How can you creatively use exposure compensation and bracketing?

1 Why use exposure compensation?

Sometimes, your camera's metering system may not give you the optimal exposure for your subject or scene. For example, if you are shooting a bright sky or a dark background, your camera may overexpose or underexpose your main subject, resulting in a loss of detail or contrast. Exposure compensation allows you to override the camera's metering and adjust the exposure to your preference. You can use exposure compensation to create different effects, such as adding drama, mood, or contrast to your photos.

2 How to use exposure compensation?

Most cameras have a dedicated exposure compensation button or dial, usually marked with a plus/minus sign. By pressing or turning this button or dial, you can increase or decrease the exposure value (EV) in steps of 1/3 or 1/2 stops. A positive EV means adding more light, while a negative EV means subtracting light. For example, if you want to brighten a dark subject, you can use a positive EV of +1 or +2. If you want to darken a bright sky, you can use a negative EV of -1 or -2. You can check the effect of exposure compensation on your camera's LCD screen or viewfinder, as well as on the histogram.

3 Why use bracketing?

Bracketing is a useful technique to ensure that you capture the best possible exposure for your scene, especially in challenging lighting conditions or when you are not sure about the correct exposure. Bracketing can also help you create high dynamic range (HDR) images, which combine multiple exposures to capture more detail in the shadows and highlights. By using bracketing, you can experiment with different exposure settings and choose the best one later, or blend them together in post-processing.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?