Read More
Basic CompositionNow that you are beginning to understand how your... Read More
Digital SLR Camera or Digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera is... Read More
If you have hopes of becoming a professional photographer, or... Read More
You may have joined the photo-sharing craze to share your... Read More
Quite often I will have clients bring in old photographs... Read More
Do you like to take photos? Are you always standing... Read More
Kids grow up so quickly and while we are often... Read More
ContentEven if you feel that you already know what kind... Read More
Taking pictures of your new baby is a great way... Read More
Western Springs shuttle limo ..ContentEven if you feel that you already know what kind... Read More
If you think that digital cameras are for snapshots only,... Read More
Fuji digital cameras entered the market in the late 90's.... Read More
PrefaceIn order to understand color management, it is important to... Read More
Underwater photography's is primarily focused towards entertaining and informing the... Read More
As a professional wedding photographer I get this question asked... Read More
We all love our animals. They do such funny, adorable,... Read More
Taking pictures of your new baby is a great way... Read More
So, you have taken lots of pictures with your new... Read More
It's hard to find sometimes but it's making a resurgence,... Read More
With such a fantastic device as the digital camera for... Read More
So you have this great digital camera and you've taken... Read More
It was widely reported in the press (15 September 1997)... Read More
Get a good face shot: Use Higher quality cameras at... Read More
Once you have clicked photos through your digital camera, then... Read More
A picture is worth a thousand words, so goes a... Read More
Once in while I receive e-mails or phone calls from... Read More
I once heard a lady say to a photographer that... Read More
If you are in the market to purchase a digital... Read More
A digital camera accessory you should purchase is a spare... Read More
One of the main reasons people buy digital cameras is... Read More
Infrared photography is sometimes placed on the outside edge of... Read More
Are you having megapixel envy each time you walk by... Read More
There are many kinds of disposable cameras. All disposable cameras... Read More
While analyzing any camera, one of the most important qualities... Read More
Photography |